Renee Williams, Senior Manager of Indirect Sourcing at Newell Brands, shares how a portfolio of iconic household names, from Rubbermaid and Mr. Coffee to Sharpie and Yankee Candle, is embracing AI to accelerate sourcing and innovation across the enterprise.
Renee emphasizes a core belief: AI is no longer the future, it’s the present, and companies must actively lean in rather than wait. She explains why early and wide-scale adoption is essential, noting that AI evolves faster and performs better when guided by human intelligence and involvement.
She also offers an inside look at Newell’s broader innovation journey. With new front-end innovation initiatives and dedicated teams being built, the company is creating space to explore emerging technologies.
Remarkably, within her first two months at Newell, Renee was able to deploy AI agents inside the procurement team, showing how accessible and impactful generative and agentic AI have already become in day-to-day operations.
You will learn:
- Why Newell sees AI adoption as urgent and essential
- How human intelligence accelerates AI effectiveness
- What enterprise-wide innovation efforts look like inside a major consumer brand
- How quickly AI agents can be implemented in a sourcing organization
- Why procurement teams should experiment early, not wait
This interview offers a compelling perspective for any organization ready to fast-track innovation and put AI to work today.
