Pass Speakers
Digby Barker
Drawing on his consultancy experience and government background - including posts in MOD HQ and HM Treasury - Digby specialises in helping companies win and profit from public sector business, advising in particular on marketing strategy and tender preparation. His experience includes research, operational/decision analysis, resource allocation, project management and acquisition, especially the development of procurement strategies, ITTs and tender evaluation schemes.
Stephen Dickinson
Prior to joining the South West London Procurement Alliance, Stephen was the Head of Purchasing for Kingston Hospital NHS Trust since 1991. He was a member of, and secretary to, the former NHS Trusts Federation’s Standing Committee on Supplies and Purchasing since its formation. He is a member of the Healthcare Technical Committee of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and an officer of the Health Care Supply Association.
Florence Gregg
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 procurement solutions and developed a proactive, supportive procurement function working with the institution's decentralised part-time buyers.
David Griffiths
David was Head of Supply Chain at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, and has spent some 25 years in purchasing and contracts within central government. He has been responsible for procurement policy and planning, including the contractual aspects of Better Quality Services, supply chain management and the professional development of staff within DVLA. He is a graduate member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and a member of IPSERA.
Julie Harmer
Julie has worked in the public sector for almost 40 years and currently holds a senior procurement position in local government. She has also held similar positions in the NHS, higher education and central government. Julie has experience working in the private sector. She was part of the team which set up the first use of off-shore data capture by a government agency and she has been involved in the implementation of a number of R2P systems, Purchasing Card solutions and the development and implementation of various procurement training solutions. She has also been a CIPS assessor for a number of years.
Peter Howarth
Peter has a long track record in procurement and local government. In October 2003 he started his own consultancy and training company (SBV Ltd) specialising in procurement and contracting matters, primarily in the public sector. He is currently the Chief Executive of the Society of Procurement Officers in Local Government (SOPO). Prior to that he had spent three years with the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) where he worked as a member of the team developing IDeA Marketplace.
Gareth Jones
Gareth has worked in the procurement field since 1971, the greater part of his career being in the public sector, including 22 years in healthcare purchasing. Throughout his health sector career he was involved in strategic contractual tasks and duties at regional and national levels. In 1992 he moved to the Department of Transport and undertook major change programmes, most notably in relation to privatisations and outsourcing contracts in service provision, and in 1997 became DETR's 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 and Governetz Ltd. Gareth is a noted change manager with highly respected motivational, training and teaching skills. A strong academic and publishing background has reinforced these activities.
Paul King
Paul has over 30 years' high-level management experience in both the private and public sectors. He was the founder, spokesman and Chair of the Forum of DSO Managers, with a membership of over 30 UK local authorities. Most recently he was CEO of Business Development for a government contractor with sales of over £80 million, generating sales of £30 million per annum. He has also acted as a 'company doctor' for SMEs, identifying weaknesses, creating long-term stability and focusing business development. He has been a regular speaker/chairman at seminars on public procurement.
Larry Petterson
Larry began his NHS career in Purchasing and Supply in 1961. He has held various senior managerial positions, finally being appointed Head of Procurement and Commercial Development for Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board in 1995. He chairs the CIPS UK Public Sector Group and is a Trustee of the CIPS Pension Fund. He is a member of the Welsh Assembly Government's Business Procurement Task Force and has been a keen supporter of the use of the third sector and Supported Business Organisations such as Remploy. He is also a past Chairman of the Health Care Supply Association. Larry was awarded the MBE for services to the NHS and charity in 2003 and the Government Opportunities (GO) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.
Francis Pullen
Francis has specialised in eProcurement, project management and change management for both the private and public sectors since 1993, including roles in a high-profile UK design and development consultancy and the UK Criminal Justice system. As Principal Associate for his business Armine Associates, he has expanded the portfolio to include further key strands of business consultancy and training. Since 2003 he has been an independent seminar speaker and PASS consultant for BiP Solutions Ltd, delivering seminars for BiP around the UK to both public and private sector audiences and helping businesses improve their processes.
Eddie Regan
Eddie is BiP Solutions' Senior Procurement Consultant and frequently assists public sector organisations with clarification and interpretation of EU Directives and a wide variety of legislative issues. He is also 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 all aspects of public sector contracting, including the tendering process. Eddie 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.
Andrew Rudd
Andrew was the Chief Operating Officer for the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA), part of the Department of Health. NHS PASA was responsible for purchasing and supply strategy for the NHS in England and also managed national contracts covering £3.2bn of the NHS’s £20bn total of non-pay expenditure. Andrew has 25 years’ NHS purchasing experience at local, regional and national level. At PASA, he was also the Director responsible for eProcurement, sourcing and data analysis and programme and uptake management. His wider corporate responsibilities included performance, quality and information. Andrew has a Masters Degree from the University of Birmingham and is a member of both the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Brian Shipton
Brian has worked in central government for 12 years as the Head of Procurement and Contract Management for the Training and Development Agency for Schools, where he developed the procurement function for a newly formed NDPB. He has developed and delivered procurement and contract management training workshops aimed at developing the intelligent internal customer. An accredited Gateway Reviewer, he has taken part in many Medium and High Risk reviews, including for the Ministry of Defence.
John Smith
John had a long, varied and successful career in the NHS. Having held a number of senior posts in procurement, including spells as Associate Regional Commercial Manager in Wessex Regional Health Authority, National Purchasing Executive at the NHS Procurement Directorate and International Procurement Consultant at NHS Overseas Enterprises, he joined NHS Estates in 2001 as Assistant NHS Housing Coordinator. In this post he worked closely with the Minister of Health and Senior Civil Servants to ensure the delivery of accessible, appropriate and affordable housing for key-workers as part of the NHS Plan.
David Worrall
David has most recently been Assistant Director for Procurement and Special Projects at Oldham MBC. Prior to this he was Head of Procurement for Sefton Council. He has been lead officer on the implementation of e-procurement systems and the Procure-to-Pay process, and has had responsibility for managing the Accounts Payable Function, including the implementation of document scanning. He has also provided advice and direction on the application of the EU Directives.
Paul Wright
Paul is Managing Director of PAWA Consulting Ltd, a management consultancy firm working mainly in the public sector. He has been providing training and consultancy in purchasing and supply chain management to a wide range of clients since 1998. Paul and his associates have worked extensively for public sector organisations in the UK including regional development agencies, business links, councils and cluster teams. Overseas he has worked extensively for the oil and gas industries. Before founding PAWA Paul spent a decade at ICI in a variety of roles, including business development. His last role was as an engineering contracts manager responsible for global and regional framework agreements.
