Zycus PLAN

As the founder and CEO of Zycus, Aatish defines the vision and roadmap of all technology and innovation at Zycus. Aatish Dedhia started Zycus in 1998 with a vision to leverage technology to solve business problems.

He harnessed the power of Artificial Intelligence technology for practical business purposes to create a powerful suite of solutions for the fields of procurement and finance. Under his dynamic leadership, Zycus has emerged as the industry leader in its business space. He has been responsible for the company's success in the fiercely competitive international market.

His astuteness and strategy has been the pillar of Zycus' success. Prior to Zycus, Aatish enjoyed a flourishing career at Intel Corporation in the United States and was part of the core design team on the Pentium-II processor.

At Intel, Aatish also introduced Internet and Intranet technologies within the Pentium-II group for improving group work and knowledge management. Aatish is a widely known professional in the IT industry and has been invited as a speaker at several international forums.

He has a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India and a Master of Science (MS) in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, U.S.

In his role as senior analyst, Jeffrey Rajamani helps tech executives create sustainable sourcing strategies, nurture better supplier relationships, and get better outcomes from their strategic investments in tech services. His research builds on over 25 years of practical experience in managing strategic sourcing and provider relationships with leading firms. Jeffrey joined Forrester in September 2021 and is based in Frankfurt, Germany.

Previous Work Experience
Throughout his professional career, Jeffrey’s remit has spanned several roles, including IT procurement and sourcing, process transformation, outsourcing, global account management, and channel sales, amongst others. Prior to joining Forrester, Jeffrey was the global strategic IT vendor manager for Deutsche Börse AG in Frankfurt. His role at the German Stock Exchange was to nurture strong strategic vendor partnerships with a focus on business outcomes and adopting new, value-based pricing strategies. Previously, he was an industry practitioner in the tech services world, working in client-facing management positions with leading firms such Accenture, Avanade, Tech Mahindra, and Dell. He is a deep domain expert in tech services and outsourcing trends, as well as the underlying market dynamics.

Education
Jeffrey holds an MBA degree from the Bharathidasan University and received his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Bharathiar University, India.

Patrick Reymann is the IDC Research Director for Procurement and Enterprise Applications responsible for the worldwide procurement applications market. His core research coverage includes the worldwide research of procure to pay, sourcing, buy-side contract management, spend analysis, supplier relationship management and spend orchestration. He is focused on procurement digital transformation use cases, the procurement buyer’s journey, innovative workflows, and the issues faced with technology selection, implementation and usage as organizations add or integrate with other solutions.

Prior to joining IDC, Patrick worked as a sourcing and procurement consultant for over 20 years, supporting clients in the areas of M&A due diligence, procurement transformation, cost take out and technology implementations. Patrick holds a Coupa Platform Certification.

John has over 20 years of experience in Finance and Health Insurance. He is currently the Senior Director of Budget (FP&A) and Procurement at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA). He is responsible for helping BCBSMA create and execute an administrative budget of over $1.3bn+ which includes 15 business units and over 4000 FTEs. He also leads a team of 15 procurement professionals who help Blue Cross execute 1,200 deals annually with over 700 vendors totaling $400M in cash spend.

Mr. Sawchuk is a Principal, Global Practice Leader and leadership team member with The Hackett Group, an intellectual property-based strategic consultancy to global companies.
He has over 20 years of experience successfully advising hundreds of Fortune 500 as well as midsized companies across all industries globally. Mr. Sawchuk has provided operational and transformational guidance in strategy and organizational change as well as process design and digital technology enablement to significantly improve the supply management capabilities of these companies.

He is globally recognized in his specialty of supply management including strategic sourcing and supply risk management. He is cited regularly in business publications, a frequent presenter at industry events, author of numerous research papers, and a current and past member of the advisory boards of several developing companies.

Mr. Sawchuk’s background includes engineering, operations and sales roles with both United Technologies and IBM. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Union College and a Masters in Business Administration from Binghamton University (State University of New York). He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of South Florida.

Patrick Reymann is the IDC Research Director for Procurement and Enterprise Applications responsible for the worldwide procurement applications market. His core research coverage includes the worldwide research of procure to pay, sourcing, buy-side contract management, spend analysis, supplier relationship management and spend orchestration. He is focused on procurement digital transformation use cases, the procurement buyer’s journey, innovative workflows, and the issues faced with technology selection, implementation and usage as organizations add or integrate with other solutions.

Prior to joining IDC, Patrick worked as a sourcing and procurement consultant for over 20 years, supporting clients in the areas of M&A due diligence, procurement transformation, cost take out and technology implementations. Patrick holds a Coupa Platform Certification.

John Lombard is a seasoned financial services professional with over two decades of progressive experience spanning finance, strategy, and operations. As Senior Director of Budget (FP&A) & Procurement at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, he leads enterprise-wide budgeting and procurement functions, driving financial efficiency and strategic alignment across the organization.

