Alan J. Rice
Managing Director, Caché Procurement
Alan J. Rice is Managing Director of Caché Procurement and a leading voice in AI-driven procurement transformation. He combines three decades of front-line procurement experience with deep technology expertise in GenAI, agentic workflows, data pipelines, and control automation to translate ambition into operational results. Alan helps Fortune 500 enterprises establish AI-first operating models that coexist alongside ERP/P2P, compress cycle times from months to days, enforce policy compliance, expose multi-tiered risk, and unlock new value in working capital and cost. His approaches are pragmatic: clean the data you have, instrument high-impact use cases such as (RFx drafting, supplier discovery, risk scanning, price prediction, and contract intelligence), build guardrails, and scale with a measurable ROI. A frequent keynote speaker and board advisor, he is known for translating leading-edge AI into credible delivery plans with clear owners, metrics, and change-management paths that teams can execute.
Alan holds a Bachelor’s in International Affairs and a Master’s in Supply Chain Management.
Laurence Pageau
Advisor in Responsible Procurement, Espace de concertation sur les pratiques d’approvisionnement responsable (ECPAR)
Nicholas Jobidon
Professor of Public Procurement Law, École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP)
Nicholas Jobidon, Ph.D., LL.M., is a recognized expert in public law and public procurement law, with a rich academic and professional career. He holds a doctorate in law from the University of Ottawa and an LL.M. from Université Laval, where he specialized in the training and awarding of public contracts. His work focuses on state responsibility, discretionary power, and remedies in administrative law.
As a professor at the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP), Nicholas combines teaching, research, and community engagement. A prolific author, he has contributed to major works and articles on public procurement and administrative law. He has also received several distinctions, including research grants from the Fondation du Barreau and an excellence award from the Jeune Barreau de Québec.
Sébastien Laprise
Partner, Langlois Law Firm
Sébastien Laprise is a leading authority on public procurement law in Québec. He notably represented the SAAQ during the work of the Gallant Commission. He also advises and represents a large number of public and municipal bodies and their subsidiaries.
His expertise is sought at every stage of the public contract award and execution process. Sébastien develops governance rules tailored to the reality of each organization. He defines the best contractual strategies and advises his clients accordingly. He is adept at navigating both the strict regulatory framework of public procurement and the need for public and municipal bodies to adopt innovative approaches.
Francois Emond
Executive Director, Canadian Public Procurement Council
François Emond is the Executive Director of the Canadian Public Procurement Council (CPPC). His knowledge and leadership have helped build extensive experience in procurement in both the private and public sectors; first as a professional and later in leadership roles over the past 30 years. His broad experience across different sectors and his constant commitment to elevating the role of the procurement function in every organization he has worked with have given him a deep understanding of the realities and challenges faced daily by public procurement professionals.
François also enjoys sharing his knowledge with others by teaching various business-related subjects at both the university and college levels. He holds an MBA from the Université de Sherbrooke and also has a CPPO (Certified Public Procurement Officer) certification.
