Speakers

Grahame Steed

Managing Editor, Government Opportunities (GO)

Grahame joined Glasgow-based BiP Solutions Ltd as Production Director in 2003, following 13 years as Magazine Editor, Publisher and latterly Publishing Director at EMAP plc. He is responsible for the Media Department at BiP, which includes the Contracts Management, Proofing, Communications, Design and Distribution Teams that are responsible for BiP's diverse range of business intelligence services. In 2008 his role changed to Publishing Director to more accurately reflect the nature of his department's activities. As Managing Editor of Government Opportunities (GO), Grahame is responsible for the overall content and direction of the publication and its GO Awards and www.govopps.co.uk brand extensions.

Bradley Daly

OGC Supplier Feedback Service

Bradley first joined the OGC as a Service Desk Agent; he quickly specialised in providing advice about the EU Public Procurement Rules to purchasers and suppliers alike as part of his role on the Service Desk. Bradley was then promoted into the Supplier Feedback Service to handle case work. He is responsible for assessing the cases that are passed on to the Supplier Feedback Service, contacting the relevant public bodies, preparing responses and resolving cases.

Stephen McHale

Assistant Head of Finance (Procurement), Oxfordshire County Council

Stephen is Chief Officer for Procurement across Oxfordshire County Council. His role involves heading a corporate procurement team and working through a decentralised structure to manage an annual revenue expenditure of over £400m and transactional aspects of procurement such as e-procurement and the use of procurement cards as well as supporting the procurement of major capital projects.

During 16 years in the private sector Stephen headed a wide variety of procurement and contracts teams in various industry sectors, primarily for SMEs. He created pioneering international supply chain management techniques in the computer industry and was a successful product marketing manager. He was recruited into the public sector in the early 1990s to help augment professional procurement practices. His public sector roles included Senior Tutor at The Post Office Management Training Centre, Commercial Manager for Royal Mail and Head of Social Care Procurement at Suffolk County Council. Stephen specialises in creating successful new teams to tackle a wide range of business challenges and working with diverse internal specialist teams to drive efficiencies and effectiveness through strategic procurement management.

Philip Adams

Interoperability Manager, Supply2.gov.uk

Phil has played key roles in organising and running public sector procurement and training events since 2001 and has been involved with the Supply2.gov.uk brand since its launch in 2006 through marketing at roadshows, events and meetings with interoperability partners. He was recently appointed Interoperability Manager for Supply2.gov.uk and is responsible both for strengthening relationships with existing buyers and for creating further relationships to extend the reach of this respected government brand.

Alison Chalmers

Director, KiddiVouchers Ltd

As one of the founding directors of KiddiVouchers, Alison has been instrumental in developing the business into a market leader. Her varied responsibilities include overseeing client relationships and quality assurance and liaising with HMRC in areas of legislative change. Alison is regularly involved in tender activity and enjoys taking a hands-on approach to business management.

Alison comes from an actuarial background and has significant experience of risk assessment and financial forecasting. As a director of MJ Systems & Actuarial Services Ltd, Alison worked as an actuarial consultant in a range of fields. Her experience includes calculating compensation claims for the review of personal pensions and endowments, assessing the value of a traded endowment fund and providing extensive analysis in the long-term care industry.

KiddiVouchers won the Best Small Business award in the Government Opportunities National Excellence in Public Procurement Awards 2009.

Neil Hopkins

Head of Procurement Strategy and Performance, Birmingham City Council

Neil is responsible for developing procurement policy for Birmingham City Council, the largest local authority in Europe. Neil is currently leading on implementing responsible procurement ensuring the social, environmental and economic objectives of the Council are delivered through its procurement spend of over £1 billion.

Previously, Neil has worked in a wide range of procurement roles including the emergency services, education, utilities and manufacturing sectors. Neil is leading the development of the changing procurement practice to encourage innovation in new green technologies through pre-commercial or forward commitment procurement.

Eddie Regan

Senior PASS Consultant

Eddie is BiP Solutions' Senior Procurement Consultant. Working alongside the Client Services team, he frequently assists public sector organisations with clarification and interpretation of EU Directives and a wide variety of legislative issues. Eddie is lead consultant on BiP's PASS Mark Health Check, an evaluation technique that helps identify how organisations in both the public and private sectors can develop more effective processes in respect of all aspects of public sector contracting. A member of the International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA), Eddie is also the senior adviser on BiP's unique Tender Support Helpline team, which provides advice on contracting matters to hundreds of clients. For the last 13 years Eddie has lectured regularly on procurement policy and processes at conferences and events, both on behalf of BiP and for a variety of other organisations, including the Society of Procurement Officers in Local Government (SOPO) and the Institute of Directors. He also provides in-house training on the tendering process – law and practice – to personnel in both the public and private sectors, including several multinational organisations.

Dave Meseck

Sector Development Director, Business Link

Dave is the Sector Development Director for construction, building technologies & the built environment and is the voice of construction within Business Link West Midlands. Dave is responsible for writing, implementing and driving the business support strategy for the construction sector across the West Midlands region. He works with key stakeholders in both the private and public sector in the West Midlands to influence business support and training needs for the sector.

Henrik Court

Director of Membership Services, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

Henrik is Director of Membership Services at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and has responsibility for member recruitment, member relationship management/retention, marketing and events.

He has spent most of his career working for blue-chip companies in marketing and business development roles, including Centrica plc (Automobile Association brand), Lex Service plc and Lucas plc. He became a board member of the British American Business Council (which exists to promote transatlantic trade and investment) in 2007.

John Wallace

Deputy Chief Executive / Director of Procurement, re:source Collaborative Procurement Hub

John is responsible for delivering procurement projects across all shareholder trusts as well as developing best practice procurement processes, a world-class team of procurement professionals and collaboration on projects that reach across the NHS. He began his career as a laboratory assistant before becoming a qualified Master Brewer. Having spent ten years in brewing production, John moved onto various procurement roles in the brewing and food industry before joining re:source in November 2006.

Philip Gray

Managing Director, Commercial Doctor Limited

Philip is currently Managing Director of Commercial Doctor Limited, a consultancy and training firm specialising in capturing business opportunities and economic legacy benefits from major sports infrastructure projects. The firm’s main projects are currently the London 2012 Olympics, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, the Brazil 2014 World Cup and the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.

Prior to joining Commercial Doctor Limited, Philip worked as Commercial Director, Europe Middle East and Africa for Marconi plc, Broadband Routing and Switching division. He is also a former board member of the International Association for Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM).

In his time with Commercial Doctor Limited, Phil has developed a comprehensive sports industry knowledge base, focusing on business development and economic impact, together with sports infrastructure project modelling tools, which underpin the firm’s value-added services to public and private sector clients.