10 Mar 2027
11:30 - 12:00
Expo Theater II
Nikita Parikh, Global Strategic Sourcing Leader at Google, will share insights into the evolving role of strategic sourcing in building resilient, scalable networking ecosystems. Her keynote will explore how operators can align optical innovation with global supply chain strategies to support the growing capacity demands of the AI-driven era. She will highlight the importance of multi-vendor interoperability, circular economy principles and collaboration between R&D and procurement in mitigating geopolitical risks, optimizing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and advancing sustainable network infrastructure. The session will offer practical perspectives on building agile, resilient and future-ready value chains for next-generation networks.
Moderator
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Balagangadhar Bathula
Principal Member of Technical Staff, AT&T, United States
Speaker
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Nikita Parikh
Global Strategic Sourcing Leader, Google, United States
This presentation explores the critical intersection of cutting-edge optical innovation and global supply chain resilience. Examining a strategic framework for sourcing next-generation network infrastructure that prioritizes multi-vendor interoperability and circular economy principles. By aligning R&D roadmaps with strategic procurement, operators can mitigate geopolitical risks and optimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This session provides actionable insights into building agile, sustainable value chains capable of supporting the massive capacity demands of the AI-driven era.
Nikita Parikh is a Global Strategic Sourcing leader operating at the forefront of networking technologies and architectures. Known for pairing deep technical literacy with sharp commercial execution, she structures resilient, hyperscale supply chains capable of scaling through rapid node transitions. Nikita bridges the gap between advanced network engineering and commercial manufacturing, forging strategic ecosystem partnerships across s component vendors and module makers to de-risk capacity, accelerate time-to-deployment, and power the physical layer of hyperscale AI infrastructure.