This week, I’m joined by my long-time sparring partner and business builder, Guy Stafford, to reflect on his 25+ years leading the wildly successful procurement firm, Proxima (acquired by Bain), and how those hard-won lessons apply to the age of AI.

Guy pulls back the curtain on Proxima’s creation, from a $35 domain name (Buy.co.uk) in the mid-90s to navigating the dot-com crash, before dissecting his philosophy on mentorship: why he works in the shadows, the power of following up, and why the best advice comes from asking, "Who's done this before?"

We then launch into a high-octane debate on the future of procurement, covering:

• The Proxima 2.0: How AI fundamentally changes the consulting model, forcing businesses to quickly automate tactical work to focus on strategic high-level interactions.

• The Black Box CPO: Why AI will make procurement about more than just savings, and how the micro-coaching capabilities of AI could offer live, tailored advice to category managers (like a fitness tracker for your professional life).

• The Race to Relevance: Guy shares a crucial warning for CPOs: the race isn't defined by industry, but by who in the organization (Finance, IT, or Procurement) effectively wields the new AI power, and what skills are needed to stay on top.