Speakers
KEYNOTE SPEAKER – Robert Leak
Chief Executive, London Borough of Enfield and Chairman of London Centre
of Excellence
Robert has a formidable management record in both the private and public
sectors. A trained accountant, he joined the public service in 2001 as Deputy Chief Executive of Lambeth before taking
up his current post of Chief Executive at the London Borough of Enfield. Previously he was highly successful in the private
sector as Managing Director of World Duty Free,Chairman and Managing Director of Martin Retail Group Plc and Finance
Director of Top Shop.
Ken Cole, Regional Director, London Centre of Excellence
Ken is a founder partner of Strategic Procurement Services, and is on part time secondment as the Director of the London Centre of Excellence. He worked for ICT solutions provider QSP from 1995 until autumn 2001. Prior to joining QSP he had a highly successful career in the Civil Service, serving in the MoD, Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and Home Office. He has been a member of CIPS since 1982 and was elected as a Fellow in 2005.
Tom Chadwick
Following 20 years in production and materials management in the defence sector with Ferranti and GEC Marconi (now BAE Systems), Tom became Director of Procurement at the University of Edinburgh in 1993. From 1998 to 2003 he held the new post of Director of Procurement Development for the Joint Procurement Policy and Strategy Group for UK Higher Education. He is co-author of a book on Strategic Supply Management and is a regular contributor of conference papers and book chapters.
David Gollancz, Partner, Corporate Finance Group, Field Fisher Waterhouse
David qualified as a solicitor in 1990. After periods in trade union and private practice he joined the Treasury Solicitor's Department in 1999, where he became Head of the Procurement and Commercial Contracts team and founded and led the TUPE Task Force. He acted as the Government's lead lawyer in a wide range of PFI, PPP and major outsourcing deals as well as conventional contracts. In 2005 he joined Field Fisher Waterhouse, a medium sized independent firm in the City of London, as a partner in the Corporate Finance Group. David continues to work primarily in the area of public/private commerce; he lectures and writes extensively on procurement law and practice and on the complex issues surrounding public/private staff transfers.
David Hawkins, Director of Operations, PSL
David has had an extensive career in projects and procurement within the construction industry. For over 40 years he has been associated with the development and implementation of major projects in many parts of the world, providing him with an insight into the many organisational and cultural challenges that projects can generate. As a strategic thinker he has deployed partnering and alliance approaches to support manufacturing to outsourcing programmes, capitalising on the opportunities within project operations to exploit global sourcing.
Robert Hillman MCIPS
Robert’s early career was in printing and paper manufacturing before joining local government in 1982 with Bexley Council as Principal Contracts and Purchasing Officer. More recently, he helped develop Bexley’s policies in line with the National Procurement Strategy, before retiring in 2004. On a professional level, Robert represented London on the SOPO National Executive Council for two years. Also active on CIPS, he became a member of the National Council in 1992. He now provides consultancy services in procurement and project management.
Richard Parsons, LCSG Chairman and Strategic Procurement Manager, London Borough of Camden
Richard has worked in the procurement field for over 26 years, in the local authority and higher education sectors. Following spells with West Sussex County Council and Bexley London Borough, he set up corporate procurement services for the London Borough of Newham, Middlesex University and City University. He was appointed Strategic Procurement Manager at the London Borough of Camden in 2002, where he has been responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive procurement strategy and policy. Richard is Chairman of the London Contracts & Supplies Group, and an adviser to the Management Board of the London Centre of Excellence.
Will Parsons, Qualitar Consulting Ltd
Will is a well-regarded and nationally known procurement trainer and consultant who speaks at conferences on a range of issues associated with leading-edge procurement practices. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and a Certified Management Consultant. He has worked with more than 100 organisations over his career, first with PA Management Consultants and then with Sterling Management Consultants where he led their purchasing practice. He joined Purcon to head their Training and Consultancy division in 1998, and in February 2003 he formed Qualitar Consulting Limited with Mark Allen.
David Rossington, Director of Efficiency Programme, OGC
In May 2004, David joined the OGC to head the Efficiency Team, reporting to John Oughton. The Efficiency Team is driving the implementation of Sir Peter Gershon’s review of efficiency across the public sector. From November 2000 to May 2004, David was e-Business Director in Defra, responsible for an IT outsourcing and change programme. David joined the UK Civil Service in 1982 after taking a Masters degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government.
Geoffrey Woodroffe, Solicitor in Woodroffe & Co
Geoffrey is a solicitor with wide experience in advising organisations on commercial contracts and the drafting of terms and conditions of purchase and sale. After graduating from Cambridge University he practised with a large City firm specialising in banking and commercial law. He then joined the College of Law and became Principal of Chester College before moving to Brunel University, where he is Professor and Director of the Centre for Consumer and Commercial Law Research.