Something Extra

Learning to Boldly Face Change w/ Pratik Patel

• Technology Partners • Episode 310

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Dive into the journey of Pratik Patel, a longtime Mastercard procurement leader, who brings a lifetime of resilience and adaptability to his work in global sourcing. Growing up in a world of constant change, Pratik learned early on how to adapt to new environments and challenges, a skill that has shaped his career in transformative ways. Join us as Pratik shares how his childhood experiences taught him to embrace the unknown, challenge the status quo, and foster meaningful relationships, helping him transform procurement into a dynamic, strategic function.

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Credits: 
Host: Lisa Nichols
Executive Producer: Jenny Heal
Marketing Support: Landon Burke and Joe Szynkowski
Podcast Engineer: Portside Media

Lisa Nichols  00:03
Chromosomes, little strands of nucleic acids and proteins are the fundamental genetic instructions that tell us who we are. At birth, most people are born with 46 chromosomes, but each year in the United States, about 6000 people are born with an extra chromosome, making them a person with Down syndrome. If you've ever encountered someone with Down syndrome, you know that they are some of the kindest, most joyful people you will ever meet. They truly have something extra. 

My name is Lisa Nichols, and I have spent the last 24 years as both the CEO of Technology Partners and as the mother to Ally. Ally has something extra in every sense of the word. I have been blessed to be by her side as she impacts everyone she meets. Through these two important roles as CEO and mother to Ally, I have witnessed countless life lessons that have fundamentally changed the way I look at the world. While you may not have an extra chromosome, every leader has something extra that defines who you are. 

Join me as I explore the something extra in leaders from all walks of life and discover how that difference in each of them has made a difference in their companies, their families, their communities and in themselves. If you liked this episode today, please go to Apple Podcast or wherever you listen and leave us a five-star rating. 

I am thrilled to have Pratik Patel on the show today. Pratik is a director of sourcing and supplier management at Mastercard. Well, welcome to the Something Extra Podcast, Pratik Patel. I have been looking so forward to this conversation with you today. Thank you so much for making the time to join me.

Pratik Patel  01:54
Lisa, I really appreciate you allowing me to be on here. But I have to also say, I applaud you for this Something Extra Podcast that you have. I know you're inspired by your daughter, but it is something, and I love the title. Because you're making people think about, what else is there out there that people should maybe know about, that maybe they're thinking about, but they're not saying and inspiring others around. And I think that is wonderful that you're creating the forum to be able to allow people to kind of share that, and hopefully it inspires others as well in whatever that something extra might be.

Lisa Nichols  02:36
I appreciate you saying that so much, Pratik. Honestly, that just brings joy to my heart to hear you say that. So, thank you. And I know that you are going to inspire our listeners, and they're going to learn a lot from you today. So, you and I met a few years ago when you joined the Mastercard team. Because obviously, Technology Partners has been a partner of Mastercard for, I think, 27 or 28 of our 30 years. And so, we met. Then you've made some incredible, transformational improvements since joining Mastercard, and we're going to dig into those a little bit later. You've won numerous awards. I know Pratik, you're a very humble man, so, you would not want me to say these things about you, but I'm going to say them anyway, because I want our listeners to understand who we're talking to, but you've won numerous awards, including the Mastercard CFO Award for labor transformation a three time SIA, for our listeners who may not know that, Staffing Industry Analyst, the Game Changer Award, the SIA Diversity Influencer Award, and the list goes on and on and on. Clearly. Pratik, you have some mastery. You have some mastery in this area. But I also know enough about you to know that you would say you've not reached the summit.

Pratik Patel  03:55
That's right. We, none of us ever do.

Lisa Nichols  03:58
None of us ever do. You're a lifelong learner, and I also know that you're all about continuous improvement. So, you have some really strong values, and we're going to talk about those Pratik. I've got a whole list of things here that people have said about you, and again, not to make you blush, but you're a servant leader. You're responsible, loyal. You create win wins, which helps build long term relationships. You're dynamic. You drive others around you to be the best in class. You're a standout talent. You're you've got a positive attitude. I mean, the list goes on and on and on, but I know that this, but that's what people I didn't make those things up. That's what other people have said about you. But I know those values come from a very, very special place. I would love for you to tell our listeners about growing up. I'd also love for you to tell them about your grandfather, and I love the story about him being in fourth grade. So, I'm not going to steal your thunder, but I want you to tell that story, Pratik, because it is so precious and makes so much sense of the man that you are today is because of some of those things. So, tell our listeners that story.

