MENA PROCUREMENT LEADERS TO FOLLOW ON LINKEDIN
In the rapidly expanding galaxy of social media, LinkedIn shines brightly as the definitive networking constellation for professionals worldwide. Boasting over 900 million users from more than 200 countries, LinkedIn’s mission is to weave a network that makes the world’s professionals more productive and prosperous. This prompts an interesting inquiry – are there notable leaders/influencers for procurement on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn serves as a rich repository for professionals to connect, network, and swap revolutionary ideas that could reshape the global procurement scene. Given that LinkedIn is buzzing with the creation of millions of articles, posts, and videos daily, it’s not surprising that this platform holds a lofty position among business professionals.
Over time, LinkedIn has evolved into an indispensable tool for networking, marketing over and above its recruitment-centric role. On the other hand, platforms like Facebook serve primarily as personal news feeds rather than professional job portals, despite persistent efforts from businesses and industries.
LinkedIn doubles up as a one-stop-shop that allows users to follow companies, stay informed about job vacancies, and present a public profile that recruiters can browse. More often than not, a LinkedIn profile prominently features in the search results when one looks up a job seeker’s name.
In essence, LinkedIn provides a convenient conduit for individuals and organizations to connect, fostering a culture steeped in sharing insights and promoting collective growth. Within this ecosystem, certain individuals and groups have distinguished themselves as reliable sources of expert advice on procurement-related topics. These esteemed individuals are collectively known as “LinkedIn leaders and influencers,” or more specifically in our context, “Procurement leaders & Influencers.”
So, what's the role of "Procurement leaders," and how does it benefit you?
On LinkedIn, Procurement Leaders predominantly comprise innovators, leaders, and thought leaders who ignite discussions about global business by sharing their expertise. Simply put, procurement leaders equip other professionals with an enhanced understanding of current trends impacting global markets.
As an active participant in this complex industry, you’re likely to rely on expert opinions when making crucial decisions. Whether you’re pondering over an innovative procurement strategy or seeking assistance in boosting visibility for yourself or your products, these virtuosos are your go-to resource in the business social sphere.
But how do you ascertain which Procurement leader and influencer to follow?
If you are part of a team eager to explore and execute ideas rooted in current market trends or new on LinkedIn, you need to zero in on pivotal leaders to reap maximum benefits. The leaders we endorse fulfill the following criteria:
- They are steadfast in creating original, knowledge-laden content that augments the capabilities of the procurement community.
- Over the years, they have consistently contributed to the procurement community through writings, speaking engagements, or training sessions.
Unveiling the well-known Procurement leaders and Influencers worth Your Attention So, who makes it to this coveted list?
Here are some criteria to help identify well known procurement leaders and influencers:
- Consistent Contribution: Consistently sharing insights, knowledge, and thought leadership about procurement. Their regular participation in discussions, webinars, and conferences, and their consistent publishing of articles, blogs, and reports, demonstrate a deep commitment to the procurement community.
- Relevance and Quality of Content: Pertinent to the current procurement trends, challenges, and opportunities. Furthermore, the quality of content should be top-notch, offering actionable insights, comprehensive analysis, and practical solutions to the procurement community.
- Engagement with the Community: Actively engaging with the procurement community on LinkedIn, frequently responding to comments on their posts, participate in discussions, and contribute to other influencers’ posts. This level of engagement showcases their dedication to nurturing a vibrant procurement community.
- Professional Experience and Expertise: Possess significant professional experience and expertise in procurement and having proven track record of success in procurement roles, demonstrating their ability to apply their knowledge and insights in real-world situations.
- Innovation and Thought Leadership: Manifesting innovation and thought leadership in procurement. They should be at the forefront of new trends, technologies, and strategies in procurement, challenging the norms of traditional procurement practices.
- Credibility and Reputation: Possesses a strong reputation and credibility within the procurement community being recognized by their peers as a leading authority in procurement, with their insights and opinions widely respected and valued.
- Training and Education: Contributed to the training and education of the procurement community with regularly sharing of educational content, provide training sessions, or participate in educational initiatives aimed at enhancing the skills and knowledge of procurement professionals.
So, who makes the cut for the well-known Procurement leaders and Influencers?
