Procurement Excellence Assessors

He has a broad range of procurement experiences from a range of public, private and charitable organisations including:

• Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom) - where he worked on various supplier development and global sourcing initiatives including identifying low cost modular suppliers based in China and Mexico
• EDF Energy – where he worked on a 30-year multi billion pound Public Private Partnership project (the largest PPP of its time in the UK), as well as several other high profile private network electrical infrastructure projects such as BAA Terminal 5, Ministry of Defence Project Allenby, and Canary Wharf
• Health sector – including mission critical national IT and Telecommunications infrastructure projects, successfully negotiating with monopoly suppliers, recruiting and managing a team of procurement and commercial managers, staff development and coaching
• Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing – developing procurement and supplier relationship policies and systems across a range of procurement categories; internal customer facing improvement initiatives; and business planning process development and implementation
• United Learning – raising the maturity of the procurement organisation, rolling out training and supporting the full procurement needs of circa 90 independent and academy schools

Yasir’s key capabilities cover the end to end procurement lifecycle including:

• Policy development, including compliance and sustainability issues such as regulatory compliance, social value, and net zero carbon initiatives
• Performance management, including developing a broad range of procurement and financial KPIs and metrics aligned with the overall business strategy
• Supplier relationship management
• Contract management
• Category Management methodologies and tools
• Public procurement regulations (Public contract regulations 2015)
• Design of optimum procurement operating models
• Stakeholder relationship management
• Tendering and evaluation strategies
• Procurement team management including coaching and development

Yasir is a member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.  He is also a CIPS committee member of the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire branch, as well as a trained CIPS exam assessor.

His passion for Procurement/Supply Chain Excellence in people and processes comes from his extensive work experience in top multi-nationals, which helped to hone his skills in the profession, and defined his philosophy for “people development as a key catalyst for company growth and success.”

He has had a 20-year progressive career with Procter and Gamble, Guinness Nigeria Plc (Diageo Group), and MTN Plc, serving as Business Development Executive, National Project Manager, and Senior Procurement Leader.

In addition to this, he manages a Leadership Development Foundation focused on “Bridging the Gap between what Universities seek, and what Corporate organizations seek.” Its network of inspiring leaders has provided free Skills Development Workshops to young graduates and early career professionals.

Harold holds a BSc in Accountancy from the University of Nigeria, an MSc in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the Cranfield University and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.

He is married to Olamide - with 4 lovely children, enjoys intellectual conversations, and loves to participate in competitive motorsports.

Wiktor is capable of easily understanding the big picture whilst smoothly working on operational details so that all layers of organizational/project structure can be orchestrated and work aligned towards the same objectives. Yet result driven he is passionate about working together with others, both, team members and clients in order to attain significant outcomes.

Wiktor holds an MSc degrees in Economics and International Relations from the Warsaw School of Economics and a CEMS Master in International Management (top international management programme) from Vienna University of Economics and Business. He also partook in an exchange programme with University of Salford. He speaks fluent Polish, English and German.

Experience

Wiktor has worked on a variety of procurement projects, including process improvement, organisational design, formulating sourcing and negotiating strategies, strategic sourcing, procurement e-tools implementation, supplier management, benchmarking, opportunity diagnostics, category management, spend tree analytics, coaching & training. 

Relevant Project Examples

• Wiktor led savings delivery in a number of categories within a large savings programme for a ready-made foodstuff manufacturer. Wiktor was responsible for sourcing of chemical materials, coal, special cleaning and security services. Process of choosing and implementing special cleaning services was a particularly daunting task as new suppliers had to be verified and HACCP standards had to be met.
• Wiktor designed a purchasing planning process and designing support of IT tools for an oil and gas company, that required a close coordination of different company’s units: Procurement, IT, Controlling, Finance. It evolved into another project which contained preparation of a new procurement process to generate savings through improved transparency and competition as well as red tape reduction.
• For a public institution in London, Wiktor prepared a P2P process enhancement concept; comprising new regulations, a survey along with subsequent communication plan, new training model, new approach towards users and approvers and supervision of necessary P2P system changes.
• Wiktor worked closely with a foodstuff manufacturer to create a MRO supply chain management strategy for their flagship factory.
• For a power company, Wiktor analysed over 1 billion PLN spend in order to set up a category management and embed the spend tree. The results were developed along with the Client and adjusted to the needs of the corporation. Owing to this cooperation, a transparent savings plan was subsequently developed.
• For an oil and gas company, Wiktor elaborated sourcing strategies for both indirect and indirect categories: telecommunication, software and fuel tanks.
• For a railway company, Wiktor partook in the evaluation panel to oversee the sourcing processes and re-specification in the area of telecommunication. This project led to substantial annual savings thanks to the leverage which was attained by the consortium buying organised for this purpose. The project was carried out within the Public Procurement regulatory framework.
• Wiktor delivered training on a new procurement process and an IT-tool for procurement for procurement and internal client teams within an oil and gas company. Wiktor prepared two bespoke kinds of trainings: basic and advanced to match client’s needs and expectations.
• For a broadcasting company, Wiktor prepared an in-depth benchmarking analysis and negotiation strategy with regards to their core productions. Wiktor liaised with Internal Clients and Procurement team in order to empower the negotiating teams for the future. The project also included developing of a tailored, robust benchmarking tool which helped to analyse cost estimates and prepared for negotiations.

Example Clients

Organisations Wiktor has worked with include: PKN ORLEN, PGE, PGNiG, PKO BP, PZU, ORLEN UPSTREAM, Tauron, PKP, Grupa PAMAPOL, BUNGE Group, Ministry of Justice, SAP, IBM, Nursery and Midwifery Council, PLL LOT Polish Airlines.

Peter is a Fellow of the CIPS and was CIPS president in 1999/2000. He was on the CIPS board of management for 8 years up till 2002. He is currently a trained CIPS corporate assessor and is the events director on the CIPS fellowship committee.

His experience includes senior procurement roles at St. Gobain, WPP and British Airways all of which required extensive travel in Europe, Asia and North America. He has bought in over 100 supply markets around the world, but more recently has worked in capital related areas such as construction, facilities management and repair and maintenance.

Peter is passionate about Procurement and how it can makea real difference to company performance. In particular through focus on the following areas:

• Capabilty assessment
• Strategy development
• Organisational design
• Recruitment and selection
• Training and development
• Category strategies
• Supplier Management Relationship
• Negotiation planning and execution
• Stakeholder management

After many years in senior corporate roles, Peter is now an independent consultant and Director of Pala Consulting. Recent appointments include a transformation project for Whitbread, a capital supply chain role at Severn Trent and Head of Commercial at Network Rail.