Pratik Patel  05:23
First off, Lisa, I'm an emotional guy, right? So, I almost have a tear going down my eye when you're talking about me in that manner. And I really appreciate all the recognition and accolades. But really we're all the sum of our life experiences, and I am super, super fortunate to have the experiences that I've had in my life. And it starts with my family. My family is everything for me. It's what instills the values that I have today. It drives me to be the best that I can be. And as you shared, it starts with my grandfather. So, my grandfather grew up in India, and this was maybe early 1900s and it's in his biography. So, there's a biography written about my grandfather as well, where, if you want, after we're done, I can share a link, because they're they've actually made it now so it's all electronic, so if anybody ever wants to see it, they can and hopefully be inspired by it, like how I'm inspired by it. 

Pratik Patel  06:30
So, when he, when he was born, he knew at an early age that he wanted to do more for the farmers in India. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he wanted to do something for the farmers in India. And then, as he started to have his education, and this goal became stronger and stronger, and that desire became more and more in his heart. He recognized that he was going to face the challenge, and the challenge was education Because he was in a small village, and in a small village, they only went to fifth grade for their education. And he was in fourth grade, and thanked the Lord that there was a Maharaj, which is the king of the area, that really wanted to listen to the people in the area too. And so, he came to this little village that he was then in a town hall, and he went there as a fourth grader, first of all, to have the maturity to even want to go there because you can imagine everyone that's telling him, No, you can't be here. This is for adults. You can't have because you because they don't know what a kid is going to do. But they let him there. 

Pratik Patel  07:44
And, you know, the Maharaj was, was asking people like, is there anything I can do for you? You know, what? What can we do better for you, from this, from the state perspective? And so, he raised his hand, and he said, Hey, I would love to be able to have an education beyond fifth grade, and in my village, I can't have that. The Maharaj was just completely taken back by that, because he recognized exactly the challenge that villagers face, right? And I think he saw that as an opportunity that here's a guy that is so passionate and wants to make better of himself. I need to do what I can to help him. Now, I found out later there were four other people that he also helped, this Maharaj did, it was in his heart to do it this way, but my grandfather is the only one that repaid him after all, his education too, like instead of in terms of working for him in his kingdom. So, others went on to do whatever they were under, to do right with their education, but he, but the Maharaj, said that, hey, it's gonna take us a while to build this built you built the school. So, until the school is built, we'll have you transported to a local school nearby so you can continue your education beyond fifth grade. And any education you want for as long as you want to have growing your education the state will provide for you. 

Pratik Patel  09:15
And so, he took advantage, got a couple of bachelors a Masters out of Germany, got his PhD from the University of Illinois during the great depression as well. And he had less great lots of opportunities in the US after that too. But he remembered his mission and the reason for why he lives his life, and that was to help the farmers in India. But at the same time, he also was instilled values. And part of those values is when somebody does something for you, you need to return the favor. And he was so appreciative to the Maharaj, he said, I will collect taxes for you as long as you'd want me to. And so, he collected taxes in the kingdom, you know, for until India died. Its independence. But then, and the Maharaj was super appreciative of this too. Here's a guy that got his PhD, had all his education, all these other people he helped. He didn't do this, but here's a guy that wanted to repay, in a sense, so he did that only for a couple of years. But then I think he started to allow him to be able to enable him to go towards his goal, which was to help the farmers. So, ultimately, he became the deputy agricultural director in India. When the India got its independence, the Maharaj actually gave him his old palace. Because one of the stipulations with the getting independence was all those little kingdoms that existed, they could get they could continue to keep their land and whatever riches they had, but everybody got their independence, so you had to make some compromise, especially with no war. 


Pratik Patel  10:51
So, that's what happened. And then my, my grandfather, was able to have this, it was a small place. It wasn't anything large, right? But it was the place that he could start growing a family. He ended up having nine kids. My mom is the youngest of nine. I truly believe, and I know a lot of people had kids, a lot of kids, big families in India back then. But I truly believe that if he didn't raise his hand, I don't think I'm born. I mean, she's the youngest of nine. She was 55 and she had her it was in his 50s. But I am still thankful for everything that he's done, because here's what he did, like his true impact, and why they wrote a biography on him, is what he did after he was forced to retire. Because you're forced to retire at a very young age in India too. So, when he retired at like 55 because that's when you were forced to retire as he had a government job as a deputy agricultural director, and he did some things, but he didn't achieve what he wanted to for the farmers. 