Here’s a continuation to a curated list by Supply Chain Humans that you might find insightful:
Why should you follow Kumar Gaurav Singla?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kumarsingla/
A very dynamic leader with two decades of experience, Kumar is a Partner with PwC Middle East, driving large scale business transformations across the world and in the Middle East. Prior to PwC, he successfully established procurement and supply chain consulting practices at Accenture, and KPMG in the Middle East. He brings several years of hands-on experience advising C-suite at multi-billion-dollar conglomerates across Middle East, Asia, Europe, and North America in the areas of digital procurement transformation (SAP Ariba, Ivalua), functional strategy definition, operating model and organization design, performance improvement, cost optimization, strategic sourcing, category management, and supply chain improvement programs.
Kumar has led some of the largest engagements in the Middle East across sectors: oil and gas, SWFs, financial, public, and real estate. With his client centric approach and relationship management, he is considered a trusted advisor by his Clients and all stakeholders.
Why should you follow Abdel Halim?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdel-halim-ahmed-89035117/
His vision is to disrupt procurement and supply management by advanced technology, he is very conscious to the era of Digital transformation. According to him Digital transformation is no longer in the future – ITS NOW. He is currently working as a Head of Software sales in Middle East and Africa at GEP worldwide. A very well reputed person, humble and dedicated to his vision, mission and values.
Why should you follow Maryam Monjazi?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryam/
Maryam Monjazi is a highly experienced senior supply chain and procurement professional with over 20 years of international experience in various industries. She has held various leadership positions, including Director of Procurement at Aldar Education, Director of Operations at Classic Fine Foods UAE, and Head of Supply Chain at Al Ain Farms for Livestock Production. Maryam is skilled in strategic procurement, tender management, planning, warehouse and stock management, and business transformation. She holds an MBA from Warwick Business School, the University of Mannheim, and ESSEC Business School. Maryam is an active Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and has been recommended as a senior procurement & supply chain leader across the Middle East region with great international experience and business acumen across various industries.
Why should you follow Lalit Dhamija?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitdhamija/
Lalit Dhamija is a highly accomplished Global Procurement and Supply chain Trainer and Consultant, currently serving as the CIPS Direct Associate & Vice President of Supply Chain (Middle East and Africa) at The Oriental Pro-Energy Consulting Organization (Topco). He is a Chief Moderator of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and has worked with ADNOC for over 27 years and with M/s Engineers India Limited (EIL) for over 10 years. Lalit has extensive experience in Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Engineering & Major Projects, Quality Assurance & Control, Contracts, Performance and Process Quality, Strategic Planning, Vendor Management, Supplier Relationship & Performance Management, Commercial Support, Procurement Excellence & Procedure, and Process Assurance. He is a designated ‘E-Procurement Champion’ by the World Bank Group based on an assessment of E-Procurement Learning. Truly an honorary professional. A must follow and if you get a chance to be part of one of his CIPS trainings, grab the opportunity to learn.
Why should you follow Mohamed Al Falasi?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohamed-a-5b365a172/
Experienced procurement professional who can drive a consistent approach towards strategic sourcing. An expert in delivering individual solutions to problems by combining ingenuity and integrity. Mohamed is skilled in negotiation, spend analysis, continuous improvement and Category Management. Has been leading and supporting the commercial partnerships team to provide an end to end procurement cycle for internal and external stakeholders
Why should you follow Mansoor?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mansooralimalik/
A Business Graduate and has held a number of senior commercial positions, including roles at PWC, DHL and the AP Moller-Maersk Group prior to joining CIPS. At CIPS, Mansoor has achieved development of strategic partnership with leading organizations in the Middle East, especially in the Oil and Gas, Aviation and most importantly, the Public Sector, in various projects around nationalization initiatives, capability development and governance excellence, contributing towards raising the profile of the profession of procurement and supply chain management and awareness of the institute and what it can offer to this region.
Why should you follow Anna Konoplianikova?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-konoplianikova-651b687/
Anna Konoplianikova is the Head of Procurement and Finance at Chalhoub Group in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She has a strong financial background and a track record of delivering significant cost savings and managing large annual spending budgets. Anna has experience in establishing supplier relationships across various industries worldwide and is recognized for her communication, leadership, and collaboration skills. She is an alumni of The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and is fluent in English, Russian, and Greek. Anna possesses excellent skills in internal controls, negotiation, and global sourcing.
Why should you follow Zoran?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/zorankecman/
20+ years creating and managing Supply Chain and procurement teams: Procurement, Logistics, Warehousing, and Sales Support. With Industries including Facilities Management, Food, Construction, Dairy, Banking, Stainless Steel, Paper Printing and Conversion. Truly a powerhouse of knowledge and loves to share his experience. He has also built procurement and supply chain functions from greenfield status and developed and managed large procurement teams. Developed policies, procedures, reporting standards, his social media shares are truly not to be missed.
