The executive talent behind stronger European supply chains

Across Europe, the discussion in 2026 is shifting from responding to disruption towards a longer-term question: what kind of procurement and supply chain leadership do organisations need in a more fragmented and less predictable operating environment? 

European industrial policy is reinforcing that shift. Measures including the Critical Raw Materials Act, the RESourceEU Action Plan and the Industrial Accelerator Act all point towards reducing strategic dependencies and strengthening European production. 

For both consumer and industrial organisations, policy is only part of the issue. They also need leaders with the experience and judgement to turn greater supply security into decisions that work commercially. 

The executive brief is becoming broader 

The remit of a senior procurement or supply chain executive has changed considerably. Cost, service and working capital remain central measures of performance, but leaders are now expected to understand exposure across the wider supply base, including: 

• Supplier concentration 
• Geopolitical risk 
• Manufacturing capability 
• Regulatory change 
• The commercial consequences of moving or duplicating supply 

A Chief Procurement Officer may need to advise the board on where the organisation can tolerate dependency, where additional sources are necessary and when paying more for resilience is justified. A Chief Supply Chain Officer may have to rethink a network that has been optimised over many years without introducing unnecessary cost or complexity. 

These decisions extend well beyond the function itself, as they require leaders who can move between operational detail and board-level discussion – particularly when the available options involve difficult trade-offs rather than an obvious answer. 

This is increasingly relevant when organisations assess senior and executive-level talent. 

Previous experience matters, but context matters more 

Organisations often respond to uncertainty by narrowing their hiring criteria. Boards may look for executives who have worked in the same sector, managed the same categories and operated in the same markets. 

Whilst there is good reason for this where technical knowledge matters, an overly narrow brief can exclude candidates whose experience is highly relevant to the problem the business is trying to solve. 

If the priority is to reduce dependency on a small number of suppliers, for example, an executive who has previously built alternative sources of supply may be more valuable than someone with an exact sector match whose career has largely been spent managing stable supplier networks. 

The same applies to regionalisation. Building a European supplier base calls for different experience from managing an established one. It may require supplier development, capacity building, close work with engineering and quality teams, and difficult decisions about the balance between cost and security. 

Executive-level searches therefore need to look closely at what an individual has actually delivered, rather than focusing too heavily on job titles or sector labels. 

Strengthening the leadership pipeline 

The same pressures should also shape succession planning. As the procurement and supply chain remit broadens, organisations need a clearer view of whether their future leadership pipeline reflects the capabilities the role is likely to require. 

That means looking beyond current performance or readiness for promotion. Potential successors may need broader exposure to regional complexity, board-level decision-making, major sourcing shifts and network redesign before they are ready to step into a CPO or CSCO role. 

Talent mapping can add useful external context to that assessment. By comparing succession candidates against the wider market, organisations can see where their internal pipeline is strong, where particular experiences are missing and how their future leaders compare with executives already operating at the next level. 

It can also help leadership teams identify likely gaps earlier, giving them more time to build relevant experience internally and decide where external hiring may eventually be needed. 

A different environment requires a different leadership assessment 

Europe’s focus on supply security will continue to shape sourcing and manufacturing decisions across consumer and industrial businesses, as well as changing what organisations need from senior procurement and supply chain leaders. 

Whilst functional credibility remains essential, so does the judgement to make decisions where cost, resilience, regulation and operational practicality pull in different directions. 

For organisations hiring at this level, defining the experience needed for the next phase of the business is likely to be more useful than searching for a familiar career history. 

Proco Group works with organisations across EMEA to map and secure senior procurement and supply chain talent across consumer and industrial markets. To discuss executive hiring, succession planning or the availability of talent in your market, please get in touch.