Pratik Patel  12:01
So, then he started his research. He started his true ambition. And he took, he didn't take one penny from anybody for his research. He had nine other kids, right? So, he had this kid's kind of supporting, because they all got educations. The oldest got it was it was a doctor. Others were engineers, business people. They know, they all were successful in their own ways. So, they all kind of helped to fund his research in India, helped, and so his research was around wheat, because with his PhD in the level of education that he had. He recognized the sun and how the sun's rays come down on like plants or seeds, has an impact in how they impact their germation process as well. And so, it's a seven-year process to be able to, like, really analyze the wheat and determine whether the cross pollination and the seeding that you do will actually work. Well, he ended up developing a wheat that was 20% better than any wheat at that time, a wheat that took less water, less had less infestation as well. The government was kind of jealous, because they're like, how can this guy, a farmer and in a small village, be doing better than these state scientists? So, he was kind of suppressed a little bit in his accomplishment. He didn't care. He cared about the farmer, so he made sure that there was a subsidization that was built. He didn't want a patent, either, he didn't want any notoriety from this. He didn't want any money from this either. He wanted to make sure there was a subsidization by the government so that they could afford that wheat at the same rate that any other wheat would be. 

Pratik Patel  13:44
And so, that is truly inspirational for me, because it created. I think the number out there is something north of 500 million rupees with economic wealth. It might have been dollars. My uncle will correct me at some point. But he did. He did make a huge impact. There was a guy in Mexico that won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing something similar, many years later. The Ford Institute wanted to talk to him. When he was in India, they saw him, they saw what he was doing, but he's like, I'm not achieving what I need to so even when he achieved his initial results, it didn't achieve to what he wants. So, he continued to push and push. At 88 he had a second heart attack, and he was still doing his research. He had someone underneath him as well, but he was still doing his research. And so, the old age adage is true, which is not until you die, do people really recognize the impact that you had. And I think people recognize that afterwards. 

Pratik Patel  13:57
And I'm so thankful for one of my uncles, who has gotten all of the materials and the research, and then he shared this with a few. People in that industry, and they were, like, amazed, and they were surprised by everything that he did, and very happy with it, that they decided to make a biography. And then he but it was in, like our native language, and so he wanted to make sure that all of us and the next generation, especially in the family, knew about my grandfather. And so, then he found a person who volunteered to take that biography and translate it into English so that all of us have the ability to understand what my grandfather did. I know that was a long-winded story.


Lisa Nichols  15:37
I love that story. I found myself getting teary eyed. I'm kind of an old like an old, rusty, leaky bucket too, so between the two of us. But there is so much I love about that story. I mean, the thing that I was just thinking about to put about, I'm like, this is a life well lived. I also think about the resilience that your grandfather had. He had that vision he had, even in fourth grade, that what he wanted to do, and he saw it through. I think about you, and I think about how many times Pratik, whatever it is that we're able to accomplish in this like we are standing on the shoulders of someone else who has come before. And I can only imagine just the legacy of your grandfather and how that's impacted all of his descendants after him. You know, just such a beautiful, beautiful story. Well, let's go on and talk just a little bit, because I want to get into, like, some of the things that you've done in your career. Because, like I said, you're you've got mastery in this area, and so, I want you to be able to share some of these learnings with our listeners. But you know, you, you went on and got your education in industrial engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and then you got an MBA from Cleveland State, which is in Ohio. Did you grow up in Ohio, Pratik? I didn't ask you that before. 

Pratik Patel  17:14
So, coming here, my dad had an education from India. He had an engineering degree from India. It was hard to establish yourself in the 80s with a foreign degree, so we had to move around a lot. I went to 11 different schools before I graduated from high school. So, you can imagine what that does to you as well, in terms of your growth, maturity and, and just how you think about different things that you would, because, I mean, anybody new in any school is going to face some hardship and challenges, especially when you're also new and you're like, one of the only ones that's of a different color as well in that school. So, I faced discrimination. I faced bullying, right? When I was growing up as well. It's just part of it, but at the same time, I wanted to persevere. You know, where, where I could, I mean, I didn't have many friends in high school because then or before I went to college, because I, I think people didn't necessarily want to be associated with me, because people were going to be bullying me from that perspective too, right? And so, so then, so, then you kind of learn and to think about what do you need to do? What do you need to do so that you can be better. You can be better than that as well. I think I became more bold. I think I became more of like mission driven because of my experiences, of what I faced growing up and through those experiences that's enabled me and also change. I constantly face change, because we went in so many different places. My parents, if my parents heard this, I'm sure their heart would be broken too, because, you know, they know how much hardship it caused when you move from school to school, but I always told them, it's totally fine. And I was, I was absolutely fine with every single move because it was the right thing for the family, and ultimately, family comes first before anything else. 

Lisa Nichols  19:25
They didn't have a choice. I mean, they were, they really didn't. Your dad didn't have a choice, right? To take care of you guys. He had to, he had to do what he had to do. So, you know, Pratik, hearing you talk about, Oh, that. It just makes me think, number one, you became very adaptable, which is a great leadership trait, right? It's a great trait to have throughout life and agile. You probably also had a lot of time to reflect on who you are. You know that it's not about what other people say about you, but your identity. So, they're as hard as those things are in life, sometimes those are the things I think that really strengthen who we are in our characters. 

