Procurement’s Top 10 influential women in leadership

Cheryl Harris

Company: Allstate Insurance

Year joined: 2011

Position: Senior Vice President (SVP) of Sourcing and Procurement Solutions

For over 10 years, Cheryl Harris has been the Senior Vice President of Sourcing and Procurement Solutions (SPS) at Allstate Insurance. 

She manages the optimisation of the company’s third-party spend portfolio of US$4bn. She is committed to transforming SPS into ‘trusted advisors’ to deliver value. She also oversees Allstate’s supplier diversity programme.

Kelly Bengston

Company: Starbucks

Year joined: 2010

Position: Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) 

Kelly Bengston’s career at Starbucks began in April 2010 in Supply Chain Commercialisation. 

In the last 22 years, Bengston has climbed through the ranks to become the Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) at the multinational coffeehouse chain.

Bengston attributes her success to her ability to create flexible, high-functioning, and creative teams that unlock new possibilities. 

Paula Davila Martinez

Company: Novartis

Year joined: 2019

Position: Chief Procurement Officer (CPO)

Paula Davila Martinez has been with Novartis for the last three years. She is a visionary, strategically driven, and collaborative leader, with a transformational mindset and desire to be an inspiring leader to others. 

Angela Qu

Company: Lufthansa Group

Year joined: 2019

Position: Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Procurement Officer (CPO)

Angela Qu joined Lufthansa Group in 2019 as Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Procurement Officer (CPO). 

Qu is a strategic and entrepreneurial executive, with more than 25 years of experience in the procurement industry. She is an advocator for diversity and inclusion not only in procurement but across all industries.

Grace Lao

Company: Microsoft

Year joined: 1998

Position: Vice President (VP) of Finance and Procurement

Grace Lao has been with Microsoft for 23 years. She joined the company in 1998 working in accounting and financial analysis. Today she is the Vice President (VP) of Finance and Procurement. 

Lao is champion in driving simplification and standardisation of the company’s processes, as well as digital transformation and customer experience design initiatives. 

She is also dedicated to bringing together diverse teams across organisational and cultural boundaries.

Sapna Alva Tariyal

Company: Capgemini

Year joined: 2020

Position: Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), APAC

For 23 years, Sapna Alva Tariyal has built a career in sourcing, vendor governance and supplier management. Throughout her career she has been instrumental in furthering the procurement function in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.  

Tariyal is the current Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) of Capgemini APAC.

Patricia Stroup

Company: Nestlé

Year joined: 2006

Position: Chief Procurement Officer (CPO)

Patricia Stroup has held the role of Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) twice at Nestlé, first in 2015, when she first joined the company, and again in 2020, following three years as Global Vice President and Head of Commodities.

Melani Wilson Smith

Company: PepsiCo

Year joined: 2020

Position: Chief Procurement Officer (CPO)

Responsible for sourcing and procurement across the enterprise at PepsiCo, Melani Wilson Smith is the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO).

Smith is a strategic sourcing and data driven executive with the ability to innovate and drive transformation; deliver savings; manage supply chain value; effectively collaborate with all stakeholders, and develop organisations and talent.

Natasha Gurevich

Company: Nike

Year joined: 2021

Position: Chief Procurement Officer (CPO)

For more than 22 years, Natasha Gurevich has worked in the procurement and sourcing space driving results for Fortune 500 companies. 

The element that Gurevich enjoys the most about the business environment is designing creative solutions and solving problems for clients while inspiring teamwork across organisations.

Rachel Lemos

Company: The Sustainable Procurement Pledge & Canadian Western Bank

Year joined: 2021 & 2020

Positon: Co-Chair & Director of Corporate Procurement

With over 20 years of experience in supply chain and procurement, Rachel Lemos has a track record of leading teams in complex organisations for both the private and public sector. 

Recognised as one of the Top 10 Most Empowered Women in Business, Lemos constantly challenges the status quo, acting as an encouraging role model for her teams.