THE AGENDA
Two days. Main stage, workshops,
and real conversations.
Arrival Day
Travel to Dublin and join us for an evening welcome reception
✦ Evening Welcome
5:00pm
Welcome Reception
Kick off Keelvar Konnect the right way. Join fellow speakers, sponsors, and early arrivals for an evening of welcome drinks, great conversation, and a taste of Dublin. No agenda, just a relaxed start to what promises to be a memorable few days.
Main Stage — Cusack Suite, Croke Park
A single-track day of keynotes, expert panels, and practitioner circles
8:30 AM
Registration & Morning Coffee · 30 min
9:00 AM
OPENING
Opening Remarks
Welcome to Keelvar Konnect Dublin 2026. Setting the stage for two days of insight, connection, and the future of sourcing.
20 min
9:20 AM
KEYNOTE
The Future of Procurement: Digital Disruption and What Comes Next
A thought-provoking look at the forces reshaping procurement: from AI-driven decision-making to the evolving role of sourcing leaders. Dr. Epstein draws on her work advising global enterprises to map what the next five years hold for the profession.
45 min
10:05 AM
EXPERT PANEL
Journey to Autonomous Sourcing
What does it actually take to scale sourcing automation from pilot to enterprise-wide? Hear from practitioners who've done it: the wins, the resistance, and the operational reality of moving from manual to autonomous.
DA
Dylan Alperin
Chief Customer Officer, Keelvar · Moderator
RB
Ryan Brincefield
Director of Engineering, DSV
AC
Adrienne Cole
Fractional CPO, Excellence in Procurement
NB
Nico Bac
Founder, Digital Procurement Now
45 min · Panel + Q&A
10:50 AM
Coffee & Networking · 30 min
11:20 AM
PRODUCT
Product Roadmap & Innovation
A first look at what's recently released and coming up from Keelvar, including agentic sourcing, AI agents for bidding and more. See how new capabilities are built to solve the problems sourcing teams face every day, and where the platform is headed.
45 min
12:05 PM
TALK
The ROI Framework: Building the Business Case for Sourcing Optimization
How do you prove the value of sourcing technology to a skeptical CFO? A practical framework for measuring and communicating ROI, from hard savings to speed gains to strategic influence, with concrete examples you can take back to your organization.
30 min
12:35 PM
Networking Lunch · 60 min
1:35 PM
FIRESIDE CHAT
Leadership and Transformation in Procurement
An intimate, unscripted conversation between Keelvar CEO Alan Holland and a senior procurement executive on what it really means to lead transformation: the politics, the patience, and the payoff.
Guest speaker to be announced.
Guest speaker to be announced.
30 min
2:05 PM
PRACTITIONER CIRCLES
Roundtable Discussions
Small-group, facilitator-led roundtables running in parallel across the room. Join a candid peer conversation with fellow sourcing practitioners on the topics that matter most to you. Topics include design-to-cost and procurement transformation, e-auctions and sourcing optimization, AI adoption and change management, building the CFO business case, scaling autonomous sourcing, supplier engagement strategies, data quality and analytics, bid automation in practice, and more.
Facilitators to be announced.
Facilitators to be announced.
›
Design-to-Cost & Procurement Transformation
›
E-Auctions & Sourcing Optimisation
›
AI Adoption & Change Management
›
Building the CFO Business Case
›
Scaling Autonomous Sourcing
›
Supplier Engagement Strategies
›
Data Quality & Analytics
›
Bid Automation in Practice
›
Category Strategy & Complexity
›
Integration & End-to-End Workflows
60 min · ~10 parallel tables
3:05 PM
Short Break · 15 min
3:20 PM
EXPERT PANEL
Vision to Value: Transformation Journeys That Delivered
How do organizations move from a bold sourcing vision to measurable outcomes? Hear from procurement leaders who've driven transformation programs from start to finish: what worked, what surprised them, and what they'd do differently.
TB
Toby Burton
VP Business Value Consulting, Keelvar · Moderator
TH
Tom Hogan
Global Logistics Category Manager Air & Ocean, Eaton
MM
Mike Meier
VP Americas, DSV
MM
Kaisa Pietrucka-van Rijnberk
Head of S2C, FrieslandCampina
MM
Jacob Gorm Larsen
Founder, Moneyball CPH
45 min · Panel + Q&A
4:30 PM
CLOSING
Day 1 Close
Key takeaways from the day and a preview of tomorrow's workshops and deep-dive tracks.
15 min
✦ Evening Programme
4:45 PM
Private Croke Park Stadium Tour
A guided behind-the-scenes tour of one of Europe's most iconic stadiums, home to the GAA and 82,300 fans on match day.
5:15 PM
Cocktail Reception & Evening Entertainment
Premium networking over drinks and canapés with live Irish music. The best conversations at Konnect happen here.
Workshops, Tracks & Deep Dives
Multi-track: choose the sessions that matter most to you
8:30 AM
Registration & Morning Coffee · 30 min
9:00 AM
Welcome
Welcome and Overview
A quick orientation to the day ahead: how to navigate the tracks, workshops, and partner sessions to get the most from Day 2.