Pratik Patel  20:11
Let me answer the question, though, because you asked me about Ohio. So, I was just trying to get to that from that piece. But Ohio was one of the last places that we moved to, you know, before I went to college. So, we were 10th grade through 12th grade. I was in Ohio, but I was in three different or two different schools, in high school as well, in Ohio, but I was born in Palitana. So, my grandfather wanted us all the firstborn of every kid to be born in the house. So, so a nurse was kind of brought in, and he just had this thing from a tradition perspective. So, there's like this one room where nine of my, or eight of my other cousins as well were all born. First Born were born in that house, you know? So, if, if you were in India before, right, if you were already in India, like some people had moved to the US, but, but if you were born in that India, they wanted to be born in the house. So, I was born there. I came here when I was seven. And then we moved around Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Nebraska, Ohio.

Lisa Nichols  21:22
Oh, my goodness, now, Missouri. Well, let's talk about this. So, you started as a process engineer at AK Steel, and you consulted through Anderson, which obviously eventually became Accenture, right? Went to Energizer. Talk about this pivot story. You were an Energizer for 13 years, Pratik, but there was a pivot story that really catapulted you into procurement. Can you tell that story? And then I've got lots of questions for you about.

Pratik Patel  21:58
Well, you know, I think that, like I said, were the some of our life experiences. And the co-ops that I had in college really enabled me to build relationships with people that I had engaged with in those different companies. And it allowed me to be a little bit more bolder, a little bit more ambitious, a little bit more aspirational as well. And so, the pivot story you're talking about is, after I had left Anderson Consulting, I went back to Energizer as an engineer in the plant, and I met with our GM at the time, and I had skied with him when I was when I was a co-op too. So, I mean, we had a little bit of a relationship. But if I didn't, I don't know if I would have been so bold, but I told him that when I first came back there, that, hey, I want you to know that I have a lot of respect for what you do, but I also will have ambitions in my career, and I expect in 10 years, to be where you're at, and I know that is an accelerated learning curve. I need to reflect consistently on my growth. What can I improve upon? What do I need to continually work on so that I am viewed as a potential to be able to replace you in 10 years? 

Pratik Patel  23:20
That's the mentality I want to have in my career, and I hope you can appreciate that. And it's not about a level of arrogance or ego. It's about instill in me about what I need to do to continuously grow and accelerate so that I can achieve that. Because if I am not achieving towards that path, then I've disappointed myself, and I have to reflect on, what can I do for myself? And that's the mentality I try to have throughout my career. And he was so impressed with that that they were struggling with finding procurement talent for finished goods, battery manufacturing. They were looking for a long time. And he told the COO of the company that, hey, I think we should consider this engineer in the plant. That's not exactly a path that they normally take, either. They usually want you to go to another plant and be an engineer before you would go to an R&D headquarters. And so, this was at their R&D headquarters in Cleveland. I went and I interviewed because they said, Hey, you're interested in procurement, to go and interview for this role. I said, I'm in Bennington, Vermont. That's 15,000 people. Cleveland is like couple million people. I'm interested. And it's closer to my parents, too. So, then I got involved in it, and I had some amazing mentors in procurement as well, and I just have not had any desire to leave procurement in 20 plus years since then. 

Lisa Nichols  24:52
You and you've just done some really, really amazing, amazing things. Let me, let me talk to you a little bit, because when you left there, and we'll talk about what you're doing today. But you were the global procurement Category Manager for business services, but when you came into that role, Pratik. I'm just going to ask you a few questions here that might help our listeners, if they're in thinking about this, or if they're in that role already, to kind of help them as they think through. So, tell me about building high performance teams within procurement. How have you traditionally done that?

Pratik Patel  25:31
So, I think building high performance teams is all about attributes, attributes of what they bring that that aligns with the desires of what the business needs. Because ultimately, we're an internal customer, like they're our customers. Everybody we interact with is our customers, and we want to ensure that we have people that have the characteristics that can be able to relate to those customers. Because if you can't drive influence, it doesn't matter if you have the process, it doesn't matter if you have the technology, you need to be able to drive the influence, and it starts with people. So, ironically, here at Mastercard, I have not hired anybody on my team that has had any experience in procurement.

Lisa Nichols  26:20
Is that right? Oh, my goodness. You were looking for these other attributes of being able to build relationships and teachable.