One of his first consultancy appointments was part of a central government sponsored team to complete a full capability assessment of MOD procurement. Peter was educated at Swansea University, and has attended Executive Programmes at Carnegie Mellon University and Insead.

Selected experience

• Merger: Led the procurement integration work for a merger between 2 leading banks in KSA.
• Group purchasing: Established Group Purchasing for shopping malls, retail and leisure conglomerate
• Procurement Transformation: led a major project to enhance efficiencies, standardize processes and optimize resources through centralizing the processing of 20,000 annual purchase orders across 5 countries. Achieved 25% reduction in the processing time and 40%resources optimization.
• Sustainability: Led a key project to convert the procurement function of a regional real estate developer into a sustainable Function
• Category management: Managed Facilitates Management (FM) category covering GCC and.
• Strategic Sourcing: Led opportunity assessment and a project to appoint a service provider on concession basis. The project aimed at increasing the revenues. Delivered revenue increase of 175% of the historical revenues through volume bundling, specification rationalization, widening the competition base and the extensive application of E Sourcing tools.
• Spend Analytics: Delivered Spend Analytics and Opportunity Assessment for UAE based FM
  provider.90%+ of addressable spend was analyzed and categorized. It was identified that the total number suppliers can be optimized by 66%. Identified the opportunity of 9% cost savings. Identified the strategic need for Multiyear framework agreements to improve efficiency, synergies and partnerships with suppliers

Experience

• From 2019 to present Iyas has been a procurement consultant supporting the merger and transformation of the Procurement department in the first merger between two Saudi banks.
• 2016 till 2018 he was a regional procurement manager for a Real estate and retail conglomerate
• 2013 –2015 Regional Category manager (Facilities Management) covering GCC
• 2010 2012 worked as procurement manager in a government entity in UAE
• 2005 – 2009 Procurement in an international construction company

Qualification:

• MCIPS
• Bachelor Degree or Mechanical engineering

Languages

• Arabic (native)
• English (fluent)

Most recently he has led the design and implementation of all Sourcing, Supplier segmentation and Contract Management approaches at both Direct Line Group and Williams & Glyn as those 2 companies have separated out of RBS Group with spends of £2bn and £300m respectively. This has included selecting and configuring the systems required to enable the approaches as well as authoring all required templates, guidance notes and training packages.

Initially and following a B.Commerce honours degree at Birmingham University, Nick started his career by carrying out various Supply Chain roles at Leyland DAF before moving to take on Senior Buyer roles at Black and Decker. Following this grounding Nick moved on to build and lead Supply Chain functions at Pickerings Lifts and APW. At Pickerings this involved the Creation of a new materials functions covering cost, supplier, inventory and stores management across 5 separate business units.

At APW it meant taking functional responsibility for all aspects of supply chain including cost, inventory, commodity and supplier along with ecommerce development. This was spread across 16 manufacturing sites with spend of $250m and supply chain teams of 160. Following these roles Nick carried out a variety of Purchasing Board level roles at RBS with responsibility for Third Party spend of up to a £1bn. His achievements included delivery of +£100m profit and loss benefits through the restructuring of numerous supply chains and the negotiation of a wide variety of complex and high value contracts.

Helen has held a range of strategic PSCM positions with BP in the US, UK, and China, as well as roles with a private financial advisory group in Switzerland and a global transformation role with SABMiller plc. Helen´s areas of expertise include PSCM strategy development, procurement functional transformation initiatives and capabilities development, and end-to-end strategic sourcing processes.

Helen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University and an Executive MBA from INSEAD

Mark was one of the team who developed the CIPS Procurement Excellence Standard and Advanced Standard models and continues to provide all training to new CIPS PEP Assessors. He has also personally worked with a large number of clients delivering Procurement Excellence Services in Private and Public Sectors around the globe.

As a line manager, Mark has worked up to Procurement Director with global accountabilities, has led manufacturing in Australasia as well as Planning & Customer Logistics for Asia Pacific and latterly West & Eastern Europe. With executive level experience of over twelve years whilst working for a £multi-billion turnover FMCG manufacturer, Mark covered many areas:

• Supply Chain & Procurement strategy development & implementation
• Business planning process development & implementation
• People development & coaching
• Leading warehouse & distribution operations over many countries
• Improving customer service delivery and being the main Supply Chain customer facing contact
• Reducing costs & increasing efficiencies
• Leading successful negotiation teams as well as negotiating alone
• Strategic relationship development & management with both suppliers and customers

Example Procurement Excellence Clients:

Mark has worked with a range of CIPS Procurement Excellence client organisations including:

• UK: Skanksa, Thales UK, Communisis, the Department of Health and Social Care, National Highways, HS2, Scottish Water,
  Fujitsu, the Home Retail Group, Sodexo Property Services, Siemens Enterprise Solutions
• MENA: The Public Investment Fund, ACWA Power, Roshn, SABB, Qatar Rail, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, TDRA, the Centre for Spending Efficiency, Fertil
• RoW: Gates Foundation in Kenya, United Nations Procurement Division, European Central Bank, Metro Trains, ATB Financial, African Development Bank, eThekwini Corporation

Qualifications:

• Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply: MCIPS
• BEC HND Business Studies

Keith is a business-to-business professional with 40 years consulting, procurement, trading and marketing experience. Before establishing CHAINGE in 2011, he spent 12 years leading various aspects of procurement transformation within BP. This included membership of the 4-person Group Procurement Leadership Team, driving procurement excellence as Head of Procurement of BP’s Alternative Energy and Shipping divisions, the formation of BP’s International Procurement Office in China, the design/implementation of the “Procurement Capability Accelerator” which won the People category of the 2006 ISM Richter Awards, and programme leadership of procurement integration and transformation following BP's merger with Amoco.

Keith has an MBA (with Distinction) from INSEAD and an MA (with Hons) in Mathematics/ Management Science from Cambridge University. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (FCIPS)

His experience has been gained whilst working with some of the leading professional services firms including:

• Rob Morgan Associates - Managing Director - Supply Chain/Procurement Transformation
• Deloitte & Touche Business Consulting - Partner Procurement & Supply Chain
• Arthur Andersen Business Consulting - Partner Procurement & Supply Chain
• KPMG Management Consulting - Director Supply Chain & Procurement Process Redesign
• PA Consulting Group - Senior Manager - Supply Chain & Procurement Systems

He designs and delivers pragmatic supply-side solutions that are benefits focused and which directly help the organisation improve their business performance. Specifically he helps organisations drive towards supply-side excellence through a range of inter-related services including:

• Strategy Development and Implementation
• Business Performance Improvement
• Change Management
• Innovation
• People Development
• Transformation Leadership Coaching/Mentoring.

