This event is qualified
for ISM CEH credit 

CVM Supply World 2008
Chicago, IL
Monday March 10th, 2008

The Hotel Allegro
171 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL

Map/Directions

The Event and Networking Reception will be held in the Walnut Room. Please use the parking valet at the front of the hotel (CVM Solutions will cover the parking charge for attendees).

                                      

Agenda:

Keynote Speakers:

Al Williams
Sr. Director Global Procurement & Chief Procurement Officer, Accenture

Al Williams is the Chief Procurement Officer for Accenture. In this role, Al is responsible for creating procurement strategy that maximizes the value of all goods and services purchased by Accenture. Al is also responsible for overall procurement performance and ensures alignment with corporate and business direction. Al is the overseer for key procurement-led initiative and is the primary communicator internally and externally to the marketplace in areas related to supply and purchasing.

Prior to this role, Al Williams was the Senior Director of Global Subcontractor Procurement for Accenture. In this role, Al was responsible for global purchasing of subcontractor, contractor and professional services, including demand management, supplier sourcing, category management, compliance, contracting, supplier performance management and diversity. He has served in this role from November 2005 to June  2007.

Prior to these positions, Al was the Senior Director of United States Procurement at Accenture for over 3 years and had responsibility for Accenture’s local purchasing across all categories. Al was a director in Accenture’s Finance organization prior to moving into Procurement, where he was responsible for internal shared services strategy and programs. Al has worked closely with Accenture’s Finance and Procurement business process outsourcing teams, as well as the Finance & Performance Management practice, developing methodologies and training and supporting client sales and delivery. He joined Accenture in the Finance group as a senior manager in 1998 and was promoted to senior executive in 2003. Prior to Accenture, Al worked for Prudential in Chicago for 2 years and Dean Witter (now Morgan Stanley) in Chicago and Tennessee for 9 years.

Al has his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing & Communications from East Tennessee State University. He is a member of the Executives Club and has also been active in several volunteer roles, including United Way and Boys Club of America.

Jason Busch
Managing Director, Azul Partners & Editor, Spend Matters

Jason Busch is Founder and Managing Director of Azul Partners, a boutique advisory firm. He is also Editor of the highly trafficked sourcing and supply chain blog www.spendmatters.com and is co-founder of the procurement and supply chain research hub: Spend Matters Navigator. Jason is regarded as one of the leading pundits and thought leaders in the procurement and operations worlds and has worked with hundreds of practitioners and providers to help define and sell next generation products and solutions.

His current research and interest areas include the future of global sourcing, supply risk management, supplier performance management, and the growth of communities of interest and online social networking within the procurement and operations worlds. Previously, he spent five years at FreeMarkets leading a variety of corporate development, marketing, product strategy and sourcing initiatives. He started his career in consulting and finance and holds a graduate degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania.

Panelists:

Jay Sklar
Vice President of Strategic Sourcing, Aon

Jay Sklar is the Vice President of Strategic Sourcing for Aon, a worldwide leader in risk management, insurance, and human capital consulting services. Jay is a seven year veteran with Aon, and presently oversees a department of six individuals whose responsibilities include all facets of strategic sourcing, encompassing domestic and international agreements, outsourcing, off-shoring, and supplier diversity. For the past 12 years, Jay has specialized in sourcing, representing the interests of various other organizations, including Bank One, Waste Management, and other financial institutions, either directly, or as a consultant with A.T.Kearney. Jay holds an MBA in Real Estate, Management & Strategy, and Technology & E-commerce from Kellogg / Northwestern University, and a BA from Northwestern. Jay's office is in Aon's global headquarters, in Chicago, and he resides in Munster, IN with his wife and two sons.

Byron Holden
Director of Procurement, CDW Corporation

Byron Holden is the Director of Procurement for CDW, a FORTUNE 500 company and a leading provider of technology products and services for businesses, government and education.

Byron is responsible for the procurement of over 40,000 items that are purchased from over 300 suppliers. His team manages the flow of inventory within two distribution centers that total one million square feet of space. Other responsibilities include cost structure management, vendor product return management, special customer pricing programs, new supplier management, and supplier diversity program management.

Byron joined the CDW sales team in 1994. In 1995, he joined the Procurement department as a buyer. In 1998 he developed and managed a department where special customer pricing programs were implemented. In 2004 Byron became a Sr. Manager with additional responsibilities for the Drop Ship, Vendor Returns and Canadian procurement operations. In 2005, Byron was promoted to Director of Procurement. Prior to joining CDW, Byron was an Operations manager for Dry Storage Corporation in Des Plaines, IL.

Byron graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee.