Carnival's Chief Procurement Officer Recognized as Woman to Watch

Carnival Corporation's chief procurement officer Julia Brown has been recognized as one of this year’s “Women to Watch” by Cranfield University and one of 2019’s “Most Influential Women in Corporate America” by Savoy magazine.

Brown is recognized as one of only 50 women chosen from over 500 prospective candidates for the annual Women to Watch supplement which showcases inspiring female professionals ideally suited for board positions with Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 350 companies now or in the near future. 

This is the second time she has been named to the Savoy Most Influential Women in Corporate America list of African American women achievers impacting corporate America.

As chief procurement officer for Carnival Corporation, Brown oversees strategic sourcing and supplier relationship management. Working with Carnival Corporation’s nine global cruise line brands and their leadership teams, Brown strategically procures goods and services from among over 33,000 suppliers globally involving $10 billion in spending. 

Brown has over 25 years of leadership and global procurement experience. She has served as chief procurement officer at Mondel?z International, Kraft Foods and Clorox, where she built a global reputation of being a transformational leader delivering billions of dollars of value. Her background also includes work with top consumer brands, including Diageo and Gillette. Brown currently serves on the board of the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami and Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply-CIPS (London). She is chair of the Hotel, Food and Beverage Council for the Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA), a member of the Executive Leadership Council and the International Women’s Forum (IWF) and recently joined the American Airlines Corporate Customer Advisory Council. She received a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and is based in Miami. 

Brown has also been named among the “Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business” and “100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise magazine, the “Top 100 Women to Watch” by Today’s Chicago Woman and one of the top 100 “Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America” seven times by Savoy Magazine. 

First introduced by Cranfield University’s Gender Leadership and Inclusion Centre in 2009, Women to Watch is an annual supplement published by Cranfield University’s School of Management alongside the Female FTSE Board Report, an annual analysis of the progress that FTSE companies have made with respect to increasing board representation of women. The 2019 edition features 50 Black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) women, showcasing inspiring professionals who come from backgrounds historically under-represented in the senior leadership pipeline. This year’s list was compiled in collaboration with The Network of Networks BAME – Multicultural Chapter (TNON) and the Black British Business Awards.