Procurement is at the crossroads of revolution and possibility. It is no longer confined to the back-office warehouse; now, it drives organizational direction, generates value, and facilitates innovation. Behind this revolution is a transformational forerunner whose vision and passion broadened the horizon of the profession. He is none other than Zyad Khan, a CIPS Fellow committed to uphold highest standards of ethics and professional conduct.
A New Era for Procurement Leadership
The procurement world has been rocked by a seismic change of direction, from being an in-transit back-office transactional role to one that is a core business strategy and growth enabler. To guide this transformation is leadership that values the science of procurement as much as it values vision and depth so it can take its role in business value to new heights. Zyad Khan is among such distinguished names. His professional life is an epitome of best practices of professionalism, strategic thinking, and relentless commitment to value creation.
Early Foundations: Tactical Beginnings to Strategic Vision
Zyad Khan began his procurement career over two decades back when the procurement function de facto was nothing but a tactical necessity—largely responsible for segregation of duties and compliance. Procurement back then was more administrative in scope with very little leeway for strategic contribution.
The entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm of Zyad Khan, however, led him to the spotlight. He understood that the potential of procurement was much more than transactional greatness.
With the hopefulness of simplifying supply chain complexity, Zyad Khan created a philosophy that included category strategy, risk management, and simplicity of wedded workflows and contracts. This allowed him to combine procurement’s heritage colored role with its new strategic role. The operating mantra that had been his guide in his early years—”You Only Get What You Set”—came to form the basis of his working mantra, with the result of bringing deliberate category configurations and workflows for sustainable value to the end user.
Enabling the Procurement Evolution
The past decade, and especially in the post-COVID-19 world, procurement has never been so valued and in the limelight. Zyad Khan has led the way in the forefront, not as a stronger advocate of procurement, but as a strategic enabler and business partner. Having in-depth experience across multiple organizations and geography, he has a keen sense of changing expectations of procurement professionals.
No longer merely a compliance role, procurement is now a front-line force for transformation—capable of treading the tricky commercial landscape, reducing risk, and even generating profits.
This aspiration has inspired Zyad’s own transformation as he has been the trailblazer for promoting procurement as a primary business imperative and demonstrated that it can create bottom-line performance.
Shaping Perceptions: From Cost Center to Value Creator
Procurement has long struggled with having to live up to reputations as a “thankless” career—something that can be criticized when something goes terribly wrong, but which will never be given credit for success. Zyad Khan has spent many decades working to fight and turn back that reputation. “Value created through procurement must be noticed, blessed, and stitched into the broader organizational fabric,” he contends.
To do this, Zyad Khan has promoted more communication and transparency by having chief procurement officers share their success in newsletters, websites, and stakeholder forums.
By promoting the value add of procurement, not only did he raise the profile of the department but also challenged team members to go big—to turn procurement professionals into business leaders.
Building a Culture of Collaboration and Continuous Learning
The essence of Zyad’s leadership philosophy is that procurement excellence is based on partnership, not communication. He has also always been a strong believer in team, cross-functional alignment, and the elimination of bureaucratic silos that kill creativity.
In Zyad’s thinking, forward movement takes place when individuals tap into their own potential and work collaboratively toward a common purpose.
Steeling himself against the tide of hiring new professionals to the field, Zyad Khan has also been a strong advocate for career tracks and establishing procurement as a thinking man’s career fast track.
He urges young professionals to take up selling skills, how to influence, and unlock the valuable wealth that procurement has in store for them.
He believes the greatest strength of the profession lies in having the capability to innovate, respond, and deliver value in a fast-evolving, quick-moving business environment.
Read More: Visionary at the Crossroads: Zeljka Vorih Davis and the Future of Sustainable Business
