Arkestro announces Optimal '26, bringing together top enterprise leaders from Chevron, JLL, BMI and Nissan to Unlock the Predictive Advantage. Sep 17, 2026, 12:00 ET Annual conference will convene procurement, supply chain and business leaders in Houston to explore how predictive intelligence is reshaping enterprise decision-making HOUSTON, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Arkestro, the only predictive procurement platform accelerating enterprise scale, today announced Optimal '26, its annual customer conference taking place Oct. 13-15, 2026, in Houston, Texas. The event will bring together procurement, supply chain and business leaders from across industries to explore how enterprises are applying AI-powered predictive procurement to "Unlock the Predictive Advantage." Optimal '26 will gather Arkestro customers, partners and industry leaders, including executives from Chevron, Nissan, CenterPoint Energy, JLL, Phillips 66, W.R. Grace, BMI, and Zurich North America with more to be announced. The Predictive Advantage in Action Programming at Optimal '26 will focus on the practical questions facing procurement and supply chain leaders as AI becomes more deeply embedded across enterprise operations. Sessions will explore how organizations are using AI's predictive capabilities to navigate volatility, increase procurement capacity, improve supplier engagement and strengthen procurement's connection to the C-suite. Featured sessions and speakers include: * From Reactive to Predictive: Inside CenterPoint's Procurement Shift - Christopher Foster, Executive Vice President and CFO of CenterPoint Energy, will share a C-suite perspective on the company's procurement evolution. * Making It Stick: How Leading Enterprises Drive Predictive Procurement Change - Leaders from JLL, W.R. Grace and BMI will join Arkestro's Chief Customer Officer Greg Cruz to discuss what it takes to drive adoption and lasting change across the enterprise. * Executive Panel: The C-Suite View of Predictive Procurement - Procurement and finance leaders from JLL, Zurich North America and Nissan Americas will explore how predictive procurement is driving value beyond the procurement function and across the broader enterprise. * One Year Later: Chevron on Scaling Predictive Procurement Enterprise-Wide - Joshua Flowers, senior manager of SCM IT category management at Chevron, will discuss the company's continued journey to predictive procurement at scale. * Always on, Arkestro in Action - Arkestro Chief Product Officer Ben Leiken and VP of Product Management Bob van Leeuwen will showcase the next evolution of Arkestro's predictive procurement platform. Optimal '26 will also feature a dedicated space for supplier perspectives through an invite-only Supplier Summit, where participants will work with Arkestro's Supplier Consulting Group and product team to share feedback, explore the platform and shape the future of supplier enablement. "Supply chain and procurement leaders are navigating unprecedented complexity while being asked to deliver more for the business than ever before," said Rob DeSantis, CEO and co-founder of Arkestro. "Predictive procurement is no longer an experiment. Some of the world's largest enterprises are using it to operate at greater speed and scale, influence more spend and make decisions that have a meaningful impact on margins. Optimal brings leaders together to share how they're putting predictive approaches into practice across procurement and supply chain, and to shape what comes next." About Arkestro Arkestro is the leading predictive procurement platform, accelerating enterprise spend transformation and supply chain agility. By combining AI and game theory with Arkestro's patented three science technologies - Negotiation Science, Supplier Science, and Process Science - Arkestro shifts traditional procurement to become a proactive, results-driven function. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies across industries, Arkestro unlocks trapped savings, optimizes negotiations, and enhances supplier collaboration. Learn more about Arkestro at www.arkestro.com and register for Optimal '26 Houston, the premier AI event for procurement professionals, taking place October 13-15, 2026. SOURCE Arkestro

Arkestro named a Sample Vendor in 2026 Gartner(R) Hype Cycle(TM) for Multienterprise Solutions. Sep 08, 2026, 12:00 ET Arkestro recognized as a Sample Vendor for Supplier Discovery as we see enterprises look to strengthen supplier networks and respond faster to disruption SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Arkestro, the leading predictive procurement platform accelerating enterprise scale, today announced that it has been identified as a Sample Vendor in the Gartner(R) Hype Cycle(TM) for Multienterprise Solutions, 2026. "As supplier networks become more complex, we believe predictive intelligence can give buyers more options and resilience while giving suppliers a more informed way to engage," said Rob DeSantis, Founder and CEO of Arkestro. "Competition will always be part of procurement, but it doesn't have to make buyer-supplier relationships adversarial when both sides have a better way to work together. To enable that collaboration, procurement technology must extend beyond the walls of the enterprise. Improving the decision-making process for both procurement teams and suppliers will enhance value across the supply chain, not just the processes happening inside either organization." Arkestro was named a Sample Vendor for Supplier Discovery, which Gartner defines as solutions that assist organizations in identifying, assessing and incorporating new supply sources for goods and services within their procurement processes. The report notes that these solutions generally maintain an extensive database of supplier information and frequently utilize artificial intelligence and graph technologies to match sourcing criteria with potential suppliers, thereby optimizing the competitiveness of the supplier portfolio. To us, Gartner also cites supply chain disruptions, capacity constraints, cost optimization strategies, and innovation targets as reasons procurement teams need to efficiently identify and qualify alternative suppliers. We feel the report further notes that Supplier Discovery is increasingly being embedded within third-party risk management, supplier risk management, source-to-pay and other procurement platforms, making it a feature of broader procurement technology rather than a distinct market. The announcement follows Arkestro's fourth consecutive recognition as a Sample Vendor in the Gartner Hype Cycle for Procurement and Sourcing Solutions, 2026, where the company was named in the Supplier Discovery and Autonomous Sourcing categories. To view the full Hype Cycle for Multienterprise Solutions, 2026 report, visit https://arkestro.com/spotlight/gartner/. Learn more about Arkestro at www.arkestro.com and connect with Arkestro at the Gartner Procurement Conference 2026 in San Diego, California, September 15-16, 2026. Gartner Disclaimer: Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. GARTNER and HYPE CYCLE are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. About Arkestro Arkestro is the leading predictive procurement platform, accelerating enterprise spend transformation and supply chain agility. By combining AI and game theory with Arkestro's patented three science technologies - Negotiation Science, Supplier Science, and Process Science - Arkestro shifts traditional procurement to become a proactive, results-driven function. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies across industries, Arkestro unlocks trapped savings, optimizes negotiations, and enhances supplier collaboration. Arkestro is hosting its annual Optimal conference in Houston, TX, on October 13-15, 2026. Explore what it means to Unlock the Predictive Advantage and register here. Media Contact Cailey Henderson LaunchSquad SOURCE Arkestro

