KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
Professor Russel Griggs OBE

Having retired from a ‘full time’ job at the turn of the millennium, Russel is now busier than ever. He sits on the board of Imes Group Ltd – a rapidly expanding engineering services business in Aberdeen. Through Imes Group, he Chairs the CBI’s UK SME Council. He also Chairs the Regulatory Review Group in Scotland, the equivalent of the Better Regulation Commission in England. In 1990, Professor Griggs was headhunted to join Scottish Enterprise in a business development role and later became an Executive Director, where he ran the investment banking and business development arms, as well as spending some years in the USA looking at outward investment for Scottish companies.

CONFERENCE CHAIRMAN:
Grahame Steed

Managing Editor, Government Opportunities

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.

Willie Biggart

Managing Director, The Really Delicious Food Company

Willie’s background is in marketing. He worked for Bells, Baxters of Speyside and Tennents before founding the acclaimed Marketing Services Agency BiggartDonald (BD-Ntwk) in 1990. After Willie and his team had built BD-Ntwk into a first-class agency working out of London and Glasgow for a number of blue chip clients, he exited the business via management buy out. During the last 5 years he has become involved with a small portfolio of companies including The Really Delicious Food Company whose core business is the supply of working lunches and canapés to the corporate and public sector markets in West and Central Scotland. Really-delicious.com has been successful in tendering over recent years in the public sector and presently supplies the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, the NHS and NHS 24.

Karen Davidson

Development Manager, Small Business Consortium

Karen leads on development at the Small Business Consortium, with her current focus including training services and SME development. With a diverse background in areas ranging from economic development and arts funding to running her own business, Karen enjoys working across sectors helping to develop relationships and projects that benefit the economy, society and the environment.

Jane Gotts

Manager, BusinessClub Scotland

Jane has played a leading role in the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI)’s involvement with the recently launched BusinessClub Scotland, which was set up in conjunction with the Scottish Government. She project manages this new initiative, which aims to help Scottish businesses tap into the huge economic potential from Scotland’s world-class events programme.

Jane joined SCDI in 2000 from Scottish Amicable where she spent 2 years working in the Business Development team. During her time with SCDI, she has held a number of positions, including roles within the organisation’s Trade Promotion and Business Information teams. Jane is now responsible for delivering SCDI’s extensive Events and International Trade Programme, which has seen her lead trade missions to a number of international markets, including: China; Singapore; Malaysia; Japan; Korea; Poland; Estonia; Germany and the USA.

Barry Graham

Head of the Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise

Barry leads the Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise (CGCoPE), a division of the Scottish Procurement Directorate in the Scottish Government. Following a period putting in place outsourcing solutions in the Ministry of Defence, he joined the Scottish Office in 1993, market testing support services. Since then he has led procurement teams placing contracts for corporate services and projects supporting policy initiatives including electronic monitoring of offenders, Disclosure Scotland, and lifeline ferry services. Barry led the project to establish CGCoPE and has been the head of this team since December 2007. He represents the central government procurement community on the Scottish Government’s Procurement Reform Delivery Group and the national Procurement Policy Forum.

Ken Hair

Purchasing Manager, Scottish Parliament

Ken joined the Scottish Parliament Procurement Services team as a Purchasing Manager in 2007 following several years’ experience as a commercial officer in the Ministry of Defence. He currently manages the procurement of FM projects and is a key member of the team responsible for the delivery of the Parliament’s Responsible Purchasing Strategy with special responsibility for the strategy’s social and ethical aspects.

Jillian Moffatt

Head of Olympic and Commonwealth Games Legacy Team, Scottish Enterprise

Jillian is an experienced business leader with specialist expertise in organisational development, human resource management, strategy and business planning. Having spent 14 years at Scottish Enterprise in various business development and training roles, she is now the Head of Olympic and Commonwealth Games Legacy Team. She is tasked with identifying key activities that will maximise the benefits that will flow from both Games and develop projects that will leave a lasting business legacy for Scotland and Scottish businesses. Critical to the success of this, is partnership working with key stakeholders in London and Glasgow from both the private and public sectors and across Governments.

Eddie Regan

Senior PASS Consultant, BiP Solutions

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 and provides in-house training on the tendering process – law and practice – to personnel in both the public and private sectors, including several multinational organisations.

Jonathan Ross

Supplier Engagement Manager, Scottish Government

Jonathan has worked in the public sector for more than 20 years at Suffolk County Council, Fife Council and the Scottish Government as a Procurement Development Manager. Prior to this he worked in the private sector for Occidental International Oil Inc. Over the last two years he was on secondment to OGCbuying.solutions where he held the post of Sector Manager Devolved Administrations. Jonathan has now returned to the Scottish Government in Procurement Development as Supplier Engagement Manager.

Neil Stewart

eSourcing Specialist, eProcurement Scotl@nd

Following a career as a procurement officer in the UK Department of Transport and the Scottish Government, Neil joined the eProcurement Scotl@nd programme at its inception in 2001. From initial involvement in most areas of the programme’s work during 2001 to 2003, Neil increasingly specialised in electronic tendering, with the first electronic tenders being issued in January 2004, and in electronic reverse auction, with the first such auction under the programme’s auspices being held in February 2004. Since then, electronic tendering has developed both in number and in sophistication across the Scottish public sector, while the use of auctions is estimated to have saved the taxpayer in excess of £10 million. Neil’s present focus is on the exploitation of more advanced forms of e-sourcing, including procurement process design and contractor performance management.

Ian Taylor

Head of Strategic Purchasing Team, Scotland Excel

Ian heads the Strategic Purchasing team at Scotland Excel. Prior to joining Scotland Excel Ian held senior level purchasing and supply chain positions for a number of major UK/US companies, most recently as Supply Chain Director at Oxford Instruments plc.

Carol Vanzetta

Consultant, Carol Vanzetta Consulting Ltd

Carol began her training and development career with Rolls-Royce plc before spending six years as a Business Change Analyst at Renfrewshire Council, where she worked on a variety of business change projects across a range of services. Prior to establishing herself as a freelance consultant, Carol was recruited to the TUV SUD Group as a Senior Management Consultant with NEL Management Consulting, for whom she successfully completed a number of assignments for public and private sector clients throughout the UK.

Pauline Wilkie

Senior Project Development Officer, Supplier Development Programme

Pauline ran her own successful retail business for 6 years, selling outdoor clothing and equipment specialising in the travel market. During this time the business won several awards including Shell livewire Regional winner and Royal Bank of Scotland Start up Business. Pauline first joined the enterprise network as a Business Adviser with Glasgow Opportunities before working on the Scottish Enterprises Graduate placement programme. Pauline joined Glasgow City Council to develop the Women Into Enterprise programme, a pioneering joint initiative with several organisations delivering advice and support to women-owned businesses at all stages of their development. Her current role with The supplier development programme is to deliver a comprehensive programme of support which aims to assist all businesses improve their performance in winning contracts with public sector organisations, by providing information, news and delivering events and workshops.