Rob was appointed as a CIPS Certified Assessor in 2003. He helped develop CIPS’ Accreditation products including the CIPS Gold Standard (the ‘genesis’ of the current CIPS Procurement Excellence Programme (PEP)). Furthermore, he carried out the role as CIPS’ Centre for Procurement Leadership (CPL) Programme Director for over 3 years. Rob has worked with many organisations on their specific CIPS Accreditation programme. His Procurement and Supply Chain experience spans products and service-based organisations in both the public and private sectors including: CPG, Food & Beverage, Engineering, Telecommunications, Media, Local/Central Government, Energy/Utilities, Transport and Financial Services.

Mike’s key skills are leadership, strategic thinking, communication, stakeholder holder management, influencing, supplier relationship management and negotiation.

Relevant Experience

OPEX Nominees - Director

OPEX is a South Australian based Procurement Consultancy business. Established in 2019, OPEX provides Procurement Transformation and Procurement Advisory Services. Clients include Government, Defence, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Mining.

Government of South Australia - Director, Procurement Policy, Standards & Governance

Mike was responsible for leading across government procurement policy including accreditation and assurance of all State Government Agencies. Key functions of this role included procurement policy, capability development and management of the State Procurement Board support function for the South Australian Government.

BHP - Manager, Mining Equipment Group Supply (Singapore).

Mike was responsible for leading BHP’s largest global category supplier (Mining Equipment). Prior to relocating to Singapore Mike held other leadership positions in BHP including:

• BHP Olympic Dam Expansion Project. Responsible for project procurement from process design through to a stand-alone project purchasing team to deliver pre-commitments for the proposed $30 Billion Project.
• BHP Processing Upgrade Project - Responsible for all contract / commercial management of EPCM and EPC Contractors for the Olympic Dam Tails DisposalUpgrade (TDU) and the new Tails Storage Facility (TSF5).
• BHP Maintenance Development - Responsible for developing the Fleet Management Strategy, Purchasing, Contracting Strategy and Maintenance Systems for all ancillary& mobile support equipment.

Qualifications & Training

• Chartered Procurement & Supply Professional - Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Fellow -Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (FCIPS)
• Australian Institute of Management - Advanced Diploma of Management
• London Business School - Developing strategy for value creation

• Doctoral Degree in Business Administration (Global SCM)
• Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS)
• Member of the Dutch Federation of Purchasing management (NEVI)
• Multilingual proficiency in English, Dutch, German; basic Mandarin and French.

After completing his career as a procurement director at various multinational companies, Dr Martens started two boutique consulting firms in the areas of PSCM and 3D Printing. Rob also was a Principal Lecturer in International Supply Chain Management at Rotterdam Business School and is an accredited trainer for CIPS working with many major global clients

Education and Professional Qualifications

• Doctor of Business Administration (Global SCM) at Walden University, USA
• Master of Science (Procurement) at University of Glamorgan/South Wales, UK
• Master of Business Administration at University of Keele, UK
• NEVI 1, 2 & ISFAH: equivalent to CIPS Grad. Diploma, at NEVI, Dutch Federation of Purchasing Management
• Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Chr. MTS Dordrecht, NL
• High performance people skills, London Business School
• Strategic Cost Management, Anklesaria, London
• High-Performance People Skills, London Business School
• Negotiation and influencing skills for Senior Managers, London Business School
• Contract Management & Administration, ESI, Aberdeen Six Sigma Green Belt, GE Capital, Amersfoort, NL
• ISO 9001 Certified Auditor, DNV, Rotterdam, NL

Contribution to Science and the Profession (Highlights)

• Article in Emerald’s World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development (J.SJBM). Successful Approaches for Implementing Additive Manufacturing, (2020,16-2)
• Article: The supply chain impact of 3D printing, Supply Management (March/April 2020)
• White Paper: 3D printing and additive manufacturing (AM), (2019), CIPS Knowledge Centre
• Three Podcasts for CIPS: (a) Is 3D Printing a Disruptive Technology, (b) Introduction to 3D printing, and (c) The impact of 3D printing on Supply Chains, (2019)
• Co-editor of the Collection of High Graded Student Papers on Innovations in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, (2018-2019)
• Book: Strategies for Adopting Additive Manufacturing Technology Into Business Models, ISBN 978-04-3826-236-2, (2018)
• Article in NEVI Deal! Magazine: Consequences of 3D printing on Supply Chains, (February 2017):
• Article in European Leaders in Procurement Magazine: Learn to Manage Risk or Pay the Price, (12-2008):

Location

Dr Martens is based in the Netherlands and has a satellite office in China. He covers the UK, Europe, MENA, Asia, and the Americas.

As line manager, Alexander has served as project manager for UNICEF in a UN-wide project to harmonized procurement policies and practices and enable stronger collaboration. As Deputy Director of Procurement at UNOPS, Alexander was responsible for the global procurement practice of the organization and lead, inter alia, the development of the UNOPS Procurement Strategy, the development and delivery of the global training programme and the integration of Sustainability into the procurement operations of the organizations. Alexander has also served as the Chief Procurement Officer of MONUSCO, the largest peace-keeping mission of the United Nations.