Pratik Patel  26:30
Data analytics, data analytics, and also, like, you know, what they bring because of their qualities and skill sets that can then translate to procurement because as long as they're coachable and they're willing to learn, they can become the best they can reach their potential in being a procurement professional, if that's what they desire. And I always tell my team, you pursue your passions. Whatever those passions are, it doesn't have to be in procurement, but if you like that, doing your job as a being a procurement professional, then absolutely. So, I think that it's not a cookie cutter answer in terms of, oh, you know, what type of, you know, relationships do they have in engaging with suppliers, or how did they understand negotiations and negotiation skills? Because you would think about that from procurement perspective, but those are things that can be learned.

Lisa Nichols  27:24
Learned. Yes, Agreed. Agreed. I love that. Well, it reminds me so much, Pratik, as I'm thinking about, I'm thinking about the Southwest Way, and Herb Keller had said that way back, right? And he said, I'm gonna hire for attitude. I'll train for skills. The attitude was the most important thing to him as he was building Southwest Airlines. So, I just love that. Well, let me ask you just a couple more questions, and then we do need to take a really quick break. You know, after energeic you went to Mallinckrodt. Now you've been at Mastercard Since 2018 let's talk about this, because I know, because you've been in it for a while. How have you seen this area evolve over the years? And I'd love for you, you already mentioned data analytics. How's data playing such a big role now, right? Can you talk about that a little bit, and then we'll take a quick break.

Pratik Patel  28:18
Absolutely, because 20 years ago, it was more of a buy, sell transaction that was taking place, and the business had identified who they wanted to work with through whatever relationships they had built with these different suppliers, or whether it was people that they had met, even it was cold inquiries and things like that. You're in that space, you understand that as to kind of what you were dealing with maybe early on in the evolution of technology partners from that perspective. But I think what really changed the paradigm is when people started to recognize that it's not just about price. There's so many other attributes that we look at beyond just price from a risk perspective. Procurement has a responsibility to protect the equity of the company. And so how we protect the equity of the company starts with the contracts that we execute. The business doesn't necessarily get engaged in terms of, what are those terms and conditions that govern our relationship. And so that's where, there's an element where, and it's still maturing. To be honest, I think that many organizations, procurement is not taking like a front, like, I always say the first line, first line of defense. They're not that first line of defense. They're just being that conduit with legal. When it really, they need to take a level of ownership because they have a level of influence and understanding the intent of the contractual terms that are out there and, and why we have what we have, and how we're trying to protect the risk that we cannot control, and so being able to share that message. So, I think that's one aspect, is just around contracts and understanding the importance from how procurement has a responsibility to protect the equity of the company from that perspective. 

Pratik Patel  30:17
Then you get into understanding capabilities of suppliers, because when you understand capabilities now, you're able to really capitalize on what that true ecosystem looks like for that supplier. And how that can drive value, and that can enable us to maybe have less suppliers, because the suppliers that you have already have some of those other capabilities, and that can then enable us to maybe look at how can we now further drive value from that supplier. Suppliers then make, we can make investments into what we're trying to do. Buyers can be able to also get synergies on their cost structure as well to drive the value. It's efficiencies for the supplier too, when they're working across multiple areas and supporting us. So, all those things, I think, had an impact in terms of that evolution to where today we really want to get to where meet the unmet need. So, the business doesn't even recognize that they have the need, but we can show them the value of what our suppliers bring to meet a need that they don't even know that's there. And so, when you have built such strong relationships with the business and you have an understanding of what their goals and objectives are and what they're trying to achieve, and then you marry that with what your understanding is of our suppliers and what their capabilities are, and how they manage risk for us, how they're aligned to our overall strategic objectives. That is a very powerful combination that procurement becomes the conduit to enable, and that's where we're going, I believe today.


Lisa Nichols  32:04
That is so good. That is so good. I just had to nod my head when I, I read something that you had written, Pratik. You go in. God, we trust everything else is about the data. I'm like, Yes, it is. Well, listen, this has been, I've got so much more I want to dig into, okay, but we do need to take a quick break, and we'll be right back on the Something Extra Podcast with Pratik Patel. 

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Lisa Nichols  33:00
Welcome back everyone to the Something Extra Podcast with my friend Pratik Patel. So, Pratik, this has been so much fun. We've had so much to talk about, but I can't not talk about this because it's on everybody's lips right now and AI, and so I'd love for you to talk a little bit about this. You, you just completed a course, I think you just got a degree or certificate from Wharton, which I applaud you for that, that continuous learner in you, that you ever reached a summit. But how are you seeing AI affecting our industry right now?

