Kanako Suwa is a Director Analyst at Gartner, where she covers IT services sourcing and contract negotiations. Her key areas of coverage include IT vendor management, strategic sourcing, procurement operations, software asset management (SAM), shadow IT governance, and AI-related contracting and governance. Drawing on nearly 20 years of experience in global procurement, contract negotiation, and vendor management, she helps organizations optimize vendor relationships, mitigate risk, and develop strategic and sustainable sourcing models that deliver long-term business value.
Prior to joining Gartner, Kanako contributed to the establishment of the IT Vendor Management Office for the Asia region at a multinational life insurance company, driving strategic sourcing, vendor consolidation, contract negotiations, vendor management, and governance across global technology vendors and transformation initiatives.
Manulife, IT Vendor Management and Procurement, 20 years
Sourcing, Procurement and Vendor Management Leaders in Japan
IT Sourcing Procurement and Vendor Management Governance and Process
IT Sourcing Strategy Development and Execution
IT Vendor Performance and Relationship Management
IT Vendor Evaluation and Selection
B.A., Sophia University
Optimizing IT vendor value and performance
Negotiating better software, cloud, and IT services contracts
Streamlining vendor portfolios and sourcing strategies
Managing third-party risk and governance
Reducing Shadow IT and governing AI adoption