As a consultant, Alexander has gathered experience from the private as well as the public sector in strategy and transformation projects, procurement and supply chain training design and development, knowledge management and effective communication, policy development, IT-enabled procurement automation and procurement excellence projects. Recent project examples include:

• Policy, procedure and guidance development: Design, development, roll-out and launch of all global procurement, logistics and supply chain policies and procedures, and guidelines for a large international development organization (3bn USD procurement volume, 180+ offices, 1000+ supply staff)
• Procurement process harmonization and optimization in a post-merger integration project (private sector, high-tech industry)
• Optimization of the end-to-end fulfillment processes for an international industrial goods manufacturer
• Preparation for organizational certification: Gap analysis and gap closure for organizational certification for an international development bank resulting in CIPS Silver award for their procurement division
• Organizational effectiveness programme for an international development organization = including review of collaboration processes and tools, development of communication and marketing materials, development of training materials, product catalogues and workflow mechanisms
• Procurement footprint and spend analysis: Data-driven comprehensive procurement spend analysis for an international development organization, development of category strategies and correlation patterns
• Evaluation of the support for Syria civil defence (white helmets) for the German Federal Foreign Office
• Analysis of novel and innovative procurement modalities and their applicability to the procurement categories for an international donor and implementation agency
• Comprehensive process optimization: Documentation, analysis and optimization of all end-to-end fulfilment processes for consumer goods manufacturer (private sector)
• End-to-end process development: Definition and development of comprehensive end-to-end process framework in high-tech industry (private sector)
• Interim management: Chief Procurement Officer, United Nations Peacekeeping Operation MONUSCO, 1.3bn USD budget, responsible for ~400m USD procurement volume, 55 FTEs
• Set-up of procurement consortium: Collaborative procurement of high-value commodities among public sector organizations with a total procurement spend of 17bn USD

Alexander has a PhD in supply chain management from the University of Paderborn and a MSc in Engineering from the University of Southern California. He is the author of more than 30 international publications and is a guest lecturer at various European universities. He speaks English, French and German fluently.

As a Senior Procurement Manager, Chris has worked in most areas of Procurement with global, International, UK and Regional accountabilities. With Executive level experience of over twenty years, Chris has covered many Procurement and associated supply Chain activities:

• Procurement strategy development & implementation
• Business planning process development & implementation
• People development coaching & mentoring
• Project management of major infrastructure procurement projects
• Significantly improving customer service delivery through outsourcing
• Reducing costs & increasing efficiencies
• Leading successful negotiation teams as well as personal negotiation
• Strategic relationship development & management with both suppliers and customers
• Key Stakeholder management
• P2P Implementation, review and efficiency improvement

Chris has strong personal experience in the purchasing of many areas of external expenditure including:

• Capital, Construction, MRO and associated engineering procurement
• Most aspects of Indirect Procurement
• Governance and risk management of the supply chain to minimise corporate exposure
• Procurement in tactical and strategic marketplaces
• All areas of non-production or indirect material inventory management and organisation

Since moving to consultancy, Chris has successfully worked with public, private and regulated sector clients, covering:

• Process, capability and operational efficiency reviews
• Strategic supplier relationship development
• Procurement strategy development & implementation
• Negotiating complex contracts for clients
• Skills analysis, development, training, coaching and mentoring
• Global process and governance establishment
• National Civil Engineering framework development and implementation

Chris has an honours degree in Civil Engineering, a Master’s Degree Property, Business & Management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply and is also a licensed CIPS Corporate Certification Assessor.

In 2013 Gillian joined the public sector as Head of Procurement for Nottingham Trent University (NTU) where she went on to secure awards at The Leadership & Management Awards for Outstanding Procurement and The Supply Chain Excellence Awards for Excellence in Procurement. Under Gillian’s remit NTU were successful in gaining the Standard Procurement Excellence Award in 2016. She went on to join the Senior Leadership team at YPO (Yorkshire Purchasing Organisations) managing Procurement for public spend of circa £1bn per year.

Now Gillian has a broad portfolio all united by a drive to embed social value and sustainability into procurement and to widen participation for smaller organisations in procurement opportunities. She is currently Director of All Things Procurement, a social enterprise focussing on driving excellence into procurement in both the profession and supply chains and has undertaken projects for public sector organisations such as Crown Commercial services (CCS) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ). She is also Director of Go4Growth Support Services, a business dedicated to helping smaller organisations to gain the knowledge, skills and tools in order to be fully equipped to take part in public sector work.

In addition Gillian has a number of voluntary roles including a Director of a Multi Academy Trust and is an active committee member for CIPS South Yorkshire branch. Gillian is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply and a Member of the Institute of Leadership & Management. Gillian’s specialist areas are social value, sustainable business, economic development through procurement, public sector and strategy & leadership.

Coming from a technical background of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Emad has been in sourcing, contracts and procurement management field for over 22 years. He has worked in (4) countries across (7) different industries.

Emad is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (MCIPS) since 2015.

Emad has helped companies he worked for to save millions of dollars through application of his commercial acumen and stylish negotiation skills. He is well known for his magical approach with suppliers and his ability to build trust and strong business relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Throughout his career, Emad participated effectively in streamlining procurement processes and continuous improvement of procurement function through focus groups and feedbacks from peers and stakeholders.

His extensive experience started in Oil & Gas industry where he spent (9) years working for service providers and operating companies. He then worked for Semi-Government Utility company building mega EPC infrastructure projects in Middle East region for (7) years. Emad worked for global steel manufacturing company in New Zealand for (5) years managing wide portfolio of contracts including capital projects and major plant shuts. Emad has also spent some time working for IT and Healthcare companies in senior procurement roles.

Emad is enthusiastic about innovation and sustainability; he spends considerable time with suppliers and internal stakeholders finding ways to implement it through tenders and running contracts. Emad is a strategic thinker; he helped many companies to adopt a procurement strategy approach to help the business taking decisions on specific procurement categories and/or projects.

Emad has worked in (4) countries

• Sudan
• Qatar
• United Arab Emirates
• New Zealand

In January 2022, Emad has established his procurement consulting firm in United Arab Emirates providing procurement and sourcing services for companies in Australasia and middle east regions. Away from procurement and supply world, Emad is interested in exploring new places, go for day walks and spend time with family and friends.

After spending time in various businesses, including many years in a global engineering organisation, were Paul managed commodities in the region of 1.9BN€, Paul has developed a proven track record in areas such as:

• Influencing wider business decisions at board level through challenging strategic direction and the status quo.
• Influencing and managing the outsourcing of strategic in-house processes to third- party low cost country supply chains
• Leading development and implementation of new supply chains and Supplier Relationship Management principles in emerging supply markets including Turkey and North Africa
• As a secondment as Product Realisation Manager responsible for successfully transferring production/manufacturing to Co’s Indian facility alongside developing and instilling a professional local supply chain to support future needs and expansions.
• Deferred to as Subject Matter Expert in Supply Contracts, Terms and Conditions at various previous organisations
• Developed and implemented SRM process and associated templates
• Trained and certified BSI auditor (ISO9001/14001)
• Internal Global Lead Auditor at Bombardier Transportation
• Developing and implementing Make VS Buy and Total Cost of Acquisition models/principles and concepts
• Devised, wrote and implemented to global divisions/subsidiaries, set of terms and Conditions of Contact and associated Long Terms Supply Agreements
• Set up a green field professional procurement function that included rigorous procurement based governance process and procedures which are still in place some 5 years later to control supply chains, auditing and management of sub contractors
• Six Sigma and LEAN trained
• Trained in various forms of cost optimisation programmes (Mckinsey etc.)

