Marika Lindstrom is currently the Head of Indirect Materials and Services Procurement at Philip Morris. She has 25 years of procurement and supply chain experience in consumer electronics and FMCGs with companies such as Unilever and Nokia. She’s very passionate about sustainability and driving procurement integration with businesses to deliver growth, value, and innovation.
Listen to the full discussion here:
Connect with the Guest:
Marika Lindstrom: LinkedIn
Some of the highlights from the podcast:
- Marika’s international career journey in supply chain
- A balance between managing people and achieving KPIs
- Some challenging and rewarding moments
- The future of procurement and trends- sustainability and digitization
Show notes:
- [01:22] What led you to your current position as Senior Procurement and Supply Chain Executive?
- [04:34] How do you manage to remain authentic and on the human side as a leader? And do you win the battles in big corporations?
- [05:55] How do you balance it out? Managing people, supporting them, and then still getting the KPI achieved?
- [06:37] Do the concepts you have in terms of leadership, apply in different cultures that you work with? Or do you have to adapt?
- [07:28] What have been some of the most challenging moments you’ve faced? How did you navigate those challenges? And what are the key lessons learned?
- [09:10] How do you turn procurement from being the bad guys to the good guys and being resilient in managing frustrations?
- [10:24] What would be some of the most rewarding moments for you and how have these experiences shaped your perspective in procurement?
- [12:44] How do you get to know your supplier well enough to become a great business partner, on the human side?
- [14:46] Can you share some of the latest trends and innovations in procurement? What is the future of procurement?
- [16:36] What are the emerging trends of technology that will impact the future of procurement? How can young professionals prepare themselves to adapt to these AI trends in procurement?
- [18:19] What do you think about sustainability? Is PMI doing something within it?
- [19:54] What qualities or mindset and skills are you looking for in a procurement professional when hiring?
- [21:03] What advice would you offer to young professionals who want to make a positive impact within the company or the industry as a whole? Are there any career development strategies and approach you would like to recommend?
Quotes from the Episode:
About the Host:
The host, Fei Yu has over 15+ years of experience in Executive Search and Talent Acquisition & Management, gained from top-tier consultancy and premium executive search firms. She is an advocate of cross-cultural networking and has successfully organized and moderated public events.
Alcott Global connects and upgrades the supply chain ecosystem by finding the right talent through executive search, developing talent through learning solutions, and meeting supply chain technology needs through a comprehensive crunch base marketplace.
The supply chain executive search has been our focus since the very beginning, offering recruitment services for top-tier supply chain roles at every level of the end-to-end supply chain: plan, source / procure, make, and deliver. Our consultants have years of experience in placing top talent, in North America, LATAM, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and APAC, and besides speed, one of our biggest strengths is our network within the supply chain industry, and we capitalize on it to find the best solutions.
Through the years, we have grown as an organization and our offerings with it. One of our initiatives, the learning solutions- training and supply chain academy, is focused on transforming leadership- self-leadership, executive presence, influence capital, and business acumen. Through Supplify, we aim to match corporations with the top technology companies to solve their supply chain and logistics challenges with a focus on innovation and digital transformation.
We are in constant touch with the leaders in supply chain, inviting them to inspire the supply chain professionals in thought-provoking podcast episodes and events, and showcasing what is possible at the yearly Leaders in Supply Chain Awards.
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#155: The Origin of “Supply Chain” and Supercharging the SCM of the Future
