Why has Zip Appointed an AI General Manager?

Zip, a leading AI platform for enterprise procurement, has announced the hire of Michael Denari as General Manager of AI.

Michael joins from Canva, where as Global Head of IT he built and scaled the company’s enterprise AI strategy across a 5,000-person global organisation.

In his new role, he will lead Zip’s AI business end-to-end, including GTM strategy, revenue, customer success and internal AI transformation, as well as work closely with product and engineering teams on AI product development.

“We’re entering a moment where every enterprise is facing pressure to show real ROI from AI, and most are still figuring out where to place their bets,” says Rujul Zaparde, Co-Founder and CEO of Zip.

“Michael has lived this problem from the inside. He’s built world-class AI programs, and he understands exactly what it takes for AI to deliver outcomes that actually change how a business operates. That’s the bar we hold ourselves to at Zip, and it’s why we wanted him here.”

Zip has delivered more than US$6bn in customer savings and powers modern procurement for hundreds of global enterprises, including Anthropic, AMD, Discover, Dollar Tree, OpenAI and T-Mobile.

A legacy of enterprise transformation

Michael comes to Zip with a huge range of experience and credentials when it comes to the role.

During his time at Canva, he built and led its procurement function before pivoting to create and scale the company’s global IT organisation, a team of 110 people responsible for enterprise technology, compliance infrastructure and AI transformation.

Over the past three years, Michael has driven AI initiatives that reworked core business processes at Canva, from automated internal support and sales enablement to AI-assisted performance reviews and procurement compliance agents. He also established Canva as Zip’s first enterprise customer when the company launched its procurement orchestration platform in 2021.

“Procurement is the highest-ROI opportunity most organisations have consistently underestimated and I’ve spent the last three years on the front lines of enterprise AI learning exactly why,” adds Michael.

“I’m joining Zip at an important moment as AI is accelerating real business impact and I believe Zip is strongly positioned to win. That’s the simplest way I can put it. Zip is going to be at the centre of every CFO’s AI story.”

Driving global strategic momentum

In his role as GM of AI, Michael will oversee Zip’s AI business, define and execute the company’s AI GTM playbook, while partnering closely with product, engineering and marketing teams to ensure customers see transformative outcomes from AI deployment, not just adoption.

He will also lead Zip’s internal AI transformation, accelerating applications of AI agents across business functions.

Michael previously created and scaled the procurement function at Procore Technologies prior to their IPO.

Zip is already generating strong momentum in 2026. Over the last four months, the company has achieved several milestones, such as working with Fairmarkit to automate procurement and help drive efficiency across business operations.

The partnership will pair Zip's AI-driven intake and orchestration capabilities with Fairmarkit's autonomous sourcing platform. Through the integration, businesses will see significant efficiency gains. It will allow organisations to automate workflows, absorb request volume and remove manual tasks across the Source-to-Pay process, which includes initial supplier request and payment.