Coupa Inspire 2025: Interview with Michael van Keulen

Coupa Inspire 2025 brought together the finest minds in procurement, supply chain and finance at the stunning ARIA Resort in Las Vegas. 

Supply Chain Digital caught up with procurement legend Michael van Keulen, who recently transitioned from CPO to Global Practice Leader for Procurement at Coupa.

He shared his thoughts on the future of procurement technology, AI integration and navigating supply chain disruption.

The evolution of AI

"AI is the buzzword, but it's here to stay," Michael emphasised, reflecting on the opening day presentations at Coupa Inspire 2025.

While last year's discussions centred around generative AI, this year's focus has shifted to agentic AI and its extensive implementation across the Coupa platform.

Michael said he felt particularly energised by CEO Leagh Turner's vision, as well as the presentation delivered by Chief Product and Technology Officer Salvatore Lombardo on AI integration. 

"It touches many different elements of the journey," he explained. "I was always thinking it's going to help automate my req-to-PO process and help with contracting reviews and sourcing. But what Salvatore was talking about—it's in SIM, it's in onboarding, it's everywhere."

This comprehensive integration represents what Michael describes as "endless possibilities" for procurement professionals. The technology isn't just enhancing specific functions, but transforming the entire procurement practice, creating excitement about how these advancements will elevate the profession.

Embracing disruption as opportunity

Discussing the current landscape of global disruption, Michael offered a refreshingly positive perspective:

"Supply chains historically have been built based upon decades of experience and often had the 'skies blue, sun is shining' type of mindset," he observed. "Those days are gone forever, whether we like it or not."

Rather than viewing this as a challenge, Michael suggests embracing disruption as "a perfect opportunity for us to raise the bar, as we did during the pandemic". He advocates leveraging these disruptions to demonstrate the full power of procurement and supply chain functions.

For organisations navigating these turbulent times, Michael recommends a comprehensive approach that extends beyond technology. While he fundamentally believes in a single source of truth and the breaking down of silos, he emphasises that success also requires "the right operating model, the right people and the right organisational structure". 

Building the commerce network of the future

With nearly two decades of platform development behind them, Coupa has accumulated what Michael describes as an "unparalleled" data moat—eight trillion data points growing at a trillion per year, with more than 10 million suppliers and buyers connected to its platform.

This vast network forms the foundation for CEO Leagh's vision of a network that "drives the commerce of the future," which Michael finds both "aspirational" and "achievable". 

For Michael, who has attended at least a dozen Coupa Inspire events throughout his career, this year's conference reinforced the exciting trajectory of the company. 

Foreseeing that current disruptions like tariff discussions will eventually subside, Michael remains pragmatic: "This is a point in time. Solutions will be figured out, but then there will be something else."

This forward-thinking, opportunity-focused mindset positions Coupa to continue leading innovation in procurement technology, whatever challenges lie ahead.

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