Corporate Vision January 2017
50 CORPORATE VISION / January 2017 , Lula Kosanic is a truly seasoned expert in supplier management. In her current capacity, she is responsible for an annual spend of about $500MM, across about 200 suppliers, with 3,000 annual deal transactions. We spoke to her to find out more about her success. A Supplier Management Expert Over the past seven years, Lula has achieved some truly stellar results. She has delivered over $200MM in annual spend reductions, largely through leading strategic billion-dollar outsourcing deals, renegotiating price reductions through market price benchmarking, and re- structuring strategic partnerships to deliver economic value to the business. Behind this success isher practical approach to business problems, and her strength in being able to achieve results is largely because she has been able to take complex problems, simplify issues, and suggest practical recommendations. She thrives on building high performing talent with a commitment to excellence. This commitment to excellence can be seen across Lula’s career. She started her career in telecommunications at Bell Canada, holding various procurement roles and client facing deal roles. She was recruited to Bell’s largest Enterprise client, CIBC, where she took on the task to re-build an Outsourcing Governance practice in technology, and then expanded her mandate to include all suppliers. Following this, Lula took on a broader scope to rebuild the expense management practice, promoting a culture of cost avoidance. The approach behind this was to proactively catch potential errors before they are billed instead of correcting errors at some point in the future. In parallel, she has developed an Asset Management practice, with significant accomplishments in the software space, enabling a strong compliance mandate to mitigate risk. BW160044 “I don’t think we can imagine with precision what the world will be like in the next ten years, but that in itself is an exciting thought, and I look forward to being part of that journey.” In terms of her academic experience, Lula completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, graduated with an Executive MBA from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, and a CertifiedManagement Accounting (CMA, CPA) designation. She also completed her corporate director designation for non-for- profit boards. “Having exposure to a supplier organisation is beneficial to anyone’s career track in this industry,” says Lula. “You learn how service organisations operate, and what it takes to sell internally.” Alongside this experience, Lula spent several years representing the Canadian Delegation at annual Atlantic Treaty Association General Assembly meetings in Europe. She was among a small team that established the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association in Portugal in 1998, and became the first president of the Canadian Chapter. She also served on the board of the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies, led by then Chairman Hon. Hugh Segal, and worked to integrate the organisation into the Canadian International Council. In total, Lula has travelled to over 35 countries in a personal and professional capacity. Her most significant and memorable experience was working in Asia on a consulting project for a Canadian mining manufacturing company, establishing a joint venture with an Asian firm to manufacture safety equipment. Ultimately, Lula has a passion for business, and establishing strong partnerships that deliver value to all parties. She does not look at her work as hard, but a fun challenge, where there is no problem too complex that she would shy away from. One thing that has enabled success in her career is her relentless perseverance to getting the job done, always through a positive “glass is half full” approach. Her brand is built on integrity, perseverance and results. Having been recognised for her expertise in supplier management and as the most influential female Director in Canada, Lula is passionate about the opportunities over the next decade. “I don’t think we can imagine with precision what the world will be like in the next ten years, but that in itself is an exciting thought, and I look forward to being part of that journey.”
Made with FlippingBook
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY1MjM3