Wednesday - 4 / 11 / 2026
Registration, Breakfast, Networking
Part A
Resilience Comes at a Price: The Real Cost of a Fragmented World
What will it be about?Recently, each year seems to have brought a new global shock. Could 2027 finally be different? If not, where are the key pressure points in the global economy? And how can Europe adapt in the medium term to a new world shaped by fierce competition from China, geopolitical rivalry, and protectionism?
The presentation will explore these questions through a macroeconomic and commodity outlook for the years ahead.
Tomáš Dvořák is a senior economist at the British analytical firm Oxford Economics. In addition to producing macroeconomic forecasts for the Central and Eastern Europe region, he also focuses on analysing trends in consumer and household behaviour, often using non-traditional economic data. He studied economics at universities in Glasgow, Milan, and London. He collaborates with the association The Second Economic Transformation and the Centre for Public Finance at Charles University.
As a regular speaker at Procurement Forum, he brings a macroeconomic perspective on supply chains, forecasts commodity price developments, and provides insights into the outlook for the Czech economy in the context of global economic and geopolitical developments.
Volatility as an Opportunity to Drive Revenue and Profit Growth
What will it be about?Food manufacturing is characterised by low margins, complex supplier networks, and the constant need to respond to change, whether driven by new regulations or fluctuations in weather conditions. At Orkla, procurement is an integral part of the commercial team, with a strong focus on agile management and maximum efficiency. This presentation will demonstrate the concrete steps procurement is taking to contribute to the company’s long-term revenue growth and profitability.
Ondřej Skála is Procurement Director at the Czech-Slovak division of Orkla, the Norwegian group and one of Europe’s leading branded food manufacturers. At Orkla Foods Česko a Slovensko, he and his team are responsible for strategic procurement across raw materials, packaging, traded goods, and indirect categories for a product portfolio that includes brands such as Hamé, Vitana, Znojmia, and Otma.
He has long focused on transforming procurement from a cost centre into an active contributor to revenue growth and profitability. His approach is built on systematic management of commodity volatility, supplier portfolio optimisation, and the development of co-manufacturing partnerships.
He has extensive experience in FMCG procurement across Central Europe, including managing complex supplier relationships at an international level.
Changing Supply Chain: Strategies in Geopolitical Upheaval
What will it be about?Over the past five years, global supply chains have faced an unprecedented combination of disruption, from the pandemic and geopolitical tensions to energy shocks, inflation, workforce shortages and increasing regulatory complexity. At the same time, manufacturers are still expected to deliver on time, maintain quality and remain cost competitive. In this presentation, Sébastien Millet, VP Procurement at Doosan Bobcat EMEA, will share how Bobcat has adapted its procurement and supply chain strategy to operate in this increasingly volatile environment. Drawing on practical examples from Bobcat’s operations, he will explore approaches to workforce resilience, cost management, supplier partnerships, global and local sourcing, make-or-buy decisions, securing critical technologies, automation, and the growing role of data and AI in faster decision-making.
Sébastien Millet
Sébastien Millet has over 25 years of experience in global procurement and supply chain, including 15+ years at Bobcat. Sébastien leads sourcing transformation, supplier diversification, and resilience initiatives, ensuring continuity in a volatile geopolitical and market environment for the construction equipment industry.
When Packaging Needs Its Data
What will it be about?In August this year, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) came into force, gradually introducing new requirements aimed at reducing packaging waste by 15% by 2040. How can procurement effectively connect with suppliers in response to these new regulatory requirements, while making the most of data standards and data carriers? Discover a modern approach to supply chain management built around a common data language.
Before joining GS1, he spent nearly 20 years at Nestlé, holding a number of local and regional management roles across logistics, IT, digitalisation, HR, and ESG. In recent years, he worked at the Central and Eastern European level, first leading regional IT and digitalisation and later serving as Head of Sustainability CEE.
Throughout his career, he has focused on the practical integration of sustainability, technology, and trusted data. At GS1, his work includes exploring how global standards, identification, and data sharing can help companies meet the requirements of the circular economy, Digital Product Passports, and new European regulations.
Coffee and Tea Break
Part B
Where AI Brings the Greatest Value to Procurement
What will it be about?Where does AI truly create measurable value in procurement, and where its limitations prevent it from delivering the expected results?
Learn how to assess AI’s impact on efficiency, cost savings, and decision-making quality, how to establish guidelines for its safe and effective use, and where global AI adoption in procurement is heading.
Ralph is co-founder of Procurement Tactics and the lead instructor of its four AI training programs for procurement professionals.
Ralph has trained procurement teams at many of the world’s largest organizations on AI, including numerous Fortune 500 companies, the United Nations, and NATO. His sessions focus on practical use cases teams can apply the next day, from prompting and AI agents to governance and safe adoption.
He is the co-author of the book Artificial Intelligence in Procurement and writes a weekly newsletter on the latest developments in AI for procurement, helping procurement leaders separate real value from hype.
He teaches the Artificial Intelligence in Procurement Course, the Claude Cowork for Procurement Course, Procurement Automation with AI Agents, and the AI Implementation Course for Procurement Leaders.
When AI Starts Listening to Someone Else
What will it be about?Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming part of business applications, works with internal data and gains access to other systems. However, it does not behave like conventional software. Its behaviour can be manipulated in ways we have never had to consider with conventional applications.
Using simple examples and practical demonstrations, we will explain what jailbreaks and prompt injection are, why some AI models are more resilient than others, and how AI can be manipulated not only by users, but also by the content it processes.
We will also explore why, as AI capabilities grow, these risks are becoming increasingly important for companies deploying or purchasing AI tools.
Martin Haller is co-owner of PATRON-IT and a cybersecurity specialist with extensive experience in ethical hacking and security incident response. His work focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in corporate IT infrastructure and implementing practical measures to protect organisations against real-world attacks.
In recent years, he has also focused on the security of artificial intelligence and AI agents, as well as the emerging risks associated with integrating them into corporate systems and data workflows. He believes that to secure technologies effectively, we first need to understand how they can be exploited.
He shares his hands-on experience through his blog, martinhaller.cz, and at industry conferences. He holds OSCP, CHFI, ECSA, and MCSE certifications and is a Microsoft MVP.
How to Handle an Unexpected Situation and Manage Your Own Acute Crisis
What will it be about?Sooner or later, everyone encounters a situation at work that they could not have anticipated and therefore could not have prepared for, leaving them to react only as their body and mind allow. Learning to recognise one’s response to acute stress, process and regulate it, and thereby prevent subsequent impacts should be a fundamental part of the soft skills toolkit not only for procurement professionals and managers, but for all employees.
Throughout her professional career as a psychologist, she has long focused on the experience of crisis and working with it, as well as on stress and the functioning of individuals in demanding situations. She draws her experience primarily from her career as a crisis intervention specialist in a non-governmental non-profit organisation and from her subsequent position as a police psychologist.
In corporate training, she focuses on working with emotions, personal development and identifying employees’ potential, mental hygiene, crisis communication, and handling emergency situations.
She applies her experience from training in psychoanalytic group psychotherapy not only in her own psychological counselling practice, but also in her work as a trainer.
Business Lunch
Part C
- Dana Hrdinová, Head of Procurement Department, Skanska
- Petr Chvojka, Head of Procurement, Penny Market
- Miroslav Picek, Head of Procurement CZ&SK, Pivovary Staropramen
- Olga Ruttnerová, Director; Procurement, Logistics & Real Estate, O2 Czech Republic
- David Voják, Global Purchasing Director Direct Materials, Marelli Lighting
Cocktail & Networking
The organizer reserves the right to make changes to the program.