In this high-energy, TED-style session, James Meads draws on his 18 years of procurement experience -spanning Fortune 500 companies and family-owned businesses - to challenge the traditional boundaries of the public sector. As a self-described "translator" between the worlds of procurement technology and practitioners, James will explore how the public sector can move beyond rigid legacy processes to embrace a more agile, open-minded, and entrepreneurial way of operating.

The session will cut through the noise of "marketing buzzwords" to focus on what procurement teams actually need to drive real technology adoption and deliver better public outcomes. Drawing on his deep market insights and his experience reviewing over 400 solution providers, James will provide a roadmap for attendees to identify tools that offer a competitive advantage rather than just "feature bloat".

This session is designed to energise and inspire the public procurement community to stop thinking like a back-office function and start acting as a catalyst for transformation and leadership.

In this TED-style keynote, Susan Walsh - famously known as "The Classification Guru"—brings her high-energy, straight-talking approach to the Procurement Rocks stage. While the industry is often distracted by the "shiny objects" of AI and complex software, Susan will peel back the curtain on the silent killer of procurement transformation: poor data quality.

Drawing on her years of experience "cleaning the world’s data," Susan will deliver a session full of powerful storytelling and thought-provoking insights. She will demonstrate how even the most expensive technology cannot deliver ROI if the underlying spend data is "dirty," inconsistent, or misclassified.

This session is designed to energise and inspire the public procurement community to stop ignoring the foundation of their digital strategy. Susan will provide a masterclass in why data accuracy is a leadership issue, not just a technical one, and how getting it right is the first step toward delivering better public outcomes.

In this TED-style keynote, Annalisha Noel—the visionary behind "The Procurement Plug"—takes the stage to challenge the perception of procurement as a "back-office" function. As the sector faces a critical talent shortage, Annalisha will deliver a high-energy session designed to energise and inspire the public procurement community to rethink how they attract and retain the next generation of professionals.

Drawing on her expertise in AI-driven intelligence and career growth, Annalisha will provide a roadmap for transforming procurement from a process-heavy compliance role into a high-impact strategic career. This session will focus on the human element of the digital age. Annalisha will explore how leveraging advanced technology is not just about efficiency, but about freeing up talent to focus on leadership, transformation, and delivering better public outcomes.

Attendees will leave with thought-provoking insights on how to build a culture of mentorship and innovation that resonates with a new, tech-savvy workforce.