Pauls level of experience and expertise led him to be appointed as Chair of his Local CIPS branch in the UK where he continues to promote the importance of procurement and impart his knowledge.

Experience
As a CIPS Corporate Certification Assessor, Jane has worked with many leading organisations across a variety of industries and geographies, assessing the end to end operation of their procurement and supply departments, as well as providing supply transformation services where required.

Alongside her work as a CIPS Corporate Certification Assessor, Jane has over 20 years of experience in procurement and supply, where she has delivered significant results for senior clients in some of the most complex spend areas and industries, both public and private sector, demonstrating excellent knowledge of strategic procurement issues as well as analytical and interpersonal skills, in order to gain the confidence of senior stakeholders and make change happen quickly and effectively.

Example Corporate Certification Clients
Organisations Jane has worked with towards CIPS Corporate Certification include:

• UK: Clifford Chance, EDF NG, GCHQ, Ministry of Justice, NATS, Scottish Water, Tideway, UK Power Networks, Westminster County Council
• MENA: ADAC, ADEC, ADGM, ADDCT, Masdar Institute, Musanada, Polarcus, QAFCO, Qatar Foundation, Qatar Gas
• ROW: CLP Power, UNOPS, Sasol, Xerox

Other Relevant Project Examples
In her capacity as a procurement and supply advisor, Jane has delivered the following projects:

• Jane evaluated the procurement teams within the UK Parliament and designed the structure for a new combined procurement function along with a high-level view of improvement opportunities associated with the change and longer-term vision for the procurement team.
• Jane worked closely with the Supply Chain function of a UK-based Air Traffic Control Provider in order to develop and define a Target Operating Model for partnership agreements; comprising key processes to be adopted, contract management arrangements, performance reporting, and communication.
• Jane developed and ran a series of workshops for the procurement leadership of a Middle Eastern government run organisation. The workshops were used to develop an organisational supplier segmentation approach and subsequent differentiated approaches for the on-going performance and relationship management of each segment, along with the development of tools and templates to use in the SRM arena.
• For the UK arm of a global defence contractor, Jane conducted a review of the organisational acquisition procedures and provided recommendations as to their effectiveness and fitness for purpose.
• For an oil company based in the Middle East, Jane developed a procurement competency matrix, designed policy and process documentation and supporting work instructions and training materials.
• For a Global Pharmaceutical company, Jane analysed over $100m marketing spend, establishing and implementing a savings strategy for each unit, as well as developing and introducing new ways of working, based around category knowledge bases. Jane then delivered a comprehensive communication, and training program, to improve core skills and encourage adoption of the new tools and processes across the purchasing organisation.
• For a Global Retailer, Jane conducted an in-depth spend analysis, market and stakeholder analysis of the HR category, covering £15m spend and including a range of local and global services & systems. From her analysis Jane was able to develop a detailed category plan providing a clear view on the current situation and using procurement and market insights to develop and subsequently implement a future category direction and strategy.
• For a county council, Jane developed the full content and structure of a suite of eLearning modules and an on-line self-assessment tool, making recommendations as to the type of training required, priority and to which population group.
• Jane led the delivery of substantial annual savings, along with the implementation of enhanced sourcing processes across a range of TV production spend categories. The project included establishing vetted preferred supplier lists and developing clear buying guides for each category, in order to empower the business to make informed purchasing decisions and thus ensure that all of the category benefits, including lower rates, preferential discounts and the use of target pricing, would be captured on an on-going basis.
• Jane managed a market review and subsequent high-value tender for an FMCG food manufacturer, involving 11 sites and £20m spend. The outcome was total mitigation of the on-costs associated with the Agency Worker Regulations, as well as immediate cost savings from an improved margin.
• For a global tobacco company, Jane conducted a number of in-depth supplier audits, using available documentation as well as client and supplier perceptions, in order to document and examine the financial, operational and strategic working processes between the client and supplier organisations and recommend where the processes could be refined to work better.

Other Work Experience

• JLM Procurement Consulting: Director (current)
• Optimum Procurement: Principal Advisor
• 4C Associates: Senior Manager
• Deloitte Consulting: Strategy and Operations Consultant
• J Sainsbury’s: Business Analyst: Supply Chain Division

Qualifications

• Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply: MCIPS
• Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply: Ethical Procurement and Supply
• Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport: Diploma
• Institute of Leadership and Management: Train the Trainer
• Durham University: BA (Hons) Modern Languages

Sharron is particularly proficient at managing high value complex end to end procurement processes from the acquisition planning phase through to contract management and has a very strong background in procurement process improvement, continuous improvement, stakeholder management and capability development.

Sharron has worked for a number of large organisations including Oz Minerals (Mining) and most recently GFG Australia (Liberty Primary Steel and SIMEC Mining). Whilst working for GFG Australia Sharron was responsible for delivery of GFG procurement transformation project delivery components that comprised of a data analytics project, policy framework rationalisation, rapid sourcing program and capability development. Sharron also played an integral role in the procurement of multiple GFG major services contracts including Rail & Terminals, Industrial Cleaning, Cranes, Scaffolding and Water treatment.

Sharron started her consulting career in 2016 and she founded Adelaide Procurement in 2018, during this time Sharron has provided operational procurement delivery to the following clients:

• GFG Australia - Fit for Future Lead
• Australian Rail Track Corporation – Procurement Manager
• Commonwealth Department of Defence – Procurement Specialist
• SA Health – Procurement Consultant / Royal Adelaide Hospital
• NT Department of Business – Procurement Framework Review
• Alinta Energy – Procurement Category Manager

Qualifications

• Fellowship, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (FCIPS)
• Membership, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS Graduate Diploma)
• Diploma in Government Procurement

Committees

• CIPS Committee Member SA/NT (2012 - present)
• Women in Procurement SA (2018 - present)

Mathieu spent ten years as a Procurement Officer at the UNDP Central Procurement Office and UNICEF Supply Chain Division in Copenhagen, providing health procurement support services to the 170 UNDP Country Offices globally. This included holding various practitioner, advisory, and trainer positions (procurement associate, then promoted to analyst and trainer). He provided procurement & technical assistance to 100+ Health Ministries, monitored a team of Procurement Associates and provided CIPS procurement training and certification to various UN and non-UN staff.