Throughout his career, John has built extensive expertise in budgeting, procurement, financial operations, and accounting. He is widely regarded for his data-driven presentations and executive-level recommendations that shape organizational decision-making. Known for his strong analytical acumen and collaborative leadership style, John combines technical depth with strategic insight, enabling success in areas ranging from data analysis to high-stakes negotiations.

Mr. Sawchuk is a Principal, Global Practice Leader and leadership team member with The Hackett Group, an intellectual property-based strategic consultancy to global companies.

He has over 20 years of experience successfully advising hundreds of Fortune 500 as well as midsized companies across all industries globally. Mr. Sawchuk has provided operational and transformational guidance in strategy and organizational change as well as process design and digital technology enablement to significantly improve the supply management capabilities of these companies.

He is globally recognized in his specialty of supply management including strategic sourcing and supply risk management. He is cited regularly in business publications, a frequent presenter at industry events, author of numerous research papers, and a current and past member of the advisory boards of several developing companies.

Mr. Sawchuk’s background includes engineering, operations and sales roles with both United Technologies and IBM. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Union College and a Masters in Business Administration from Binghamton University (State University of New York). He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of South Florida.

Sam is a senior executive with extensive experience across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa. He has held senior roles for organisations such as Land Securities in the UK, Abu Dhabi Municipality in the Middle East and MTN across Africa. He also holds various non executive board director roles, for entities such as the British Business Group (Dubai).

An active member of the procurement and supply chain fraternity and a LinkedIn© Top Voice, Sam is currently Regional Director of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) for the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pac Region.

He holds a Masters Degree in International Procurement from the University of Glamorgan in the UK, MSc in Facilities Management from the University of Westminster (UK) and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply. He is also an alumnus of the Oxford University Business School.

Sam is a regular speaker at industry events and an advocate for professional standards in supply chain, innovation, strategy and sustainable business practices.

David Everett has spent most of his Career in Indirect Procurement, working in businesses such as BAE Systems, Harley-Davidson, Honda and now Tate & Lyle. Someone with a passion for Procurement who specialises in bringing indirect out of the transactional world and on the journey to being a business partner, engaging stakeholders with humour, understanding and joint actions to help them deliver on the company objectives.

Procurement and Supply Chain Specialist - 100+ Transformation projects and client engagements in Procurement and Supply Chain and Operations operating model design, operational strategy development, enabling procurement technology. Personally, has delivered over $5billion in cost reduction projects covering Procurement process improvement, forecasting and planning process, sourcing savings delivery, data and advanced analytics across Procurement and Supply Chain.

Omid Ghamami, MBA, CPSCM™ is the President of the Procurement & Supply Chain Management Institute (www.PSCMinstitute.com), a corporate procurement and negotiation capability building and consulting organization. He is an 18 year veteran of Intel Corporation, where he was Director of Corporate Purchasing Operations, with a $16B annual scope.

He has 30 years’ experience with many of the Fortune 500 as clients in 29 countries. He is an accomplished procurement author of 2 books and many articles in prominent journals.

Mr. Ghamami holds an MBA from the University of CA system (Class President) and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in Finance and Economics from California State University, Sacramento.

Armijn Verweij is a Partner at EY Consulting, specializing in global procurement transformation and strategy. With over two decades of experience across leading organizations like Danone, Accenture, and EY, he has driven large-scale sourcing and procurement programs for multinational clients in the retail and consumer goods sectors.

His expertise spans procurement excellence, digital procurement, supplier development, and transformation initiatives—covering categories such as raw materials, MRO, and indirect spend. Armijn is passionate about helping enterprises build intelligent, data-driven procurement functions that balance efficiency, innovation, and sustainability.

Adjunct Professor Khairul Azman is a certified procurement and supply chain professional with demonstrated success in leadership, strategic sourcing, negotiation, category management and all other areas of supply chain. With a proven ability to partner with stakeholders, foster relationship and drive changes, Khairul motivate his team to excel and achieve maximum value for stakeholders while minimizing risk and streamlining process.

Khairul have over 28 years working experiences in Purchasing and Supply chain with an impressive career growth in an establishing local and multinational company in various industries including 18 years experiences and exposure of a global and regional role. Prior to DRB-HICOM, Khairul had served well known local and multinational companies namely PROTON, Modenas, TRW Automotive, Continental, Johnson Control Automotive, Baker Hughes, Prysmian Group, and Cement Industries Malaysia. His objective is to add value and produce positive impact on overall organization performance by being the “Game Changer” to the organization and industry.

Caroline Lacocque serves as Regional Vice President, based in Amsterdam. She brings over 20 years of global experience, spearheading technology-driven innovation, business spend management, global payments, and cash management across the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Throughout her career, Caroline has held senior leadership roles at Coupa, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, KPMG, FIS and SWIFT, where she led strategic initiatives, business transformation, and technology-enabled growth on a global scale.

A Belgian national, she holds a Master’s degree in Law and combines deep international expertise with a passion for leveraging technology to transform businesses and deliver measurable impact.