Pratik Patel  33:38
So, I think, first of all, AI is not new. It's been around for 50 plus years. Mastercard has been implementing all types of use cases. The technology around AI for 20 plus years, every time you have a transaction, and you think about that being approved. Well, there's a lot of AI algorithms that are kind of taking place behind the scenes to prevent fraud. So, it's not new, but what I love about what's happening right now is the amount of passion and energy and most important, investment into like, really helping to accelerate the potential of what AI brings. Because if we can take a step back and kind of think about AI from like, like, how does it kind of evolve, right? So first it starts with data. And so, the data is about garbage in, garbage out, it's about, do you have good data? Do you have data that you can now look at relationships of that data, and when you look at the relationships of that data, what type of trends and patterns does that help us to get from what those relationships show? So, you can have structured data or you can have unstructured data. If you have structured data, then you're basically looking at data that you're feeding it exactly, and then you're putting business rules to it so that it can then glean insights from that structured data. If it's unstructured, which is what ChatGPT is, then now you're taking everything that's out there and looking at what everything is out there, and how can you glean insights from what your inputs are. 

Pratik Patel  35:23
Now, Gen AI, which is, I love the marketing analogy with that too. Whoever came up with that genius that was really good because it's catchy. So, Gen AI, generative AI, that's talking about natural language processing and so English language. Now you're able to take words that we use daily and be able to input a statement, and based on that statement you're inputting, it's predicting, based on how you're sharing a question or a prompt as to what the output is that you're looking for. That is beautiful, you know, but I think that has limitations. The limitations it has is it's only as good as the data that's available out there, which is a bias that is out there too, because if there are biases in that data, that's going to come through. This course that I took, it wasn't around, like Python programming or around, really the technical execution of AI. It was really about one understanding what AI is, how does it work, how does machine learning work? And then also use cases and how it's applied in different parts of our businesses, and then, more importantly, the ethics, thinking about the ethics and governance of it, because if you're going to use these new technologies, you really should think about what are the ramifications of using those technologies. And I really appreciated this course, because it helped me really understand how there can be false positives, false negatives. How do you minimize false positives and false negatives in the output of what your prompts are? So, there is so much potential, but can I share about how maybe we're leveraging it. 

Lisa Nichols  37:20
Oh, please do. Yes, I would love to hear about how Mastercard is leveraging it.

Pratik Patel  37:26
But more importantly, how I'm leveraging it as it relates to category management in my role. So, that's how I'd want to talk about it from that aspect. Because I think that can hopefully inspire others, especially in procurement roles, in terms of thinking about AI as well. So, first and foremost, it's the data, and you got to have good data. And how do you get to good data? Well, first, you have to standardize your data. You have to know what like, how, what is important that you need to be able to capture in your category from a data perspective, what are those different attributes? Where are you going to get that data from? And is it going to be consistent as you get new data coming in? And so about four, three years ago now, I guess three, three and a half years ago, we implemented a centralized VMS, a vendor managed system for statement of work, time and material engagements, and so this enabled us to have a centralized place for that data. But that wasn't enough. I mean, we basically told our VMS that I appreciate how you've implemented this in the past, but we're focused on waste elimination. I talk about waste all the time because I'm laser focused on it, and I've even shared, like on my badge, I, I have the eight areas of waste that exist in any process that I wear, not because I want to go back and reference it's a muscle memory, but if I ever do need to reference it, it's there, or if I want to give it to somebody else, I can say, hey, let me tell you, What does waiting mean and where does waste exist from a waiting perspective?

Lisa Nichols  39:08
So, I'm so glad you brought that up, because I knew that about you, and we'll if we have time, I want to dig into that one a little bit further. 

Pratik Patel  39:19
So, then it's about leveraging LEAN principles in how we kind of structure what is the data that we need? How do we need to use this new process of centralizing our data? And it's not just that, but we also streamlined other processes with having this centralized system. So, we'll talk about that a little bit later, in terms of some of the value that the company overall got from the streamline of the processes. But when you look at it just from a data perspective, it's about minimizing data variability as well, once you have the data in a centralized system. And now, three years later, we're there. I knew we were going to get there. I had a vision to be able to ultimately utilize this data in a way that can be a self-service tool back for the business. But I knew that it was not going to happen right overnight, either. It's going to take us time. But we're there now, and it's super exciting, because what we're able to do is we have less variability in our data. 

