MAIN STAGE 

Welcome – Stuart Gold, SVP Marketing
Arkestro Stuart Gold opens the Optimal with a warm welcome, setting the stage for a day of insights, innovation, and collaboration. He will highlight Arkestro’s vision for transforming procurement, provide an overview of the day’s agenda, and share key themes that attendees can expect to explore, including predictive procurement, operational efficiency, and driving measurable business impact.

Keynote: Arkestro Vision – Rob DeSantis, CEO and Co-Founder
Arkestro Rob DeSantis shares Arkestro’s bold vision for the future of procurement, exploring how organizations can achieve transformative results at scale. Attendees will learn how predictive procurement drives faster time-to-value, unlocks enterprise-wide efficiencies, and empowers teams to turn traditional cost centers into engines of growth. This keynote highlights the strategies and innovations enabling businesses to accelerate transformation across complex, global supply chains.

Industry Keynote: Nissan – Mark Kaczynski, CFO, Nissan Americas & SVP of Information Technology for Nissan Americas
Mark Kaczynski shares how, as CFO, he led Nissan’s “Drive to Savings” transformation, using AI and innovative procurement strategies to deliver rapid, scalable cost savings. Hear how he empowered teams to transform supplier strategies, renegotiate contracts, and achieve millions in savings within 60 days—driving enterprise-wide transformation and lasting organizational impact.

Industry Keynote: KES – Mike Novello, VP of Global Supply Chain
Mike Novello shares how KES overcame the challenge of identifying out-of-line pricing with limited time and resources. By leveraging Arkestro, the team was able to quickly gather and compare quotes without slowing down operations, driving measurable impact. As a result, KES exceeded its savings target five months ahead of schedule while gaining greater control over material costs.

The Pulse of Global Leadership
Join William Seagrave and Joshua Flowers for a fireside chat on adopting AI-driven procurement solutions in supply chain management. Joshua shares insights on technology adoption, change management, and leveraging Arkestro to drive cost and time efficiencies, enabling meaningful business process transformation.

Break in the Optimal Partner Pavilion

Future Forward Executive Visions Panel – Moderated by Stuart Gold Arkestro

Join us for a powerful and thought-provoking executive panel featuring top C-level leaders from across industries as they share their perspectives on the future of business, technology, and leadership in a rapidly evolving global landscape. Moderated by industry veteran Stuart Gold, this session will explore strategic priorities, innovation, supply chain transformation, and the evolving roles of procurement and finance in driving enterprise agility and long-term value creation.

The Global Financial Impact Panel
In an environment of persistent margin pressure and supply chain volatility (especially the ever changing environment on tariffs) CFOs are turning to predictive procurement as a transformative lever for cost savings, efficiency, and growth. This panel brings together financial leaders from global enterprises to explore how AI-driven procurement strategies are unlocking value beyond traditional methods. Hear firsthand how Predictive Procurement at Scale is driving measurable ROI, faster time to value, and enterprise-wide transformation.

Keynote: Arkestro Strategy – Edmund Zagorin, CSO and Co-Founder
Join Edmund Zagorin, CSO and Co-Founder of Arkestro, for an insightful keynote on the strategic vision driving the future of procurement. Edmund will share how predictive procurement and AI-driven solutions are transforming traditional supply chain and sourcing practices, enabling organizations to achieve faster time-to-value, measurable ROI, and enterprise-wide efficiency. Attendees will gain a forward-looking perspective on industry trends, innovation, and the practical steps Arkestro is taking to empower companies to turn procurement into a strategic advantage.

Arkestro in Action – Ben Leiken, CTO; Bob Van Leeuwen, VP
Product Management Optimal 2025 Demo: From Reactive to Predictive
– The Industrial AI Procurement Revolution

Join Arkestro’s technology leaders for a main stage demo showcasing how Predictive Procurement is transforming procurement. Discover how Arkestro empowers category managers to become predictive, turning manual processes into intelligent, superhuman workflows. The demo highlights intelligent document processing, total cost quoting, supplier experience innovations, AI-driven opportunity discovery, and a sneak peek into Arkestro Labs research & developent—moving procurement from reactive to predictive.

Welcome Back– Stuart Gold

Arkestro’s Stuart Gold kicks off day two of Optimal with a warm welcome back, reflecting on the highlights and key takeaways from day one. He’ll set the tone for another day of forward-thinking discussions and collaborative learning—focusing on how predictive procurement continues to shape the future of strategic sourcing. Attendees can expect fresh insights, actionable frameworks, and inspiring conversations that build on the momentum of the conference’s opening sessions.

Panel: Arkestro Across the Industries- Moderated by Greg Cruz

Discover how industry leaders are driving adoption and transforming procurement with Arkestro amid the challenges of 2025. Hear from Jim Cuff (Crown, Cork & Seal), Matt Saunders (NextDecade), and Nitin Krishnakumar (JLL) as they share how their teams are embracing predictive procurement to overcome volatility, accelerate savings, boost efficiency, and scale impact across manufacturing, energy, and real estate.

"Fast Time To Value - Getting Started With Arkestro" Greg Cruz, Chief Customer Officer, Bob Van Leeuwen, VP Product Management

Building on the keynote, this session takes a deeper look at Arkestro’s product vision to transform episodic sourcing into a continuous, value-generating process. We’ll showcase upcoming functionality that enables this transformation, all designed to enhance the experience for both procurement and supplier users. Join us to explore how Arkestro is equipping teams to scale smarter, faster, and more collaboratively.

Panel: "Thoughtleadership Panel" "Scott (Gap Partnership), Kate (Hackett), Kevin Farjallah (PlugnPlay) Thomas Maher, former SVP Dell, Director of ASU's Supply Chain Executive Consortium (SCEC)"

As artificial intelligence, advanced negotiation strategies, shifting trade policies, rising tariffs, and financial pressures reshape the global landscape, the role of the Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) has never been more complex—or more critical. This thought leadership panel brings together leading voices from industry and academia to explore how AI, predictive insights, data-driven negotiation, and financial considerations are transforming procurement, decision-making, and enterprise strategy. Featuring Scott Chepow (The Gap Partnership), Kate Denissova (The Hackett Group), Kevin Farjallah (Plug and Play), and Thomas Maher, former SVP at Dell and Director of ASU’s Supply Chain Executive Consortium, the discussion will uncover how leaders are rethinking procurement strategies, negotiation frameworks, supplier relationships, financial planning, and risk management in a volatile global environment.

“The Future at Scale: Transforming Enterprise Growth in the Age of AI”

As AI accelerates business transformation, scaling impact requires more than technology, it requires vision. Rob DeSantis and Jeff Immelt share candid insights on how organizations can embrace the future by rethinking traditional structures, leadership models, and the role of data in decision-making. From the factory floor to the boardroom, they’ll discuss how leaders can drive enterprise-wide transformation that not only adapts to change but defines it. Expect a conversation that bridges innovation with execution, and strategy with scale.

Closing Keynote: Rob DeSantis

In a world where time and scale define success, Rob DeSantis explores how organizations can accelerate transformation, scale effectively, and lead with impact. Drawing on his experience driving growth and innovation, Rob will share actionable insights on leveraging emerging technologies, fostering leadership agility, and executing strategies that deliver measurable results. Attendees will leave inspired and equipped to step up, get in the game, and shape the future of their organizations in 2025 and beyond.