He has since delivered consulting assignments and trained buyers on a regular basis for the UN, EU Commission, national governments (including in Africa), and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. His work has taken him all over the world, including a number of missions to countries in Africa (West Africa included). Mathieu has specific experience of procurement in the health sector, having advised the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in West Africa, and UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS (Ukraine), on promoting health procurement services to governments in the region. He also has experience of carrying out a mapping of the health supply chains in West Africa, as required for the current assignment.

In addition to his native French, Mathieu speaks fluent English, Spanish, and Danish.

In 2015, Mike joined the NHS, leading a four-year transformation of the Procurement and Logistics function of Yorkshire Ambulance Service, whilst also chairing the National Ambulance Procurement Board - the national group responsible for Ambulance sector procurement in the UK. He holds a Masters degree in Defence Acquisition and is both a Chartered Fellow and an accredited trainer of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

Mike's specialist areas are: Public Sector Procurement; Procurement enabled change and transformation; Strategy and Leadership; and Soft Skills.

Following his passion for sharing knowledge, Mike set up his own procurement advisory and training company, Perigean Ltd, supporting customers across the public, private and third sectors.

As the Chairman of Harley Reed, Tom has driven it to become the leading provider of professional procurement Advisory and Training across Africa.

Tom was also an advisor to Dr. Thelma Awori, the UNDP Assistant Secretary General and Director of the Regional Bureau at the UNDP, advising on the redesigning of UNDP’s operating framework between the New York office and all African nations. He has delivered a range of institutional capacity building assignments in procurement, supply chain and public financial management in the UK and across sub-Saharan Africa. He has experience of conducting supply chain reviews and procurement audits. He is also a trained and qualified nurse (non-practicing) with experience of medical stores.

His project experience includes advising on a number of supply chain and procurement strategies, including providing strategic advice and controls reviews in the UK and across Africa.

His extensive background and advocacy work for procurement led him to be elected as a member of the CIPS Global Congress, serving from 2015 to 2018. He is also a CIPS Associate, approved to deliver a range of competency and qualification based courses.

Tom sits on a number of boards in Public, Private and Third Sector and has been an active member of Rotary International since 1999, including stints as president of his local club in Sussex.

Education: Tom has a Certificate in Social and Ethical Accounting, Auditing and Reporting from the Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability, holds an MBA, Nursing qualifications and is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.

William also lectures part-time on CIPS programmes and financial courses including the ACCA and CIMA professional accounting qualifications.

His projects since 2009 span a diverse range of engagements including advising global fintech startups, leading business restructurings, trade policy advice, procurement auditing, and supply chain strategy development. In 2018 William authored the CIPS Level 7 unit on Financial Management.

Prior to Harley Reed, William worked in the Transactions Advisory Services team at the London office of Ernst & Young LLP (EY). He managed a range of engagements spanning multi-million pound corporate and private equity transactions, London stock exchange listings, business restructurings, financial due diligence and operations due diligence.

Education and Qualifications
William is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where he gained his Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (2004) and his Master’s Degree in Manufacturing Engineering with Economics and Management (2005). In 2004 he also gained his Diploma in Financial Management from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). He was admitted as a Chartered Accountant under the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland (ICAS) in 2008 having completed his exam and training contract. He was awarded the CIPS President Award 2014/15 for highest aggregate score across Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Professional Diploma globally.

Specialist Areas of Knowledge and Expertise
William’s interests include: supply chain risk management, financial management, corporate restructuring, and the use of technology in supply chains.

Professional Memberships and Development

• Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply
• Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Scotland
• Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana

Following several change-management roles across NSW Procurement, Jo project-managed the establishment of a new procurement function at the NSW Department of Education (Education) before later becoming its CPO and leading Education to achieve NSW Government’s highest procurement accreditation level.

She now independently consults to public and private sector organisations on a range of procurement-related projects including transformation, source to contract systems, change management, capability and social responsibility.

Jo brings her extensive ‘hands-on’ experience to the projects that she delivers. She is passionate about procurement and the positive influence it can have on the success of businesses, communities and personal careers.

Her experience includes:

• Chairperson for the NSW Procurement Leadership Group, supporting development of and advocating for sensible policies and processes
• Procurement strategy – providing input and oversight to the strategic approach and delivery of hundreds of goods and services procurement projects.
• Procurement function start up, restructure and reform in private and public sectors, incorporating:
  • Performance Measurement and Management – including organisational procurement performance, social and sustainable responsibility and supplier performance
  • Engagement Management – supporting Customers, Staff, Executive and Business Colleagues, Suppliers and the wider business community.
  • Team and Career Development – incorporating capability gap analysis and development programs, business continuity planning and cadet and graduate programs.
  • Process development, communication and training for public and private sector organisations.

Experience

• Deep experience advising senior management at leading institutions on business/process/technology related issues as well as i n depth practical experience on Information Technology, Financial and Procurement & Supply Chain Processes
• Developed/Implemented global wide Banking, Insurance and Procurement Solutions & Processes
• Jonathan is currently the Chairman and CEO of Global Wellness Force (GWF) which was launched in early 2020, GWF is the Proactive Wellness Products and Services provider across Asia Pacific
• Jonathan is also sitting on the advisory board of KILSA Global which is the leading Market Entry & Advisory Service provider across Asia Pacific
• Jonathan has recently appointed by Blacklight Global as their Senior Advisor, which is an innovative Augmented Managed Services company leveraging the clever usages of Agile Business Development/Operations & Growth Approach, Tools and access to the wide networks of Industry Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to address the key industry barriers challenges to achieving the business efficiency in a rapid timely manner
• Jonathan was the Managing Director of Eightwire Asia to lead the markets expansion efforts into the ASEAN region. Eightwire is a solution provider to facilitate the secure Data Exchange between organizations, with 15 New Zealand government agencies as their anchor clients
• Jonathan was the Senior Director & Solutions Architect of KPMG Singapore that were covering services : Risk, Regulatory Compliance, Procurement & Supply Chain, Audits & Tax. Jonathan was responsible for the setup, build, operate and commercialize the KPMG Digital innovative approach/solutions to support the growth of the KPMG Singapore
• Jonathan was the Executive Director/Regional Head of Citibank Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Services covering the 17 countries across Asia Pacific
• Prior to Citibank, Jonathan has been working for MNCs including companies: EDS, American Express, PwC Consulting and HP as their Financial Services Industry (FSI) Global/Regional Director.