Pratik Patel  40:19
To give you an idea, 70% of our spend that goes through that tool is in 10 job role, job level combinations. I challenge you on any other company in the industry that's able to do that for as large of a scope of program that we have, which is in the 1000s right of the number of resources. Because I worked with our business in terms of defining job descriptions that really, and job levels that aligned with competencies of what we need, and that would continuously be reviewed by everybody in the business and see that, oh, that's what I need to put. I forget what I was going to put. I'm going to use this job description because then suppliers also understand what does that mean in terms of our rate cards that we establish too, so we have consistency. What we're doing now is we're building a chat bot in in a Microsoft application called Copilot, right? That really enables us to be able to take all the different data streams that we built and not just the centralized data that exists for our transactions, but how we evaluate our suppliers. We have capability matrix and that we utilize and how we assess our suppliers as well. Our rate cards, we have 10s of 1000s of or 10,000 plus lines of data when it comes to our rate cards from our suppliers too. So, all of these things enable us to be able to have a level of predictability when we marry the data with prompts. 

Pratik Patel  41:46
And so, we want to create a chat bot for the business, right? Supplier, right need. And so, we're in the process right now. We're querying the business around some of our use cases to ensure that we have to make tradeoffs in how we kind of build this chat bot, that we have the ability to make those tradeoffs so that we get to what's most important for them. But this enables them, instead of querying with us all the time, because I have people contacting me all the time about how we can support them across the company. Is to be able to use this to get to the supplier that they need, for the job roles, job levels, for the locations that they're looking at. They can also get references of other people in the company that are using them, like those types of things. So that's where we're heading now.

Lisa Nichols  42:27
That's so innovative. I there may be another company out there doing that, Pratik, but I'm not sure to that level of sophistication, right? Supplier, right need, it's, it's almost like a self-service type model for the business, right? So, wow, that's.

Pratik Patel  42:50
And it built a team so that's very passionate about each one of these areas. So, we have, like, a data analyst, a content creator, product management technical at TPM that kind of manages the different aspects of this. That's all volunteers as part of our volunteer program to pursue, to allow people to pursue their passions. And so, this doesn't cost the company anything other than our license with Microsoft to be able to enable this. So that's the other powerful component of this.

Lisa Nichols  43:21
So, important. Well, I'm sure, so you just set me up, because I am sure this is why you won the CFO Mastercard, CFO labor transformation award, Pratik. This is probably a big part of that, you know, I'm assuming. And I kind of thought, and when did you talk about that a little bit. And then I was thinking, maybe you could talk a little bit about the three pillars that you built into that program, the transparency and the you know, Can you can you just touch on that for a minute? And then I want to move into some diversity and inclusion, which I know is near and dear to Mastercard's heart and yours and mine as well. So, talk about that CFO award.

Pratik Patel  44:03
So, the CFO award was really about better, faster, cheaper, right? So, the better piece is, how can we make our process more streamlined, so that maybe risk legal does not need to be a part of that process, because we've already accounted for what their concerns are when we look at time and material engagements right? As a result of that we so we've taken a lot of work away from legal or risk that they would have had to look at before because they were naturally getting it as part of our previous process. So, we have these addendums that we create with our suppliers that captures all of our terms and conditions. And so, in theory, we are able to onboard a resource in hours with the statement of work, because we have established rate cards in place. And so, we've taken a process which was taking sometimes maybe 30 plus days when I first came here, and where maybe companies are taking a week or two to do it, we can do it in hours, but the only constraint is the background check that the supplier has to have done for those resources that we can't control. And so, we streamline the process, which enables us to be able to execute the labor needs in as little as hours, and so that is super powerful, as you could imagine, across

Pratik Patel  45:26
Yes, yes, it is. And that's so important, right? Because we both know technologist though, that talent doesn't last for very long, right? You wait too long. I mean, we, we, we have to consult with clients all the time. If you wait too long, that person is not going to be available. Because so, I just That's wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing all that. Well, I know that I've got just a couple more questions for you, and then we're going to talk about something extra. I know, diversity and inclusion very, very important to Mastercard, but you know, how can you talk about some of the initiatives that you've had in that space? I know veterans are really important for you guys. I mean, just how whatever you want to talk about, Pratik. And then I do have one other question that we're going to talk about something extra.

Pratik Patel  46:20
So, as you can imagine, with what my grandfather did and how that inspires me, the platform that I have with my role in supporting diversity is so, so important to me, and so it's about creating opportunities where opportunities would not exist. I always say diversity breeds diversity as well. So, if you're going to work with diverse suppliers, then they're going to be intentional about also leveraging diverse suppliers, talent people in their ecosystem as well. Diversity breeds diversity. So, there's a couple of things that we've done at Mastercard that I'm really proud of, right? Number one is, when you look at our staffing program, the barrier to entry when it comes to staffing is relatively low because it's all about finding the talent and the talent stream to be able to get that talent from. That's why we have 30,000 staffing suppliers in the United States alone, right? 

