Katie Waters
Head of Global Procurement at Red Hat
- Role
- Senior Director, Global Procurement at Red Hat
- Location
- Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Katie Waters
Procurement Leader with 18+ years of experience building and scaling procurement functions in fast-paced, high-growth tech environments. Skilled at creating structure from the ground up, leading global teams, and driving procurement transformation across IT/SaaS, Cloud, Infrastructure, and Services categories. Known for exceptional negotiation capability, strong supplier partnerships, and delivering measurable value through both strategic vision and tactical execution. Deep expertise in category management, contracting, supplier management, and S2P operations, with a track record of improving processes, reducing cycle times, and supporting organizational scale.Over the past 10 years, I\'ve Transformed Red Hat’s Procurement function during a period of 20% YoY growth, evolving the team from tactical purchasing to a strategic sourcing organization aligned with enterprise-wide objectives. I\'ve led complex, high-impact negotiations with critical technology suppliers (SaaS, iPaaS, Cloud), securing favorable commercial terms and long-term value while mitigating risk. Delivered $25M+ in cost savings across a $1B+ spend portfolio by driving strategic sourcing initiatives, supplier consolidation, and contract optimization. I have reduced Procurement cycle times by 35% through process standardization, digitizing contract lifecycle management (DocuSign CLM), streamlined templates, and strengthening cross-functional collaboration. I have established scalable global sourcing frameworks from the ground up at creating alignment between Procurement, Finance, the Business, and Operations to support strategic business goals.
Experience
Senior Director, Global Procurement
May 2023 — Present · Raleigh, NC, US
Head of the Global Procurement department responsible for overseeing several functions globally including Global Category Management, Strategic Sourcing, Global Expense and Travel, Vendor Risk and Operations. Sets the vision, strategy and tactical direction for the organization, aligned to the company’s mission, global sourcing strategies and internal stakeholder requirements.
Education
Syracuse University - Martin J. Whitman School of Management
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Supply Chain Management and Marketing
2003 — 2007
NC State Poole College of Management
Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Supply Chain Management and Marketing
2010 — 2012
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