Where did the CPO go?
You didn’t realise but quietly you’ve been reporting to the CVO, but it’s Procurement’s role for the taking!
Procurement is the only function perfectly placed to evolve into the Chief Value Orchestrator (CVO). Forget the Chief Value Officer, we are the true orchestrators of value in every possible way.
While others debate titles, we’re already doing the work: weaving together commercial, supply chain, innovation, sustainability, risk, finance, and opportunity into one interconnected golden thread. That’s why the CVO is not just the future of procurement. It’s the future of enterprise leadership.
Our world doesn’t need another “elevated” Procurement Officer title. It needs a hybrid, elevated, super value igniting professional with the most powerful remit across any organisation: orchestrating value. This isn’t a rebrand. It’s an evolution. A revolution.
The CPO as a title won’t survive the next five years because it’s still tied to the stigma of procurement as a task, a role, a function. Even when we clawed into the C-suite, the badge read CPO, a role measured by savings rather than strategy. And to be honest, we were often still reporting into one of our peers, or eventually downgraded again. We had to be happy with a seat at the table, but truthfully, it was others who held more power than us. Little did they know, we had something far greater, influence. And as they say in My Big Fat Greek Wedding:
“Procurement is the neck, and we can turn the head any way we want.”
The Chief Value Orchestrator, the real deal CVO, is what comes next. And guess what? They are not just a cost cutter or a negotiator, but the ultimate enterprise value leader, optimiser and orchestrator. It is the role procurement people have been doing quietly for the last 20+ years.
Procurement and purchasing remain core, but are now elevated beyond transactions into strategic foresight and creation, powered by AI. Supply chains become resilient, adaptive networks that flex in disruption and accelerate in growth. Sustainability is no longer compliance but a source of competitive advantage. Innovation and solutions are co-designed with suppliers and start-ups to build the future before it arrives.
The Executive Spheretable™ by ThinkFreshAdvisory.com is where leaders come to learn, collaborate, innovate, grow and mature faster than any other means. The workforce is different, the landscape has changed, the ecosystem has advanced, and ThinkFresh Advisory keeps up.
Procurement empowers teams. Risk, cyber, data and information are safeguarded and protected to ensure intelligence remains secure and digital resilience is created. Commercial, cost, revenue and investment are shaped and optimised by us as CVOs to deliver enterprise wide advantage. Revenue and growth are unlocked by spotting opportunities others miss.
No other executive role carries this blend of foresight and influence. The CVO is the ignition switch of enterprise success and it is powered by procurement. Awareness of spend, of suppliers, of risk has never been enough.
“Awareness doesn’t transform an organisation. Amplitude does. And amplitude comes from visibility, foresight, and impact that cuts across silos and makes our role impossible to ignore.”
The CVO embodies this because procurement combines foresight, data, digital intelligence and human creativity in a way no other role can. We don’t just influence value. We ignite it, amplify it, and multiply it across every decision that matters. This isn’t about finally being offered a seat at the table, the CVO is the table. Every major business decision intersects here because this is where value is orchestrated.
The world has shifted. Disruptions are constant. AI is rewriting the rules. Geopolitical, environmental and social shocks are reshaping resilience. Businesses no longer compete as single entities, they compete as ecosystems. Value no longer flows in straight lines. It flows through relationships, networks, partnerships and foresight.
Procurement cannot survive as a deal desk. The CVO rises as the value architect and orchestrator of the future. Procurement has become the interconnected golden thread running across business, weaving together commercial, risk, finance, sustainability, expansion and growth. The CVO is the name that finally reflects what we already are, the true orchestrators of value.
The CVO is our role.
VASSILI WILLIAMSTE
TFA Commercial Director (Europe)
CEO eHUB Innovation