Why should you follow Shehryar Riaz?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mshehryar/
Leading a Procurement & Supply Chain team; Shehryar helps in connecting top procurement & supply chain talents with the best employers across all industries in the Middle East.
His track record includes placements in:
– Procurement & Supply Chain leadership (C-level, SVP, Director, Head, Senior Manager, Manager)
– Specialized positions ranging from Assistant to Director level (Category Management, Logistics/Warehousing, SRM, Supply Chain Analytics, P2P/S2P, S&OP, Contracts Management, and Operations).
Please immediately connect with him confidentially to discuss your hiring needs or the next step in your career.
Why should you follow Ajay Bhatia?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajay-bhatia-dubai/
Running multiple successful businesses across sectors from Real Estate, Property Management, product distribution & retail. Creator of winning teams with 2 decades experience in Travel Retail industry. CIPS Trainer and a true contributor to the profession by continuously taking mentoring sessions and guiding youngsters for way forward journey in this domain.
Why should you follow Shoeb Alvi?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shoeb-alvi-2657a127/
A CEO at Varskart.com, an e-commerce platform that builds a digital supply chain ecosystem for industrial products. He has extensive experience in business leadership, e-commerce solutions, digital transformation, process digitization, strategic program implementation, marketing strategy, contract management, supply chain and procurement operations, compliance and risk management, customer relationship management, team building and mentoring. Shoeb has worked in highly competitive and challenging environments across the Middle East and Africa with a comprehensive global reach. Prior to his current role, he worked at Johnson Controls for 15 years in various positions such as Head of Procurement – MEA, Strategic Program Manager – MEA. A person bringing great innovation to life through automated, convenient, compliant and yet flexible Industrial sourcing.
Why should you follow Vidya Malkani?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyamalkani/
As a seasoned and results-oriented procurement director with diverse experience and transformation abilities, Vidya is dedicated to driving excellence in procurement operations and optimizing supply chain processes. With a proven track record of delivering significant cost savings, enhancing supplier relationships, and implementing strategic initiatives, she is adept at driving organizational growth and operational efficiency.
Over the course of her career, she has successfully led procurement teams in various industries like education, media, oil & gas. Vidya’s expertise lies in:
– developing and executing comprehensive procurement strategies,
– establishing strong supplier networks,
– driving transformation and digitization,
– driving data driven decision making,
– building internal procurement brand and
– enriching stakeholder collaboration.
Her experience, skills and passion for procurement helps her drive excellence and promote the function in the organizations she works for.
Why should you follow Yogen Shah?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/yogenshahscmfinance/
A much loved procurement and supply chain leader, Yogen reflects the importance of being a critical thinker, problem solver and relationship champion. He says that it is not enough to be an ordinary professional. A competent supply chain professional with over 30 years on experience in Energy Industry, spearheading team of talented individuals placed at multiple locations his job involves building the team, inspiring the team and completing projects within Budget, successfully securing major contracts by providing optimum material cost.
Having proven track record in complete procurement cycle right from concept to commissioning of the multi- billion USD projects. Proven acumen in managing post & pre-award contract management with focus on pre-qualification & bid evaluation, request for quotations, shortlisting of bidders, negotiating, drafting & placement of contract award. Truly a person to learn a lot from. Don’t miss out any of his posts, as they are wealth of experience.
Why you should follow Yasser?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasserismail-pmp/
Yasser Ismail has over 25 years of experience in the oil field service industry, with expertise in accounting, logistics, project management, and supply chain management. His leadership skills were demonstrated when he managed $2B in global logistics spending annually and drove cost savings through strategic sourcing and procurement.
Additionally, he is a passionate entrepreneur with a keen interest in smart solutions and innovation. With a focus on Near Field Communication (NFC), Yasser has founded and led several ventures, including NFC FZ LLE and Near Range. He keeps up with the latest technological advancements with his entrepreneurial spirit and problem-solving skills.
Why should you follow Antos CJ ?
Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/antos-c-j-mba-general-uk-mba-marketing-mcips-chartered-a8641493/
Accomplished, seasoned Purchase Management Professional with proven success in managing procurement and sourcing for high-end international retail stores.
Outstanding track record of setting up systems, procedures and policies for strategic sourcing.
Known for building and training teams of buyers to source products as per market trends.