DPW New York 2025: Put AI to work

The unstoppable evolution of DPW truly knows no bounds. The story of its inception is well-known by this point. Six years ago, in 2019, Founder Matthias Gutzmann developed the concept for DPW in response to a lack of high-quality, startup-centric procurement conferences. The very first conference, held that year in Amsterdam, attracted over 400 attendees from 33 countries, proving just how starved the industry was for exactly this type of event.

DPW has since gone from strength to strength. Thousands of people gather in the prestigious Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam every October, and its North American counterpart is quickly gaining traction, too.

Last year, DPW dipped its toe in the water with an intimate summit in New York City. 128 people attended – exceeding the planned 100 people – filling an ultra-cool penthouse venue in NeueHouse Madison Square. We talked to both the attendees and the DPW team about the demand for a North America event, and how the success of the summit meant that this conference would only get bigger and better.

And it did. On the 11th and 12th of June, DPW New York 2025 took Brooklyn by storm. Hosted at ZeroSpace, a creative design studio where television and film companies generate art, the event attracted over 700 attendees from across the world. There were close to 80 sessions held over the course of the two days across two stages, a meetup lounge, and a podcast studio kitted out like a New York subway carriage.

The theme of the event was ‘Put AI to work’. This shaped the entirety of the conference’s content. Speaking to attendees, we got the impression that this theme represents a real shift. Previous events have focused on the way technology is evolving and the possibilities ahead, but this one felt like it was much more about the truly practical applications of agentic AI today. 

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Amit Mahajan, Partner, Alixpartners

“These events bring everybody together to really discuss different ideas and share their challenges and their pain points. I think that sharing and collective thinking helps everybody to move forward. Additionally, with all the different technology providers and innovations that some of these vendors are bringing on, DPW helps people to understand what’s possible, what’s out there, what you can do, and how you can leverage what’s been tested already.”

Prerna Dhawan, Chief Product Officer, Beroe

“I attended DPW the first year it launched in Amsterdam. When I went there for the first time, I thought it was amazing because it brings together, in one platform, people who are practitioners and are looking for technology that can help solve problems, as well as vendors. Not just the big established vendors, but startups, which is where a lot of innovation is happening. So I think DPW provides that forum and creates an ecosystem where you can make sense of AI. Most of the solutions you see here, you can put to work tomorrow morning if you want to. DPW gives us that forum as the community.”

Jeremy Lappin, CEO, Candex

“Especially when we were starting up, DPW did a good job of helping us get in the game. Having a place to go to meet the clients was incredibly valuable for startups. And now we’re a bit bigger, we can pay it back a little. We can afford to do more with DPW now, but in the beginning, we were especially appreciative of that opportunity to be welcomed in and meet the people that are coming here. It’s also nice to be able to walk around and see what other companies in the space are doing all in one place, and to meet some of the leadership of those companies and figure out ways of partnering with them to make both of our tools more effective.”

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DPW New York 2025 didn’t disappoint with its speaker lineup. Some of the many highlights included Brian Solis, Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow discussion what it means to put AI to work, and what it means for procurement’s future; Elouise Epstein, Partner at Kearney, demystified the fundamentals of agentic AI; Maria Jesús Saénz, Director Digital Supply Chain Transformation Lab at MIT, dug into why AI needs human collaboration to work at its best; Brandon Card, Founder and CEO of Terzo, discussed why CLMs are dead and why AI tools are superior; Lauren Hymen, VP Strategy and Transformation at PepsiCo, explored why transformation is a catalyst for strategic value far beyond just cost savings; and DPW’s own Chairman, Mark Perera, examined SaaS models, why traditional ones are giving way to self-learning platforms, and how that impacts procurement.

The conference was also filled with panel discussions, roundtables, podcasts that could be listened to live – including one that CPOstrategy hosted for ORO Labs – pitches, and peer meetups. The venue never stopped buzzing with inspiring conversations and talks with packed audiences.

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Michelle Vita, Head of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing, Datadog

“The show has been great so far. There have been so many amazing panels where I feel like the topics actually resonate with me, and it’s great because I was on the board this year for DPW, so I got to help put it together. I’ve had a great time.”

Rinus Strydom, Chief Revenue Officer, Pactum AI

“Pactum is very happy with the partnership we’ve shared with DPW over the last few years. We were a startup around four years ago, and we won a pitch contest at DPW in Amsterdam when we were a tiny company. That really catapulted us, and got us a lot of visibility. We got to meet our latest investor Insight Partners at one of the DPW shows. So it really is a great place for visibility with practitioners, investors, and partners.”

Ann Fleishell, VP of Procurement, OpenAI

“This year’s DPW feels like an inflection point for AI. The conversations have shifted from excitement on concepts and ideas about AI, to real examples of execution. I appreciated the honesty from leaders wrestling with both the potential and responsibility of AI transformation. For those of us building in high-speed environments, it is energising to see others embracing the challenge of working smarter, not just harder.”

Alexander Pilsl, Advisor and CPO, Teamviewer

“DPW New York is pretty damn amazing. I did not expect that they would be able to transfer the energy from Amsterdam over to here, but in some places it feels even better. It’s so energetic; it’s such a hype. There are so many great conversations happening, so many exhibitors; it’s an amazing experience. I really love being here.”

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The DPW team – which has grown larger than ever out of necessity – was rushed off its feet for the full two days. However, we managed to grab a few minutes with CEO Herman Knevel at the end of day two. “It’s been two crazy days, and I’m excited because there were so many more people in the room than we expected,” he said. 

When we asked how DPW is continuing to help procurement professionals make sense of the landscape, Knevel replied: “It’s become more complex, so what we’ll do is continue to get as many people in the same room so they can learn and understand what is being built, what the solutions are, and what they can learn. We’ll also continue bringing the relevant content to the stage, and help peers learn from each other. There’s an ongoing need for people to communicate with each other, and that’s where we can step in and help.”

Plans are already underway for DPW New York 2026 next June, and before then, the huge Amsterdam event in October. The CPOstrategy team can’t wait to join in the endlessly inspiring atmosphere again, and discover how the industry is continuing to put AI to work.