Amanda Prochaska’s extensive career in procurement has shaped her approach to leadership and how she navigates ever-evolving market expectations
Like many procurement professionals, Amanda Prochaska fell into the industry after studying International Political Economics and French. Having worked in large corporations like Schneider Electric, Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, and American Express, Amanda often occupied a position as the youngest professional in the room, as well as the only woman.
Reflecting on her career journey, Amanda begins: “I always wanted to go into international business and came across the role of a buyer. Fortunately, I secured my first corporate role at a French headquartered business, Schneider Electric, that had a North American office close by. I then spent 16 years in procurement roles for some amazing companies and ended my corporate career at MGM Resorts International. Across all these roles, I worked on large scale transformations and earned the industry nickname of ‘Mrs Fix It.’
“I would go into organizations that needed to be transformed in some way and help them create a strategy and deploy the relevant transformation. Transformation is constantly ongoing, so I would often move on to the next opportunity once the strategy was underway and the company was reaping its benefits.”
Although Amanda enjoyed traveling between organizations, she had two young daughters and wanted a career that allowed her to be present in their childhood, which led her to establish Wonder Services. “From my corporate career, I noticed that the most successful projects or implementations had a very strong and well-deployed change management strategy,” she recalls. “I took the plunge and decided to set up my own consulting firm with a focus on change management to help companies across the globe achieve optimum results when completing these transformations.
“My goal for Wonder Services remains the same today – to ensure the success of every transformation we’re engaged with. Over five-and-a-half years, we’ve grown from just me running the entire business to a team of 37 people across the globe. I feel truly blessed to have built a career where I can be present in my daughters’ lives and now guide them through the transition from their youth into teenagers. Although we focus on procurement services, we also undertake HR and ERP deployments, as well as looking after IT departments and overseeing mergers and acquisitions.”
Changing perceptions of procurement 
Speaking about the state of the procurement sector, Amanda says: “Historically, the procurement sector has lacked the investment required to be strategically successful. In the mid-2000s, organizations began to invest in new technologies and capabilities to assess how they managed their third parties, which raised expectations of procurement departments. That’s why I’m passionate about ensuring transformations are successful; otherwise, companies won’t continue to invest in procurement strategies.
“Organizations were completely overwhelmed during the chaos of the pandemic. However, I saw awesome creativity in how people were managing operations. Although recession conversations have slowed subsequent investments, we’re now seeing an urgency behind such investment, which will continue well into 2025.
“One of the biggest industry-wide transformations is yet to come; AI will completely redefine how we think about the manual aspects of procurement processes,” she states. “People talk about AI in the future, but there are strong capabilities like reading contracts and pulling metadata that address sourcing and contract processes today.
“AI solutions can be very specific to the clients’ requirements, so my biggest advice to any company looking to implement AI is rather than approaching it as a total revolution, look at two or three aspects or processes where AI can be leveraged to enhance efficiency or accuracy. I encourage organizations to start small and see how technology can be leveraged, as opposed to thinking of AI as a complete overhaul.
“Wonder Services recently launched an AI Think Tank where around 20 different organizations come together on a regular basis to learn from one another’s project developments and governance experience,” Amanda reveals. “The next few years will see interesting developments in the realm of technology and AI. In procurement specifically, some technologies will either be vastly transformed into AI solutions, or they will cease to exist as new applications replace them.”
Community connections
As our conversation continues, we’re keen to learn about Amanda’s experiences as a woman in procurement. “I’ve been fortunate to have some amazing women leaders who have paved the way before me, including my first manager in procurement at Schneider Electric,” she says. “I advanced my career fairly quickly and was typically one of the youngest directors in the room, as well as the only woman in the room. I was always coached that I am in the room to speak up, add value, and create change, so that’s how I approached my leadership role.
“Although I have faced some adversity, I always had the confidence to provide feedback and challenge norms. However, sometimes women get labeled as aggressive when in reality we are being assertive. This stereotype remains a challenge for women who own their role, create their space, and challenge norms, so we must educate people on the difference between being aggressive and assertive.”
To connect women across the procurement industry, Amanda set up the Global Women Procurement Professionals (GWPP) organization. “I can’t claim to have started the vision for the organization, as it was started by a gentleman called Michael Shaw who approached me to kickstart the organization,” she explains. “Michael had the idea when he was interacting with two women in procurement who lived only five miles apart but didn’t know each other.
“As an active individual within the community, Michael approached me to leverage my extensive network of contacts. When I started researching the issue, I could not believe there is not one global organization focused on women in procurement. We still have a long way to go within procurement and I recognized the importance of having an organization where women can support one another and get the support they need to really grow and thrive in the profession.
“We launched our first event in San Francisco in March 2020, shortly before the pandemic, which forced us to host virtual events. We’re currently in the middle of relaunching GWPP, ensuring there is always space for women to share both their challenges and success stories.”
Realizing potential
Amanda’s broad understanding of the industry is sure to accelerate Wonder Services’ further growth and success as new technologies and advancements emerge. As an advocate for women, we’re also looking forward to seeing how Amanda will continue to connect and amplify women through her work in the GWPP.
Amanda shares her vision: “I am committed to building an organization that can genuinely and seamlessly support company transformations. As businesses increasingly realize that they need to adapt to new, ever-evolving expectations, I’d like to see Wonder Services capitalize on these opportunities and grow into a boutique firm. However, we’re preparing behind the scenes for a slight shift in our strategy as we move away from large scale AI deployments and towards smaller, more focused projects, which equally require strong change management.
“From an industry perspective, the ways in which procurement is organized will be subject to change,” she concludes. “AI will play a huge role in how procurement is organized, and I also anticipate less focus on driving cost savings and instead a commitment to adding overall value to an organization.”