The Procurement Pivot 

From Busyness to Capability:

Unlocking Strategic Value in the Age of AI 

Dr. Lenora Sevillian, Executive Director

Community Engagement at E&I Cooperative Services

Casey Laurienzo, Vice President

Community Engagement & Education at E&I

Cooperative Services

The Procurement Pivot 
From Busyness to Capability: Unlocking Strategic Value in the Age of AI
Dr. Lenora Sevillian and Casey Laurienzo

Community Engagement & Education at E&I Cooperative Services
October 22, 2026 @ 1pm EST

Session Overview

Procurement leaders are navigating a moment where AI adoption is accelerating, yet many teams still struggle to create the time and space needed for strategic upskilling. This session challenges the traditional culture of busyness and reframes it as a potential barrier to innovation, capability-building, and long-term procurement value. 

Through practical discussion and research-informed insights, participants will examine how performative busyness, urgency bias, idleness aversion, scarcity tunneling, and the Deadtime Effect can keep procurement professionals focused on tactical activity rather than higher-value work.

The session introduces the Procurement Capability Velocity, or PCV, framework as a practical way to shift from measuring activity volume to measuring augmentation, skill application, protected learning time, automation ROI, and strategic value. Participants will leave with a clearer path for moving from busy to better by identifying low-value work, protecting time for learning, and applying AI-enabled tools in ways that strengthen procurement impact.

Participant Takeaways

1.  A new lens for understanding why "I am too busy" may signal more than a time-management issue

2. A practical framework for assessing where time is being spent across tactical, reactive, strategic, and innovation-focused work

3. Actionable strategies for reclaiming time and reinvesting it in professional development

4. A mindset shift from measuring commitment by workload to measuring value by outcomes, capability, and applied learning

5. A simple busy-to-better experiment that helps participants identify one immediate change they can make following the session

Meet the Speakers

Dr. Lenora Sevillian

Dr. Lenora Sevillian is the Executive Director, Community Engagement at E&I Cooperative Services and a distinguished procurement leader with more than 40 years of public and private sector experience. Her work focuses on strategic partnerships, professional development, public sector leadership, operational transformation, and advancing ethical, sustainable procurement practices.

Casey Laurienzo

Casey Laurienzo is the Vice President of Community Engagement at E&I Cooperative Services, where she leads professional development, leadership, and community-building strategy for higher education procurement professionals nationwide. 

October 22, 2026
1:00 - 2:30 pm ET