EBG | Network and PIR — Procure It Right Launch the Nordic CPO of the Year Award
A dedicated recognition program for senior procurement leadership across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
STOCKHOLM — EBG | Network and PIR — Procure It Right organize the Nordic CPO of the Year Award, a recognition program for senior procurement leaders across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
Most procurement awards measure outcomes: savings delivered, contracts signed, costs reduced. The Nordic CPO of the Year Award measures those too — but it starts somewhere else. It asks how the CPO led: how people were developed, how decisions were made under pressure, how trust was built across the organization. Results matter. So does the leadership that produced them.
The award is open to CPOs, Procurement Directors, VPs of Procurement, Heads of Procurement, and equivalent senior leaders with strategic accountability for procurement in private-sector and state-owned organizations. Self-nominations and nominations from colleagues, peers, or board members are equally welcome. There is no entry fee.
Nominations are submitted via an online form and take approximately 15 minutes to complete. All nomination content is treated confidentially, and nominees are informed before any information is shared publicly.
Evaluation
The evaluation framework is structured across three equal dimensions:
- People — How the CPO develops others, builds team capability, and leads cross-functional collaboration.
- Integrity — How the CPO makes decisions — with transparency, consistency, and trust built in practice.
- Results — What the CPO has concretely delivered — financially, organizationally, and over time.
Every nominee is assessed against the conditions they actually operated in — not against a universal standard. A CPO leading a mid-market organization is not measured against the same baseline as one leading a 50,000-person multinational.
The evaluation is managed by PIR — Procure It Right, independently from EBG | Network. An independent jury of senior procurement leaders evaluates nominees using anonymized summaries. Jury members declare all relevant relationships before the process begins.
Anna Bjärkerud, Founder of EBG | Network:
“The Nordic region has world-class procurement leaders. This award gives them recognition built around the values that define Nordic leadership — how people are developed, how decisions are made, and what is actually delivered. Context always matters.”
Robert Liljeblad, Partner & CEO, PIR:
“Through the CPO Nordic Awards, we want to recognize the procurement leaders who are driving innovation, transformation, and business value across the Nordic region. This is also an opportunity to give the procurement function the visibility and recognition it truly deserves.”
Key facts:
- Nominations open: 24 March 2026
- Nominations close: 6 June 2026
- Screening & evaluation: June–September 2026
- Ceremony: 14 October 2026, CPO Outlook, Hotel Birger Jarl, Stockholm
- Entry fee: None
- Nomination through: this form
- Website: nordiccpoaward.com
About EBG | Network
EBG | Network has spent 16 years building the Nordic region’s most trusted procurement community. Through CPO Outlook, EBG | Xperience, webinars, and research, EBG connects hundreds of senior procurement leaders annually across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. ebgnetwork.com