Third Party Therapy - Donna Bowden & Laura Sellers - Career Coaching for Procurement & Third-Party Pros

Mike Day is joined by Donna Bowden and Laura Sellers, co-founders of Procurement Pivots — a coaching collaboration focused on the development of procurement and third-party risk professionals.

Laura spent almost 10 years in-house in public sector procurement before retraining as a coach and launching her practice in 2022. Donna has 25 years' experience supporting procurement and risk careers, including a background leading corporate governance recruitment, and set up her own coaching practice two years ago. Together they talk personal branding, burnout, imposter feelings and what actually helps a career move forward, whether you're aiming for CPO or planning your next step beyond it.

Topics covered:

📈 How procurement and third-party risk management have evolved as professions

⚖️ The "do more with less" pressure, and why comparing yourself to other organisations backfires

🧠 Confidence, overwhelm and decision paralysis — and why capability is rarely the real issue

🤝 Influencing without authority, company politics, and inheriting a predecessor's legacy

👀 Why procurement and TPRM go unnoticed when things run well, and the profession's "PR problem"

🔀 Whether procurement, supplier management and third-party risk are converging or splitting apart

🚪 How people actually enter procurement and TPRM careers

⚧ Diversity and gender balance in the profession — progress made and gaps remaining

✨ Why personal branding is now essential, not optional, for career progression

🧭 Life after CPO: portfolio careers, consultancy and avoiding burnout

🪜 Practical first steps for anyone feeling stuck at a career crossroads

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:00 Donna and Laura's backgrounds and how Procurement Pivots started

05:30 How procurement and TPRM have evolved as professions

09:30 "Do more with less" and the comparison trap

12:00 Confidence, overwhelm and decision paralysis

16:00 Influencing without authority, politics and inherited legacy

20:30 Why the profession is invisible when it's working well

23:00 Converging or splitting: procurement, supplier management and TPRM

30:00 How people actually get into procurement and TPRM

34:30 Diversity and gender balance in the profession

39:00 Why personal branding is now essential

45:30 Life after CPO: portfolio careers and burnout

51:00 Advice for anyone at a career crossroads

54:30 Where to find Procurement Pivots

Procurement Pivots: procurementpivots.com/home

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