15 min
9:15 AM
Strategy & Demo
Agentic Sourcing Explained: From Strategy to Practice
What are AI agents and what do they mean for sourcing? A combined session covering the strategic case (ROI, use cases, where agents outperform rules) followed by a live demonstration of bidding agents in action.
NF
Natalia Figueira
Solution Consulting Manager, Keelvar
SO
Shane O'Sullivan
Senior Product Manager, Keelvar
60 min
10:30 AM
Coffee & Networking · 15 min
Choose your Track
10:45 AM
Track 1 · Users
Deep Enablement: Hands-On Training & Interactive Demos
Built for sourcing managers and power users. Get hands-on with advanced platform capabilities through interactive demos with live data. Leave with practical take-aways you can apply immediately.
PD
Paul Dreano
Global Head of Professional Services, Keelvar
SO
Shane O'Sullivan
Senior Product Manager, Keelvar
60 min
10:45 AM
Track 2 · Stakeholders
The Future of Procurement Strategy
Designed for VPs and CPOs. Senior strategy sessions on the evolving role of procurement: how to build strategic influence, drive digital adoption from the top, and position procurement as a value creator.
TB
Toby Burton
VP Business Value Consulting, Keelvar
JB
James Belshaw
Former Procurement Performance Lead, Primark
JB
Sarah van Ameln
Head of Process Ownership & Adoption in Digital Procurement, Henkle
60 min
11:45 AM
Partner Session
Design Lab: From Signal to Sourcing Lane
See how ORO and Keelvar connect: from capturing business intent at intake to mapping categories into sourcing lanes and delivering optimization outcomes. An interactive case study you can apply to your own intake-to-award workflow.
45 min
12:30 PM
Networking Lunch · 60 min
Afternoon Workshops
1:30 PM
Workshop
Battle of the Bidders
A gamified, competitive bidding simulation. Step into the shoes of both buyer and supplier to experience optimization and bid behavior in real time. One of Konnect's most talked-about sessions. Come ready to compete.
45 min
1:30 PM
Workshop
Bid Automation: From Setup to Scale
A practical, implementation-focused workshop. Learn how to configure bid automation end-to-end, from supplier setup to evaluation logic, with best practices from teams already running it at scale.
45 min
1:30 PM
Drop-In
Product Drop-in Zone
Walk-in access to Keelvar product experts. Bring your questions on Scenarios, Analytics, API integrations, or anything else. No appointment needed, just show up.
45 min
Choose your Session
2:15 PM
Partner Session
Market-Backed Negotiation in Ocean Freight with Newport and Xeneta
Customer-led case study on NewPort's first integrated ocean freight sourcing event using Keelvar and Xeneta. Walk-through of the before/after: cleaning up container-type mapping against Xeneta benchmarks, setting market-anchored target pricing, and using external benchmarks to drive carrier feedback in negotiation. Covers the practical "sweet spot" of feedback aggression: too hard and carriers stop bidding, too soft and money is left on the table. Format: interview-style conversation rather than presentation, with Keelvar and Xeneta co-narrating alongside the NewPort team.
MH
Paul Dreano
Global Head of Professional Services, Keelvar
MH
Mart Hönen
Global Procurement Manager Ocean Freight &
Procurement Analytics, Newport Tank
Procurement Analytics, Newport Tank
ND
Nancy Douma
Regional Oceanfreight Manager
ND
Pedro Gorostiaga
CSM, Xeneta
45 min
2:15 PM
Session
Customer Case Study
Details to be announced.
45 min
3:30 PM
Break & Transition to Main Stage · 15 min
3:45 PM
Closing
The Vision Forward
Key takeaways from two days of Konnect, a look at what's ahead for the Keelvar community, and next steps for autonomous sourcing.
15 min
Meet our speakers
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SPEAKERS
Learn from those who've done it.
EE
Dr. Elouise Epstein
Partner & Digital Futurist
Kearney
NB
Nico Bac
Partner & Digital Futurist
Digital Procurement Now
AC
Adrienne Cole
Fractional CPO
Excellence in Procurement
NB
Jacob Gorm Larsen
Founder
Moneyball CPH
TH
Tom Hogan
Global Logistics Category Manager Air & Ocean
Eaton
RB
Ryan Brincefield
Director of Engineering
DSV
MM
Mike Meier
VP Americas
DSV
Keelvar
AH
Alan Holland
CEO & Founder
Keelvar
DD
Dave Devlin
Chief Architect
Keelvar
TB
Toby Burton
VP Business Value Consulting
Keelvar
The Venue: Croke Park
A premier venue offering breathtaking city and pitch views, Croke Park is steeped in Irish history. As the HQ of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is the hallowed home to Ireland's national sport, with Ireland also being the national home of Keelvar.
Nearest Airport: Dublin Airport
Trains: LUAS, Dart or Irish Rail
Car: Ample parking at the venue
Check out our last Keelvar Konnect
Testimonial
"Some of the main benefits and value I found from the event is the energy that is around it and seeing how other people are using Keelvar. The connections are phenomenal."
- Sheila Lopez, Sr. Manager Sourcing Analytics, Stanley Black & Decker
