Host Justin Etkin and VP of Procurement Michael Shields sit down with Evan Mayer, Head of Strategic Sourcing and Indirect Procurement at Frontdoor, to talk about how procurement teams should handle the rush to adopt AI. The conversation opens with a clear tension. AI adoption is moving faster than the governance meant to control it, and companies are skipping foundational steps in the excitement to try new tools.

Evan explains why new AI tools and existing vendors rolling out AI features both deserve the same scrutiny, and how to build a fair process for evaluating spend. The group gets tactical on contract structure, dual sourcing, tiered pricing, and why locking into one provider is risky when the space changes every few months. They also cover outcome based pricing and how budget expectations will tighten in 2027. Finally, Evan shares what he looks for when hiring and how he coaches his team to use AI for efficiency without losing original thought.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:07] AI adoption outpacing governance

[05:08] Procurement as connective tissue

[07:04] Continuous sourcing replaces renewal events

[09:27] Automating low value procurement tasks

[11:29] Empowering stakeholders through smart intake

[14:34] Questions to ask new AI tools

[16:13] Legacy spend vs new spend scrutiny

[18:05] Piloting to prove Roi

[22:40] Dual sourcing and avoiding lock in

[24:08] Structuring AI contracts for flexibility

[28:01] Shift to outcome based pricing

[30:18] Budget reckoning coming in 2027

[36:02] High agency talent wins now

[39:47] Original thought vs AI regurgitation

[42:06] Coaching teams to keep their voice

Listen in for a practical look at how procurement can lead through the AI shift instead of getting swallowed by it.

Michael Shields and Justin Etkin sit down with Isa Rivera, Senior Global IT Procurement and Asset Management Manager at Coursera, to explore her unique journey from sales to becoming the first procurement hire at a major tech company. Isa shares how she built trust with engineering executives in just 3 months by providing white glove service that removed the burden of vendor management from technical teams. Her approach focuses not just on savings but on taking complete ownership of the procurement process from proof of concept to multimillion dollar contracts.

The conversation dives into practical AI applications in procurement, including how Isa partnered with an AI specialist to build contract review agents that instantly identify missing terms and commercial details. She also discusses navigating mergers and acquisitions, having been through the Sprint and T-Mobile consolidation, and now managing the integration of Coursera's recent acquisition. Isa explains how Coursera implemented innovative review committees to control AI spend and new tool purchases, creating streamlined processes that balance innovation with budget controls.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[00:52] From Sales to Procurement Journey

[01:56] Reporting to IT vs Finance

[03:55] Building Stakeholder Trust and Credibility

[05:26] White Glove Service Model

[08:51] Navigating Company Acquisitions

[11:21] M&A Best Practices and NDAs

[15:15] AI's Impact on Procurement Value

[16:53] Building Custom AI Agents

[20:05] Internal AI Training Programs

[21:00] Managing Email Overload with AI

[22:05] AI Token Costs and Budget Control

[25:47] Policy Shifts Around Software Purchases

[28:32] ROI Standards for New Technology

[29:24] Review Committee Implementation Process

A fascinating look at building procurement functions from the ground up and leveraging AI to unlock strategic value in modern tech companies.

Host Michael Shields sits down with Tropic's President and CFO Russell Lester and COO Justin Etkin to explore how finance leaders navigate budget approvals in an AI-driven world. Russell shares his evolved approach to evaluating business cases, from $50,000 software renewals to major technology investments, and reveals why he now expects AI to be embedded in every analysis that crosses his desk.

The conversation dives into the critical balance between leveraging AI-powered insights and maintaining human intuition in financial decision making. Russell explains his 5-point evaluation framework covering business alignment, benchmarking data, contract optimization, tech stack integration, and source validation. Justin adds perspective on how procurement data helps CFOs know when to push back versus when to fast-track approvals, sharing real examples of how benchmarking intelligence can save time and focus efforts where they matter most.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:33] CFO Evolution From Analyst to Decision Maker

[05:25] When to Push Back vs When to Approve

[07:31] $50K Auto-Renewal Success Story

[09:12] Marriage Lessons for CFO Decision Making

[11:14] Supplier ROI Cases vs Buyer Data Points

[12:52] Data Maturity Across Company Sizes

[15:39] What CFOs Really Look For

[17:48] AI False Positives and Bad Signals

[19:17] Know Your Source Strategy

[21:32] Authority and Credibility in AI Age

[23:09] Human Intuition vs AI Analysis

[26:41] Real-Time Pricing Change Detection

[28:21] Human on the Loop vs Human in the Loop

[30:17] Coach Dabo Swinney Trust Analogy

[33:53] Asking What's Your Intuition vs AI

Russell emphasizes that as AI becomes ubiquitous in business analysis, CFOs must increasingly ask not just for data sources but also for the human intuition layered on top of AI synthesis. This episode provides actionable insights for both finance and procurement professionals navigating the new landscape of data-driven decision making.