OECM’s Inaugural Procurement Summit
OECM invited industry experts and thought leaders to discuss and share their insights at our company-hosted Inaugural Procurement Summit, held in Niagara Falls from June 7 – 9. The two-day event, emceed by our Senior Manager, Customer Relations, Shelly Ann Henry, saw 90+ senior procurement professionals from Ontario’s College and University Sectors come together to learn about the latest trends and innovative strategies while exploring prospects to collaborate on procurement initiatives.
Leaders from Supply Ontario, including Chief Executive Officer Jamie Wallace, Chief of Strategy, Programs and Partnerships Sunita Chander, and Chief Supply Chain Operations Officer Jackie Korecki, sat on a panel moderated by OECM’s Director of Communication and Customer Relations Sonia Gallo. During the panel discussion, they provided an overview of Supply Ontario’s current initiatives and highlights from the Agency’s Business Plan, as well as an update on Supply Chain Ontario’s transition to Supply Ontario. The panelists also shared a few words on the Supply Ontario and OECM collaboration agreement. The panel ended with a discussion on various changes Supply Ontario would consider making to the procurement rules in public sector procurement to create more efficiencies for Ontario buyers and sellers.
Al-Azhar Khalfan, the President and CEO of Supply Chain Management Association Ontario (SCMAO), emphasized their commitment to elevate the supply chain profession and addressed enhancements to SCMAO. Industry lawyer Debby Shapero Propp, spoke on driving supply chain value through collaboration, innovation, and advanced procurement models. The Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) panel was moderated by OECM’s Director of Business Development, Jim Hadjiyianni, and featured an esteemed panel of members including, Brent Brodie, Senior Procurement Analyst and Project Lead at York University, Renata Faverin, Director, Procurement Services at University of Toronto, Carol Izzio, Director of Procurement at Sheridan College, and Christine McParland, Director, Residence and Ancillary Services at St. Lawrence College.
The opportunity to interact and exchange ideas for the first time, in person, since 2019, generated significant excitement among industry members and attendees, who keenly participated in knowledge-sharing discussions. We look forward to hosting more events in the future as we advance our outreach strategy and amplify our reach to different sectors.