Tahmeeda Bushra Khorasani, Arkestro Director of Supply Chain Innovation and Supplier Ecosystem, named winner of 2026 Women in Supply Chain Award. Aug 17, 2026, 12:00 ET Khorasani is recognized in the Trailblazer category for driving the adoption of AI-powered predictive procurement, empowering the next generation of women in supply chain and helping shape the future of the industry. SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Arkestro, the leading predictive procurement platform accelerating enterprise scale, today announced its Director of Supply Chain Innovation and Supplier Ecosystem, Tahmeeda Bushra Khorasani, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Women in Supply Chain Award. Khorasani is recognized in the Trailblazer category for her work driving innovation in procurement and supply chain, while mentoring the next generation of leaders and advancing women across the profession. Spanning nearly two decades across two continents, Khorasani's career has taken her from leading complex procurement and supply chain operations at Chevron to helping global organizations adopt AI-powered predictive procurement at Arkestro. Before joining the company, she held a series of leadership roles across Bangladesh and the United States, overseeing procurement, contracts, logistics, materials management and category management initiatives supporting critical energy infrastructure and global operations. Today, she draws on that experience to help customers elevate procurement from an operational necessity to a strategic driver of enterprise growth. "What excites me about AI and predictive procurement is their ability to scale expertise, accelerate decision making, strengthen supplier partnerships and elevate procurement to the role it has always deserved," said Khorasani. "At the same time, lasting transformation still depends on people who are willing to learn, lead and bring others along with them. I am honored by this recognition and proud to be part of a team at Arkestro that is redefining what is possible in procurement. I hope this encourages more women to stay curious, embrace challenges outside their comfort zones and help shape the future of our profession." Since joining Arkestro, Khorasani has become a trusted advisor to top enterprises across industries navigating procurement transformation. Having previously used the Arkestro platform in her role at Chevron, she leverages her firsthand practitioner experience to help organizations understand, adopt and optimize predictive procurement. She also plays a key role in strengthening Arkestro's innovation strategy, bringing customer insights from the field to help shape the company's predictive procurement platform. "Arkestro's mission is to redefine what procurement can achieve, and Bushra has played a significant role in advancing that vision," said Greg Cruz, Chief Customer Officer of Arkestro. "Through her leadership, she has strengthened how we partner with our customers and helped turn innovative ideas into measurable business results. Bushra's ability to build trust, drive meaningful change and elevate those around her has made a lasting impact on our customers, our teams and the broader supply chain industry. The Trailblazer recognition is a well-deserved reflection of her leadership and influence." Beyond shaping the future of procurement, Khorasani has long been committed to expanding leadership opportunities for women in supply chain. At Chevron, she led the company's women's network in Bangladesh before expanding into a global leadership role supporting women's networks across operations in Kazakhstan, France, Egypt, Angola and Israel. Through those efforts, she helped strengthen local chapters, expand leadership development opportunities and foster greater engagement among women across the organization. "This award isn't just a way to honor women leaders in supply chain. It's a representation of progress, a symbol of growth, and a way to celebrate achievements of all women in the industry paving the way for the next generation," says Marina Mayer, editor-in-chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive and co-founder of the Women in Supply Chain Forum(TM). Khorasani's recognition comes during a period of strong momentum for Arkestro - marked by the recent expansion of its executive leadership team - as the company continues to scale its platform to meet growing customer demand. In October, the company will welcome industry leaders, customers and suppliers to Optimal '26, its flagship event dedicated to unlocking the predictive advantage - which features a Supplier Summit focused on strengthening supplier collaboration and engagement. To learn more about Arkestro and register for Optimal '26, visit www.arkestro.com. To see the full list of Women in Supply Chain Award winners, visit https://foodl.me/2zm74ar1. About Arkestro Arkestro is the leading predictive procurement platform, accelerating enterprise spend transformation and supply chain agility. By combining AI and game theory with Arkestro's patented three science technologies - Negotiation Science, Supplier Science, and Process Science - Arkestro shifts traditional procurement to become a proactive, results-driven function. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies across industries, Arkestro unlocks trapped savings, optimizes negotiations, and enhances supplier collaboration. Learn more about Arkestro at www.arkestro.com and register for Optimal '26 Houston, the premier AI event for procurement professionals, taking place October 13-15, 2026. About Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive Food Logistics reaches more than 26,000 supply chain executives in the global food and beverage industries, including executives in the food sector (growers, producers, manufacturers, wholesalers and grocers) and the logistics sector (transportation, warehousing, distribution, software and technology) who share a mutual interest in the operations and business aspects of the global cold food supply chain. Supply & Demand Chain Executive is the only supply chain publication covering the entire global supply chain, focusing on trucking, warehousing, packaging, procurement, risk management, professional development and more. Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive also operate SCN Summit and Women in Supply Chain Forum. Go to www.FoodLogistics.com and www.SDCExec.com SOURCE Arkestro