Her Story
About Nicole
Nicole Scoccolo serves as Director of Global Sourcing at Starbucks, a position she has held for the past two years. With 25 years of experience in supply chain, procurement, and strategic sourcing, she has built a distinguished career leading enterprise transformation initiatives that drive operational excellence and business value. Nicole began her career supporting retail store operations before transitioning into planning and procurement, where she developed deep expertise across both direct procurement, including food, beverage ingredients, and packaging, and indirect procurement encompassing technology, hardware, software, corporate services, distribution, and transportation. Today, she leads a team of more than 25 professionals responsible for a $5 billion portfolio, developing sourcing strategies, strengthening supplier partnerships, and collaborating with executive stakeholders to deliver sustainable enterprise impact. Her leadership spans procurement transformation, global sourcing, supplier governance, operating model strategy, organizational development, and cross-functional collaboration within a Fortune 500 environment.
Throughout her career, Nicole has earned a reputation for transforming procurement into a strategic business function that creates measurable organizational value. She focuses on building high-performing teams, implementing innovative sourcing strategies, and coaching procurement professionals to excel in contract negotiations, supplier relationship management, and industry expertise. Her collaborative leadership approach has enabled organizations to optimize operations, improve governance, and navigate complex business challenges while fostering innovation and long-term growth. She believes that the strongest organizations are built on trust, accountability, and open communication, creating environments where diverse perspectives are valued and individuals are empowered to contribute their best work.
Nicole earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Washington State University in 2003. She attributes her success to people-centered leadership and her ability to solve complex challenges through collaboration, psychological safety, and inclusive team engagement. Guided by the values of trust, integrity, transparency, and consistency, she strives to build meaningful relationships that support both organizational success and individual development. She encourages young professionals, particularly women entering the industry, to develop a broad understanding of business operations beyond their immediate responsibilities in order to appreciate the upstream and downstream impacts of their decisions. Looking ahead, Nicole views the integration of artificial intelligence into supply chain operations as both a significant opportunity and an evolving challenge, emphasizing the importance of responsible AI adoption, strong supplier partnerships, and strategic innovation to shape the future of procurement.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nicole
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to leading with people at the center of every decision and fostering a collaborative environment where diverse perspectives are valued. I believe the best solutions emerge when teams feel empowered to contribute openly, challenge ideas constructively, and work together toward a common goal. By cultivating trust, psychological safety, and inclusive engagement, I have been able to build high-performing teams that consistently solve complex business challenges and deliver meaningful, sustainable results.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received was to be myself and never feel pressured to fit into someone else's mold. Embracing my authentic leadership style gave me the confidence to lead with integrity, leverage my unique strengths, and build genuine relationships. That advice not only accelerated my leadership journey but also reinforced the importance of authenticity as the foundation for long-term personal and professional success.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the procurement profession is to look beyond your immediate role and develop a deep understanding of the broader business. Learn how decisions made within your function influence upstream and downstream operations and seek opportunities to build cross-functional knowledge and relationships. The more you understand the interconnectedness of the business, the better equipped you will be to make strategic decisions, create meaningful value, and grow as a well-rounded leader.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in procurement and supply chain today is navigating the rapid integration of artificial intelligence while ensuring its responsible and effective use. Organizations are adopting AI at different speeds, each developing its own policies and best practices as the technology continues to evolve. At the same time, AI presents tremendous opportunities to transform the way we solve complex business challenges, improve decision-making, and increase operational efficiency. I believe AI will enable procurement professionals to focus on more strategic, value-driven work while fostering stronger, more collaborative partnerships with suppliers and creating more resilient, innovative supply chain ecosystems.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that are most important to me, both professionally and personally, are trust, integrity, transparency, and consistency. I believe these principles form the foundation of strong, lasting relationships and effective leadership. By acting with honesty, communicating openly, and consistently following through on commitments, I strive to build credibility, foster collaboration, and create environments where people feel respected, empowered, and confident working toward shared goals.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.