Marianna Basso, M.A., PMP®, CPSM®

Inquirer
DISC Type : dc

Head of Procurement at Upstart

Tampa, Florida, United States

Overview

Marianna Basso is a procurement leader specializing in transforming procurement into a value-creating partner, managing over $6B in spend for SaaS and Fortune 25 companies. Educated at Fudan University and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, she focuses on business enablement, spend optimization, and strategic sourcing, backed by her PMP® certification.

She holds a certification in "Applied Generative AI for Digital Transformation" and actively explores its impact on procurement.

Personality Overview

Judgemental

ROI Conscious

Demanding

They can be nudged to make faster decisions by offering what they value.  They respond well to confident salespeople. They focus on objectivity in a pitch and pay little attention to bells and whistles.

Topics They Care About

Procurement Transformation
Her core focus is elevating procurement from a cost center to a value-creating, enterprise-wide partner through a People-Systems-Process approach.
Generative AI Procurement
She is certified in Applied Generative AI and emphasizes understanding LLMs and pricing models when contracting for new AI services.
Procurement Systems
Actively seeks peer opinions on the best and worst source-to-pay and procure-to-pay technology suites, showing a deep interest in the tool landscape.

Media Appearances

Marianna has no verified media appearances

Work History

4-2026
Head of Procurement at Upstart
4-2025 - 4-2026
Senior Director, Enterprise Procurement at isolved
5-2023 - 4-2025
Director of Procurement at isolved
2-2021 - 5-2023
Lead, Category Management at Centene Corporation
5-2019 - 2-2021
Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at Centene Corporation

Education

2009 - 2011
MA from Fudan University
2006 - 2009
Economics from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 16 Location : Tampa, Florida, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Head of Procurement at Upstart
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Insights For Selling To Marianna

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Make sure that they have the necessary authority, they could present false stature sometimes
  • Highlight the competitive differentiation of your product
  • Ask them questions confidently while doing discovery, don’t be apologetic

DONT's

  • Don’t try to be an alpha salesperson, give them equal space
  • Avoid repeating yourself or making generalizations
  • Don’t expect them to change their mind quickly if they say no once

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Marianna is

  • Confidence in the product plays an important role, followed by powerful testimonials.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Marianna

  • They might hesitate a little, but they will say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Marianna move?

  • They are neither the fastest decision makers nor the slowest.
  • Can Marianna take some risk or not?

  • Once they have analyzed the pros and cons, they can take some risks.

You And Marianna

Personality Compatibility


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