24 APRIL 2007
Palace Hotel Manchester

9 MAY 2007
Marriott Maida Vale London

20 JUNE 2007
Marriott Maida Vale London

Florence has over 25 years’ procurement experience gained in the Health Service and Higher Education sector. She was Head of Purchasing at Queen's University Belfast from January 1998 to May 2004, where she managed change, implemented e-Procurement solutions and developed a proactive, supportive, procurement function working with the institution's decentralised
part-time buyers.

Gareth has worked in the procurement field since 1971. The greater part of his career has been in the public sector, initially with the National Coal Board and thereafter 22 years in healthcare purchasing. He commenced as a Higher Clerical Officer in Bedford Healthcare and left for the Department of Transport having risen to the post of Director of Central Procurement for Health and Personal Social Services in Northern Ireland. Throughout his health sector career he was involved in strategic contractual tasks and duties at regional and national levels. In 1992 Gareth moved to the Department of Transport and undertook major change programmes and detailed contractual work, most notably in relation to privatisations and outsourcing contracts in service provision. In 1997 the Department of Transport became a constituent part of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions and Gareth became its first Head of Procurement. Since leaving the public service Gareth has undertaken a major procurement review for the House of Commons. In consultancy terms, his major clients have included Inland Revenue, Nirex, Sapient plc, Governetz Ltd and BiP Solutions. Gareth is a noted change manager with highly respected motivational, training and teaching skills. A strong academic and publishing background has reinforced these activities.

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 15 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 Institute of Directors and the EU body, the Organisation for Economic Coopertion and Development. 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.