Robert Kolek

About Robert Kolek

Robert Kolek is a strategic procurement and sourcing executive with 25+ years of experience in transforming underperforming functions into high-performing, audit-ready procurement organizations across biopharma, technology, and digital media. He builds Procurement Centers of Excellence, drives multimillion-dollar savings, and accelerates ERP/P2P implementations to align with SOX, GxP, and enterprise governance standards. As a trusted advisor to CFOs, CAOs, and Boards, Robert positions procurement as a strategic lever for cost optimization, compliance, and value creation. As Associate Director of Strategic Sourcing & Procurement at Structure Therapeutics, Robert rebuilt procurement from the ground up while establishing policies, SOPs, contract governance, onboarding protocols, and corporate card programs. He delivered $8M+ in supplier savings, mitigated $10M in potential losses through penalty-free exit clauses, and accelerated ZipHQ P2P implementation from a projected 12 months to under four months, securing CFO approval and SOX audit certification. He embedded SMART KPIs into category planning, partnered with clinical operations to align sourcing with trial requirements, and trained cross-functional teams to ensure consistent adoption and compliance. During his career as Head of Strategic Sourcing & Procurement at Quotient Technology, Robert founded and scaled the inaugural procurement function for a publicly traded digital promotions company. He delivered $32M+ in contract savings and $6M in annual cost avoidance through vendor consolidations, multi-year negotiations, and category management initiatives. He mitigated $350K in fraud, negotiated $2.4M savings on a hosted identity/data platform, secured $560K reductions on a media OMS, and advanced automation through NetSuite ERP P2P deployment, DocuSign Enterprise, and standardized supplier governance frameworks. At Brocade Communications Systems, Robert directed global sourcing strategy and produced $30M+ in enterprise savings across cloud, SaaS, and IT agreements. He negotiated a Salesforce renewal saving $3.2M with stronger data-security provisions, launched a CIO/Internal Audit-approved SaaS procurement policy, and institutionalized supplier governance, RFx templates, and SOX documentation standards. Earlier in his career at Varian Medical Systems, he drove $15M in savings, earned a Performance Award for audit readiness, and transformed procurement compliance to achieve 100% with FDA-regulated suppliers.

Experience

1. Associate Director, Procurement

   Structure Therapeutics

   Dec 2023 — Present · South San Francisco, CA, US

   PROCUREMENT TRANSFORMATION | ENTERPRISE ERP/P2P IMPLEMENTATION SUPPLIER RISK & GOVERNANCE | CLINICAL OPERATIONS ALIGNMENT | COST OPTIMIZATION • Serve as a trusted advisor to CFO, FP & A, Clinical Operations, Legal, and IT leadership while establishing a Procurement Center of Excellence in a high-growth biopharma setting. Drive enterprise sourcing strategy, governance frameworks, and P2P system transformation that advance cost savings, strengthen compliance, and enable operational scalability.• Rebuilt procurement from the ground up by designing and implementing policies, SOPs, PO close protocols, vendor onboarding, corporate card programs, and contract governance models fully aligned with business goals and mission objectives.• Generated $8M+ in supplier savings through strategic sourcing, vendor consolidation, and renegotiations while mitigating $10M in potential losses via penalty-free exit clauses in critical agreements.• Global Project Leader for P2P transformation, accelerating ZipHQ implementation from a projected 12 months to under 4 months. Directed cross-functional teams, aligned executives, and achieved CFO approval with full SOX audit certification.• Launched three enterprise corporate card programs (Travel, Reimbursement, Corporate Purchase), developing policies, workflows, and training to strengthen expense management and accountability.• Develop SMART goals and supplier KPIs to enhance category planning, evaluate capacity, and deliver actionable insights that optimize executive decision-making, budget alignment, and organizational performance.• Partner with U.S. and Global Clinical Operations teams to align sourcing strategies with clinical trial requirements, embedding supplier performance management into operational frameworks.• Act as primary liaison across IT, Finance, Legal, Investor Relations, and Commercial Strategy, overseeing contracts, SOWs, and purchase orders to mitigate risk exposure and reinforce compliance.

Education

• San José State University

  Bachelor's Degree, Advertising

  1990 — 1992

• Pragmatic Marketing, Inc.

  Certificate, Pragmatic Marketing’s Practical Product Management® seminar

  2010 — 2010

Skills

• Supplier Negotiation
• Pricing
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Software as a Service (Saas)
• Supply Management
• Project Management
• Saas
• Program Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Strategic Sourcing
• Sap
• Management
• Strategy
• Contract Negotiation
• Cloud Computing
• Microsoft Office
• Purchasing
• Process Improvement
• Business Process Improvement
• Manufacturing
• Negotiation
• Procurement
• Global Sourcing
• Project Planning
• Supply Chain