DPW 2023 Reflections

I try to abide by the philosophy of promoting what you love versus bashing what you hate. In that spirit, I absolutely love DPW. It is the conference that every year I circle on my calendar as the one not to miss.

People often ask me which conferences they should attend. Without missing a beat, DPW is always the first one out of my mouth. There is not even a close second. Everything about it is so much fun. I spend months preparing, this year I spent five months working on my presentation. I thought DPW 2022 was absolutely amazing, but DPW 2023 completely blew me away.

I know this write up is a about 2 months late, but given what a great time DPW 2023 was I cannot let the year end without adding my perspective.

What made DPW 2023 particularly great

First and foremost, the location. The Beurs van Berlage is truly iconic and retro. Granted I see it through American eyes where any older than a few decades feels majestic and historic. Inside was nothing short of magical. The combination of the analog tech aesthetic balanced against nonstop discussions about AI made for a very pleasing juxtaposition.

Of course, the content and the speakers were stellar. DPW is one of the few places where you can actually see new and different content, especially on the mainstage. And, the people are the best. Not only do you get to see friends and colleagues in person while making new acquaintances. There is palpable excitement in the air. In short, attending is an immersive experience. It’s as if a European night club merged with a tech conference.

Personal highlights

Some personal highlights. Aside from my keynote and AMA, I very much appreciated being able to interview Anthony K. Adeleye. I enjoyed talking to Diarmuid O'Donoghue and Michelle Armstrong. Doing the executive briefing with LevaData and Keith Hartley was a great way to start Day 1. Also, special shoutout to HICX for putting on a fantastic event on Day 0.

Why I’m excited for DPW and 2024

The breadth of innovation and market changes (not all positive) in the procure tech space was breathtaking in 2023 and I expect more next year. Just the number and breadth of startups was amazing especially compared to just a year earlier. I also like how we as a profession are expanding our speaker set to include the likes of Guenther Steiner, Leo Kouwenhoven, and Atif Rafiq. I am certainly looking forward to DPW 2024 in Amsterdam…but you know I am super excited for DPW to come to the U.S. There is so much need and demand.

DPW 2023 was the highlight of my professional year. My sincere gratitude goes to Matthias Gutzmann and Herman Knevel for everything they and their team did to make it a huge success. And, on a personal level I am thankful to them for allowing me to launch my book there. In fact, knowing that I would be presenting at DPW motivated me through the laborious writing process. One day while procrastinating my writing, I printed a picture of me presenting at DPW 2022 and posted on my whiteboard. That picture served as both a reminder and motivator every time I walked in and out of my office.

Finally, I recorded some video to capture my feelings in the moment. Here is short video of my experience, including some behind the scenes (and a cameo from Lance Younger ).

Kearney Mark Perera

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