In this episode, Ahmed Rafaat, Head of Procurement and Supply Chain at ARM Holding in Dubai, joins us for a conversation that’ll change how you think about procurement’s role in the C-suite.
With experience spanning real estate, urban development, hospitality, and more, Ahmed brings real stories from the trenches, not theory, but what actually worked when he walked into boardrooms where procurement was just “the savings department.”
You know that frustrating moment when the board agenda hits procurement and everyone’s eyes glaze over? Ahmed’s been there. He shares how he flipped the script from “how much did we save this quarter?” to “here’s how we just cut construction timelines by months and supercharged your cash flow.”
Spoiler: the board started paying attention real fast.
Here’s something you don’t hear every day: Ahmed’s team once tested three major procurement software platforms, found issues with all of them, and made the gutsy call to build their own custom ERP from scratch. Three years, one IT specialist, and a cross-functional dream team later? They had a system that actually fit how they work, not the other way around.
The insights he shares about why most digital transformations fail will hit home if you’ve ever tried forcing your processes into someone else’s box.
But what really stands out is Ahmed’s take on people over platforms.
He’s got this formula: People + Process + Platform = Innovation.
And he means it. He talks about how sending team members to conferences and training turned one of his colleagues from someone doing repetitive daily tasks into someone who came back saying, “I have an idea to automate this.”
That’s the kind of culture shift that actually moves the needle.
The conversation gets into the nitty-gritty of speaking CFO language versus CEO language (hint: they want completely different things from you), and why ESG isn’t just compliance theatre when you do it right.
Ahmed’s bold prediction that by 2027, procurement won’t even be measured on cost savings anymore, it’ll be about resilience, innovation, and how much revenue you protected when supply chains went sideways.
Watch the full episode to hear Ahmed’s story about pioneering a sustainable timber initiative in 2018 that later became a mandatory industry regulation, his pandemic survival playbook, and his advice for new CPOs who want to avoid the firefighter trap.
Trust us, this one’s packed with the kind of practical wisdom you can actually use on Monday morning.