Positions:

• Global Wellness Force Pte. Ltd - Chairman and CEO
• Senior Advisor - KILSA, Global & Blacklight, Global
• Chartered IT Professional Assessor, Global - Chartered Institute for IT, The British Computer Society (BCS)
• Lead Professional Development of Procurement & Supply Chain - Supply Chain Asia
• Procurement Excellence Program Assessor , Asia - Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)
• Global Congress Member for Asia - Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)
• Head of Faculty - AcademyGlobal , Asia, The Certified Professional & Qualification Centre of CIPS
• Managing Director - Eightwire Asia Pte. Ltd
• Senior Director & Solutions Architect - KPMG, Asia
• Principal Advisor- Impact Corporate Training, Asia
• Executive Director - Citibank, Asia Pacific
• Senior Director - American Express, HP, PwC and EDS

Outside of local government, Mark has worked across the public sector, including in the NHS, central government, and higher education. Working on a variety of projects, Mark is always interested in bringing the latest technology into procurement, to drive efficiencies. One example of this is his involvement in the implementation of e-auctions during his time in central government.

Mark is passionate about sustainability. This stems from his lifelong interest in birdwatching, reinforced by his education – a degree in environmental science with geography. Mark has been instrumental in including sustainability factors within the procurement roles that he has held, including wider sustainability criteria within construction procurement, such as ensuring minimum numbers of apprentices are employed and further positive impacts on local communities. More recently Mark has been involved in the development of sustainable procurement strategies, along with other wider ESG activities for a number of organisations.

Contract management and supplier relationship management (SRM) are where Mark believes that there is a large opportunity to add value, and as such, this is another area of Mark’s focus for the procurement profession. Within a private sector telecoms company, Mark has led on contract management and SRM perspectives, for a large (multi-million pound) outsource contract critical to that organisation. Currently, Mark is a subject matter expert (SME) on the CIPS endorsed Government Commercial Function (GCF) contract management capability programme (CMCP) that trains and accredits public sector employees in contract management.

Since 2019, through consultancy and training, Mark has shared his experience, knowledge, and passion for procurement, with a few highlights described here: the comprehensive review and redrafting of the specification for a significant outsource contract within the public sector; a full review of a public sector procurement function, providing strategic and expert technical support and training to members of that function; and a ground-up build of a procurement function in a greenfield site within the private sector.

Ahmed has experience in multiple spend categories such as IT, Network, Marketing, FM, aircraft fuel, professional services, outsourcing, consumables, etc.

Ahmed has experience in Supply Chain management including vendor registration, Supplier Relationship Management, Sourcing, Contract life cycle, Supplier Risk Management, Supplier development, etc.

Supported by his education background in Accounting and Finance and his experience in Accounts payable, credit control and management information system.

Ahmed has experience in leading change management and procurement digitalization.

Ahmed has led the design, implementation and deployment of SAP Ariba Modules, both Upstream (Sourcing, Contracts, Supplier Management, Risk) and Downstream (Procure to Pay, Invoicing, Guided Buying) in ADIB.

Ahmed handled CIPS excellence program assessment finalization on behalf of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Ahmed Worked on Cost Optimization Program with Mckinsey & Co. consultancy firm to achieve cost optimization.

Ahmed has experience in Procurement Governance and Controls such as setting KPIs, SLAs, Policies and Procedures.

Ahmed was appointed by RAK Airways to represent the airline in UAE delegation through GCAA (General Civil Aviation Authority) for traffic rights (Aero-political agreements) between UAE and other countries.

Ahmed represented Air Arabia as a member in Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) joint fuel purchase committee.

Ahmed was a member of the sustainability committee under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Ahmed represented Batelco in Fiber Optic Gulf Committee (FOG ) which involved GCC Telecom companies such as Etisalat, Batelco, Qtel, STC, etc.

Ahmed was involved in Policy review and ERP design for Government entities in Abu Dhabi.

Arafat's journey includes being a distinguished Assessor of the CIPS Procurement Excellence Programme Award, reflecting his commitment to elevating procurement practices. Furthermore, he holds a Master of Applied Business Research from SBS Swiss Business School, as well as a Master of Technology in Project Management from Chifley Business School - Torrens University.

Over two decades of dedicated experience across diverse sectors have honed his ability to masterfully manage procurement and supply chain operations. His strength lies in not only building exceptional teams but also fostering collaboration with key internal stakeholders, fueling the organization's success. Arafat is proud of his consistent record of surpassing targets and orchestrating the strategic evolution of procurement from tactical support to a vital growth driver."

Possessing a rich tapestry of international experience spanning over two decades, she brings a sound understanding of diverse cultures and a global perspective to her professional endeavours. This international exposure has not only enhanced her adaptability but also deepened her appreciation for cultural diversity, enabling her to cultivate effective relationships with stakeholders from different backgrounds. She is a seasoned advisor, trainer, coach and is a public speaker. In her journey of procurement, she has led and worked on several transformation programmes, set up processes, policies and governance ensuring compliance is met with industry and government regulations.

She has founded a charity group “Career gap Network Group” where she coaches/mentors those who want to come back to their career ladder after career break.

In 2017, she has set up her own company Expedient Ltd through which she has been working as an interim consultant to several public and private sector in UK where she has held senior roles such as

• Head of Procurement (NHS – Bristol) where she helped them in their savings targets, managing team, ERP transformation projects and other clinical and non-clinical category reviews including setting the competency assessment tool and enhancing procurement processes. She also initiated the sustainability drive in all the tenders and with stakeholders.
• Head of Commercial (Bank of England) where she helped them in their transformation programme of renewing payment system RTGS, setting functions vision, objectives, processes, policies, contract management. All of this was performed together with team including chief cashier officer and other board members.
• Crown Prosecution service where she supported the team in their transformation project of reviewing governance, set up of category management and SRM process which she achieved by following GCF standards, green book, sourcing and contract management book.
• Capita in moving them out of their outsourced procurement function and insource the function at council including setting up new ERP platform. And setting category management process
• Centrica in setting consultancy category involving big 4s at global level and the transformation of ERP project.
• NAO in managing all their professional services category requirement and contributed in NAO’s commercial hub requirement.

She has led and managed distinct categories ensuring its commercials are managed efficiently and brought in £££s of savings through innovative & out of box thought leadership.