Pratik Patel  47:15
So, we take staffing now to the next level. When we look at it from a diversity perspective, it's not just about 51% ownership in diverse classes or trying to ensure you have diversity in every class that's out there, but it's being purposeful. So, we need to work we want to work with staffing suppliers that are mission born, which means they have a mission for why they exist and it's to make an impact in the community, and they're using staffing as a revenue enabler to feed that mission. Most mission born companies do not have a very large sales or marketing group either, because they're using the profits that they would have from funding that towards that mission as well. They rely on their managed service provider, or where the word of mouth from others as well, you know, to be able to drive towards that business. And I, I am a huge believer in it. We've already started with a couple of companies like that. We have a pipeline for the next couple of years of mission born companies that we want to create the space in our program for because I believe that we need to create a force multiplier effect out there. Business can be a force for good. And diversity is not just about 51% ownership. Diversity is about being impactful back into the community. 

Lisa Nichols  48:43
Oh, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. Well, let me ask you this Pratik, and then we need, I want to talk about something extra, because I know you've got some really great wisdom around that question. But what advice would you have so like, say you've got someone that's, that's younger in there, their pursuit of the procurement, supplier, sourcing space.  What advice would you give them, Pratik?

Pratik Patel  49:10
So, I'm always the person of threes. If I don't have three perspectives, then I don't have enough to be able to really justify it. So, I always, I'm going to give you threes. So, number one, I think, is focus on how you can drive influence that's not just around procurement, that's around anything in life, and influence is not the same thing as manipulation. So, I hope people don't understand the same thing, because that's not going to work for you. It's not going to work. Influence is about building relationships, building trust credibility, so whatever it is that your passion is, that fits in procurement, then understand your suppliers right, understand who you're working with, understand what the business's needs are, and then be able to take those data points that you get. From both parties to be able to then take to other people that you didn't want to be able to go and influence, like, Hey, let me tell you about how this other business is using this supplier. And also, let me tell you what this supplier is doing out in the marketplace, or how they're driving innovation in the payment space. You know, have a story to tell. So, one is influence. 

Pratik Patel  50:20
Two, be a storyteller. I hope you see we're telling lots of stories in this conversation. So, learn to tell stories, because that's what's impactful a story you have to start with, really, why? The what, the So, what, and the now what, right? I mean, that's the components that have to be there. So be a good storyteller. And number three, process discipline. Learn like, know where the waste is. If you don't know where the waste is, go seek out, understand the process. It will then help you identify exactly where the waste exists. And if you know where the waste is, now look at how can you be able to eliminate the waste? And once you eliminate the waste, then you have to look at building the process so you don't have that waste occurring again. If you can do that, whether it's in procurement or anywhere in life, you will go far, because you will be able to drive a better, faster, cheaper execution in anything you're doing

Lisa Nichols  51:21
That's so profound, Pratik, because I'm just thinking about that. And I'm thinking about, you know, where do we waste time, right? It's not just where do we write waste money, it's where do we waste our time? Can we get time back? You know, that's why I'm so excited about AI and the tools that are coming, because I do think it's going to help us, hopefully streamline some things and give us back some time. But so, if you're, listener, if you want to know about the ways, just go to Pratik, he's got it badge, he's got it right there. So, I have to ask you, what do you believe is the something extra that every leader needs?

Pratik Patel  52:03
And I hope it's came through in terms of this conversation, too, but I think you need to show a sense of humility, you know. And with that humility, there needs to be also an understanding that it's okay to be vulnerable. So, humility and vulnerability are two areas that I think we need more of across our lives, not just in business, because when you allow for the humility to come through that humbleness, what you're doing is you're focusing on the facts. You're focusing on the story that's, that's driving the impact you're building credibility. You're building trust. You're enabling people also to have a forum, to be able to share as well, because that's just going to help drive innovation, that's going to drive greater collaboration as well. And I always tell my team, I work for you, so you know. So, you tell me, what can I do so that I can make you look better? So, I can make you look better? 

Lisa Nichols  53:06
Yes, that's good. That's gold. That is gold. Well, Pratik, honestly, this has just been so much fun. I am so delighted that you agreed to be on that you made the time, you carved out the time, and I cannot wait for our listeners to learn from you. There's so much gold. I've got a friend who says it's boulders of gold. Boulders of wisdom you just dropped on us today. So, thank you so much.

Pratik Patel  53:39
Thanks so much, Lisa. I really appreciate it. I hope we inspired people from our conversation. 

Lisa Nichols  53:44
Yes, me too.

Announcer  53:46
Thank you for listening to today's show something extra with Lisa Nichols as a Technology Partners Production Copyright Technology Partners Inc. 2019. For show notes, or to reach Lisa, visit tpi.co/podcast. Don't forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or wherever you listen.


*Please note, the preceding transcription has been automatically generated and should be used for informational purposes only.