This month’s cover story sees Frederic Khalil, Chief Procurement Officer and Real Estate Officer at Broadridge, discussing how human intelligence, artificial intelligence and purpose-driven leadership are reshaping enterprise value and ushering in the next era of procurement…
Broadridge: The Intelligence Advantage
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping procurement, but Frederic Khalil believes the defining question for leaders is not how quickly they can deploy new technology. It is how effectively they can combine technology, human judgement and organisational purpose to create enterprise value.
As Chief Procurement & Real Estate Officer at Broadridge, Frederic has helped lead a broader reimagining of procurement – one built around a clear business purpose, a connected digital ecosystem, strategic partnerships and disciplined execution from transformation strategy through enterprise adoption.
His experience points to a larger lesson for procurement leaders: technology can improve speed, visibility and intelligence, but the advantage comes from creating the conditions in which people can use those capabilities to make better decisions, strengthen the business and serve the customer… Read the full story here!
Cineplex: Procurement as a strategic lever for guest experience and growth
We caught up with Jeff Sharifzadeh, Vice President of Purchasing and Supply Management at Cineplex Inc, to get his view on how procurement shapes business outcomes and why data only has value when it informs decisions…
Jeff Sharifzadeh is Vice President of Purchasing and Supply Management at Cineplex Inc, Canada’s leading media and entertainment company. To strategise procurement at this scale presents both challenges and opportunities…
In an era defined by volatility, disrupted supply chains, and shifting business models, Sharifzadeh’s role has undergone a fundamental transformation involving navigating complexity at scale, balancing cost discipline, operational resilience and revenue impact, in the dynamic cinema and entertainment sector.
Sharifzadeh’s career actually started in technology, which helped provide him with an understanding of how systems, data and different business units interact during a transformation. And after moving into procurement, he noticed that procurement decisions weren’t just about cost, but were influencing how the business operated and, in many cases, how it grew. He quickly realised that procurement isn’t merely a support function, but a lever that shapes business outcomes, including efficiency, resilience, and customer experience. “It sits at the intersection of margin, revenue, risk, and strategy. The expectation is that you don’t just react to pressure, you shape outcomes,” he explains… Read the full story here!
Alsea: Focusing on people-first procurement
We sit down with Gustav Schindler, Head of Procurement at Alsea, to discuss what the procurement landscape looked like when he took on the role, and the success stories that his team has since enjoyed
Alsea is the leading restaurant operator in Latin America and Europe, with a strong, globally recognised multi-brand portfolio in the Fast Food, Coffee Shop, and Full-Service Restaurant segments. Even if you don’t know it, you’ll know the brands it represents: Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza, Burger King, The Cheesecake Factory, Chili’s, Chipotle, and P.F. Chang’s to name a few. It’s a household name in LATAM and very relevant in Europe, especially in the Iberian market. The procurement function was very supply-focused when Gustav Schindler joined as Head of Procurement for Mexico in September 2023, and he stepped in to help contribute to strengthening the function as a strategic competitiveness driver for Alsea.
Schindler’s background is in Foods Engineering. It’s a complex career with a lot of study across chemistry, microbiology, physics, math and technologies, and Schindler was determined to put that training into practice. Early on, he decided he wanted to work for a company where he could be really hands-on and drive process improvements in Manufacturing.
He looked for a growing company that could provide a lot of opportunities for that and applied at Arisco. “It was a food company located in Goias, at the center of Brazil. It had a fast rate of growth, challenging multinationals by launching products in categories dominated by few players,” Schindler explains. “I started working in quality assurance and quickly pivoted to production. It was a family-owned business with a very fast-paced entrepreneurial environment that valued pro-activity and autonomy.” Read the full story here!
Plus, at DPW New York, Gautam Pasari, founder and CEO of True ValueHub, and Alif Patel, Category Manager at Messer, discuss direct material procurement, supplier cost transparency, the role of AI in procurement transformation, and what savings really look like from both sides of the table… Read the full story here!
Oh, and we have all the latest expert analysis and in-depth investigations surrounding the function, as well as an essential guide to the must-attend global events for 2026 and beyond with a special preview of the upcoming DPW Amsterdam…
