Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
As a seasoned spend entrepreneur, I've built a proven track record in both corporate and start-up environments globally, spanning diverse industries. My passion lies in leading high-performing teams that leverage Procurement Excellence, delivering value far beyond mere savings. My mission: To elevate the influence and impact of sustainable procurement. Key Strengths: • Visionary Leadership: Developing and aligning teams around shared purposes and visions, both in the boardroom and on the hockey pitch. • Inspiring Communicator: Utilizing narrative and storytelling to mobilize cross-functional teams for sustainable results. • Relationship Builder: Thriving on human connections and continuously investing in strengthening professional networks. • Growth Mindset: Valuing feedback as a catalyst for personal and professional development. • Holistic Thinker: Considering the broader impact of actions beyond immediate boundaries. Professional Engagements: • Advisory Board Member, Procurement Leaders • Guest Speaker and Lecturer at academic institutions and industry conferences • Active member of Procurement 50 (World50 Inc) Beyond the Professional Sphere: I strive to make a difference as a loving husband, dedicated father, loyal friend, inspiring coach, and committed citizen. Areas of Expertise: Procurement | Team Development | Spend Management | Change Management | Business Transformation | Strategic Partnerships | Executive Leadership | Negotiations | Strategic Planning | Sustainability | Digitization | Agile Procurement | Public Speaking | Strategic Sourcing | Continuous Improvement
As I believe we can do both good and well, I'm committed to: Standing up for people and our planet! I fully understand the criticality of climate change and the need for me to become an active participant in enacting changes to improve the environment. I will do my best to stop the exploitation of nature and human beings, environmental pollution, and rising inequality and injustice. I will act against modern slavery, human trafficking, child labor, corruption, and bribery, while simultaneously upholding business ethics and law-abiding behavior. Together we will change the world! I am convinced that all of us involved in Procurement can make a difference by joining forces to accelerate the creation of a just world with low-carbon emissions by contributing to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. I will team up with my Procurement colleagues and networks, academics, NGOs, and government bodies to enable the exchange of and advance responsible business behavior. Starting with myself! I commit myself to lead by example and include sustainability as part of my overall mindful vision and values. I will integrate sustainability aspects into my daily Procurement decision-making criteria and work with my colleagues and suppliers to drive lasting improvements. Sharing my knowledge and listening to others! I will actively share my sustainability knowledge while maintaining confidentiality obligations, following antitrust rules, and collaborating with all involved stakeholders in our shared mission. I will remain open to the advice and proposals of my peers. Leaving the right legacy! I will raise my concerns in the occurrence of inappropriate business behavior or unsustainable practices. I fully respect the principles stated by the U.N. Global Compact and other international standards and agreements. I am determined to ensure that Procurement leaves the legacy of protecting a sustainable planet for us and future generations.
Leading the group procurement organization across Enabling Functions and the Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics sectors. Spearheading strategic initiatives that drive operational excellence while delivering value beyond savings across a €9+ billion annual spend portfolio. In this role, I report into the Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Executive Board. Key Responsibilities & Leadership: - Direct a global team of 400+ procurement professionals, fostering engagement and professional development - Oversee comprehensive procurement strategies across both direct and indirect categories spanning multiple business sectors - Drive cross-functional collaboration as member of the Merck Investment Committee, Merck Sustainability Board, and Merck Belonging & Inclusion Committee Strategic Achievements: - Financial Impact: Delivered consistent 5% year-over-year savings on addressable spend resulting in a 6x functional ROI - Sustainability: Achieved 75-point sustainable procurement score in Ecovadis Assessment, recognizing the commitment to responsible sourcing - Organizational Excellence: Improved team engagement by 6% while streamlining global operations and leveraging our captive shared service center - Future Vision: Established "Northstar 2030" strategic framework to advance procurement capabilities for sustainable growth - Digital Transformation: Initiated comprehensive "Accelerate" transformation journey, aimed at evolving operating models and leveraging digitization to enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency and strategic alignment Impact: Positioning Merck's procurement organization as a strategic business partner that drives value creation, sustainability leadership, risk resilience and operational excellence across the enterprise.
- Designed and executed a novel concept called the Procurement Engine which has transformed our organisational setup, our governance and our ways of working to maximise transversal collaboration, agility and value delivery beyond savings. - Embarked the team on a journey to leverage new digital solutions to improve the user experience whilst driving more user empowered sourcing, gain in operational efficiencies by leveraging automation and elevating the level of informed decision making by harnessing the power of analytics. - Expanded the value offering from procurement beyond traditional sourcing by developing new capabilities within the team and attracting non-traditional, yet complimentary, talent to the organisation - Lead the efforts around sustainable procurement to deliver on UCBs' sustainability ambition by actively reducing the carbon emission in our supply chain and minimising the societal impact it has.
- Expanded responsibilities to lead a team of global and local category leads and buyers covering all non-commercial indirect categories as well the Northern Europe geography. Member of both the Finance and Purchasing Lead Team. - Coached and mentored the team to expand their impact within the organization whilst at the same time developing themselves to achieve further growth resulting in a team engagement score of 85%. - Closely collaborated with senior leadership to ensure alignment between BU and company strategy and purchasing category strategies through my role as Purchasing Value Lead for the Immunology therapeutic area. - Participated to cross-functional projects outside of purchasing to expand my knowledge of the patient and the ecosystem of care allowing me to increase my value creation towards patients. - Led the Patient Value cultural change journey within the Finance, Purchasing and IT area as both cultural ambassador and training facilitator. - Co-authored the long term purchasing strategy and purchasing value model. - Special Assignments: Global VP Purchasing a.i. during 3 months (2015)
- Reported into the Global VP Purchasing and member of the Purchasing Lead Team, managed a team of category leads and buyers responsible for categories such as Consultancy, HR Services, Legal Services, Contingent Workforce, Logistics, Facility Management, Tax, IT representing 35% of the annual recurring spend of UCB and yielding >6% savings annually. - Created and implemented a category strategy approach starting from the business challenges of my internal stakeholders and targeting purchasing contribution and impact above and beyond savings. - Drove a variety of projects focused at maximizing the quality of service and overall performance of our key outsourcing suppliers through disciplined vendor and contract management. - Co-led with the Global VP of Purchasing the transformation of the purchasing team from a transactional/cost focused team into a category and value driven team.