Media Management

Marketing Procurement Network in Switzerland Celebrates 12 Months of Success!

Full House for the First Event of 2026

Marketing Procurement Network in Switzerland kicked off 2026 with a fully booked event with a quick recap of all they’ve achieved in just over 12 months.

The numbers are impressive: during 2025 the network delivered three in-person events, two seasonal socials, 1 online event and built a membership of 70+ procurement professionals from over 50 multinational organisations across Switzerland.

The celebrations on January 20th Zurich continued with an insightful and wide-ranging presentation from Media Marketing Compliance (MMC). Client Services Director, Jane Dormer laid out practical strategies for tackling contract compliance in an ever-fragmenting supplier landscape, and then Co-Founder Stephen Broderick delivering one of the clearest takes we’ve seen on Inventory Media

The MMC team were followed by a fireside chat between MPN and Optiwise founder Amy Redford and McKinsey Senior Advisor and former P&G VP Media Gerry D’Angelo on industry trends, and an all-star panel on Contracting Best Practice featuring eBay’s Teres Bjorklund and Carlsberg’s András Mohos.

The panel will again be discussing ‘Contracting & Compliance – Best practice vs Bad practice’ at the Marketing Procurement iQ Conference in London on 25th March. You can book a ticket here

Informal networking amongst the thriving network rounded off the evening, with members exchanging insights, updates, and job market tips.

From 2024 Foundation to Year One Success

In November 2024 a handful of Marketing Procurement leaders met for drinks in a bar near Zurich’s main station. Working in senior roles for major regional and global brands, they couldn’t quite believe that a Switzerland-based group for Marketing Procurement didn’t already exist.

A few fruitless Google and LinkedIn searches confirmed their hunch. Feeling there was a clear need for a peer-led network, they set about establishing one for themselves.

Led by the indefatigable Amy Redford and with sponsorship from Marketing Procurement iQ , Marketing Procurement Network (MPN) Switzerland was born, holding their inaugural event in January 2025 in Zurich.

Fast forward to January 2026, and the most recent MPN event drew 30+ Marketing Procurement professionals from across Switzerland and beyond.

Participation included those in procurement-adjacent functions too, with members from Finance, Controlling, Business Insights and Marketing Operations roles attending on January 20th.

A Winning Formula
Collaborations with industry partners Marketing Procurement iQ, CIPS, ISBA, and a careful curation of commercial sponsors have helped to fuel the Network’s growth. Each event balances sponsor thought-leadership content with practitioner-level discussion and informal networking.

As a peer-led group, members actively shape the agenda to address their most pressing concerns, suggesting topics and acting as expert speakers. Industry sponsor content is carefully curated to keep it educational, rather than purely promotional in nature.

This enables the group to tap into both thought leadership and sponsorship funding. As a result, the quality, relevance and breadth of discussion topics is a major draw, particularly for first-time attendees.

The network’s rapid growth across industry sectors and high levels of event attendance show that the founding group’s hunch was right. Marketing Procurement Network in Switzerland has become a valuable resource for members seeking support, inspiration and career progression.

Chatting to attendees over drinks, they formed a picture of strong peer engagement within a group engaged in collective problem-solving. Friendships have been formed, and careers furthered, as members help one another to navigate Switzerland’s notoriously tricky job market.

They got a sense of collective confidence in the opportunities for career progression, despite the challenging hiring environment – a noted change from January 2025 when many attendees felt the outlook was much more pessimistic.

Indeed, a handful of original attendees from last year’s event have recently found new job opportunities or hired talent via contacts directly within the MPN Community.

Tips for Self-Organising Procurement Networks

Marketing Procurement Network Switzerland’s success story proves that peer-led groups can become self-sustaining and add real value to the Marketing Procurement community.

We asked Redford and event co-organiser Bruno Braghini to share their guidance for anyone thinking about setting up a similar Network:
1. Establish a founding membership with a shared vision. This group can provide suggestions of topics for up-coming events, venues to host events, connection to industry sponsors or speakers, act as subject-matter-expert speakers and will become the network’s ambassadors.
2. Trust the process. There will be an initial heavy-lift to drive engagement, so be prepared to put in some legwork to recruit for initial events. Peer referrals will start to build after the first couple of successful events.
3. Leverage sponsorship thoughtfully, with trusted industry contacts. Vital funding for venues, drinks and nibbles doesn’t have to cost you a dry 90 mins sales pitch.
4. Social media and online events help build the membership base and engagement among the community online. Leveraging a handful of LinkedIn mavens can really help here too.
5. Tap into what your membership needs in terms of mutual support, knowledge exchange and networking opportunities. Use their feedback to shape your agenda and priorities.

Year Two Ambitions

MPN’s plans for 2026 are ambitious. The aim is to grow across in-person and online channels, increasing reach and providing members with more ways to connect.

A growing LinkedIn membership, WhatsApp group and email distribution list are proving popular for sharing job market updates, seeking peer advice, and celebrating successes.

The first in a series of member interviews by Braghini in partnership with MXPiQ has just been published too.

The series will explore routes into and through Marketing Procurement careers, share insights from subject matter experts, showcase the local talent pool, and shine a spotlight on members’ successes and achievements.

Those interested in joining the Network can do so by contacting Amy Redford.

To learn more, please follow MPN LinkedIn page – Marketing Procurement Network – Switzerland.

The group is open to Marketing Procurement professionals (from Procurement, Marketing, Finance) based in and around Switzerland in client-side roles.