She is a qualified coach who have helped several organizations in their team dynamics, leadership styles and core strengths of individuals. Previously she has worked as a CIPS trainer and consultant under the consultancy organization (ArcBlue)in Dubai where she has trained & coached multiple organizations in their requirements delivering value for money solutions. She runs workshops on how to set up sustainable procurement that hits triple bottom line.

Her comprehensive knowledge of industry best practices, coupled with a keen analytical mindset, enables her to meticulously assess procurement operations, identify areas for improvement, and implement innovative solutions that drive cost savings and operational enhancements.

Starting her carrier as a Civil engineer building Complex industrial process plants for Oil and Gas, Energy and Construction Manufacturing Industry, Dr. Prozorova helps organizations to reach project success in the most efficient manner, increase profitability, reduce the risk, build long-term relationship with partners and suppliers and streamline project delivery processes. Passionate about Continuous Improvement she is an active member in various industry communities, active volunteer and constantly stays up to date with latest trends and industry developments.

She is a seasoned speaker and have delivered presentations in various International conferences in MENA region. Her education include Civil Engineering, Project Management and MBA in Oil & Gas Management. She is also certified Project Management Professional (PMP-PMI), Member of Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS) and Member of Chartered Institute of Logistic and Transportation (CILT).

Lalit Dhamija, with a distinguished 43-year career in procurement and supply chain management, is a prominent FCIPS Fellow and PEP Assessor. His extensive journey at ADNOC is marked by excellence, as Procedure and Process Assurance Manager he led the development of comprehensive procurement policies, strategies, processes, procedures, manuals, and operational protocols. With over a decade dedicated to training, mentoring, and coaching procurement professionals across the hierarchy, Lalit has been instrumental as a CIPS Direct Associate since 2016, enriching professionals with CIPS Corporate Award and Qualifications training.

He enabled several ADNOC Group and other diverse organizations to fully prepare them for the compliance with established standards through workshops, project planning and undertaking assessments to identify areas where the standards had not been sufficiently met. He prepared gap analysis report for the organizations and provided guidance as needed to support the organization in closing out the identified gaps. He conducted awareness presentations and workshops for facilitating implementation of policies, processes, procedures, and standards. Lalit’s vast expertise in procurement, contracts, materials management, strategic planning, risk, quality, and performance management He has profoundly transformed organizational practices, establishing new benchmarks in global procurement and supply chain management. Lalit has worked across several industries and organizations worldwide including the United Nations, International Red Cross, and the World food program, Aviation , Banking & Financial Services , Construction Projects, Chemical Industries , Defense, Education, Entertainment , Energy, Food & Beverage, Restaurants, Health & Personal Care, Business to Business, and Energy Services, Flavors and Perfumes, Government, Healthcare, Industrial Services, ICT infrastructure, Logistics /Distribution , Mining, Manufacturing , Medical, Nuclear, Sports & Wellness; Nature & Environment; Parks & Attractions; Motion & Mobility; and Arts & Culture, Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Power , Ports and Terminals, Public Investment Funds, Reinsurance , Telecommunication and Transportation.

1. MCIPS with Distinction through Corporate Award, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), UK
2. FCIPS Chartered – Chartered Fellow of Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), UK
3. CPSM - Certified Professional in Supply Chain Management, Institute of Supply Management (ISM), USA
4. SCMP -Supply Chain Management Professional, Supply Canada, Canada
5. CCMP – Contracts and Commercial Management Practitioner, IACCM, USA
6. FCMI – Fellow of Chartered Management Institute, UK
7. MBA - Master of Business Administration (MBA), IGNOU, India
8. RSCC - Retail Supply Chain Certification, Accenture Supply Chain Academy, USA
9. Bachelor of Science (Mechanical Engineering), Delhi College of Engineering, University of Delhi
10. PMP - Project Management Professional, Project Management Institute, USA
11. CPSD - Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity, Institute of Supply Management, USA (In Progress)

My professional status has afforded me amazing global opportunities in Senior Leadership positions within major projects, ranging from the UK to incredible GIGA Projects across Saudi Arabia, with my first achievement in Saudi Arabia being the journey of delivering the Global Ethics standards, shortly followed by the corporate procurement standard award underpinning the process and procedures of the business to a global standard.

I look forward to the development of Contracts and Procurement Professionals and teams across the region.

Core Expertise:

• Strategic Sourcing & Capital Equipment Procurement
• Supplier Relationship Management & Risk Mitigation
• Contract Negotiation & Regulatory Compliance
• Cost Optimization & Process Improvement
• Innovation in Procurement management and Transformation
• Strategic Planning & Execution
• Business Process Optimization
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
• Supply Chain Risk Assessment & Mitigation
• Team Leadership & Mentorship

Professional Highlights:

• Design & Implementation of a digital Supplier Management approach that became an industry standard process for Supplier onboarding.
• Delivered over $500M in savings through strategic sourcing and supplier consolidation. Directed procurement operations for multi-million-dollar projects, including inventory optimization and high-risk contract negotiations.
• Managed $16M FPSO procurement operations, ensuring compliance with international standards and achieving value-for-money outcomes.

Education & Certifications

• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), UK
• MSc, Supply Chain Management & Logistics, Cranfield University
• BSc, Business Management, University of Calabar
• Member, World Commerce & Contracting (WCC) and AIPN
• Member, Institute for Supply Management (ISM)

Technical Skills

• Recognized for capital equipment procurement innovations
• Fluent in English; proficient in French
• Available for relocation and international assignments

Throughout his career, Mark has shaped and executed enterprise-wide procurement strategies aligned with complex, multinational business environments. His work has focused on designing robust governance frameworks, building scalable operating models, and embedding category management practices that deliver long-term value, enhance resilience, and ensure strategic alignment across the organisation.

In 2017, Mark founded Sourcing Connections, a consultancy dedicated to building sustainable, high-performing procurement functions. As a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), Mark brings deep functional expertise combined with global and regional insight. He is the lead CIPS Procurement Excellence Assessor based in the Middle East and served as the assessor for the prestigious EXPO2020 Procurement Excellence certification—an example of his continued influence in elevating procurement maturity in the region.

Now Mark has a diverse portfolio of work focused on driving procurement excellence and capability development. He advises public and private sector organisations on how to build strategic, future-ready procurement functions and shape sustainable, resilient supply chains.

Mark holds an Executive MBA from INSEAD, has completed executive education in Sustainable Supply Chains from the University of Cambridge, and holds a BA in Financial Services from London Guildhall University.

In addition to his consultancy work, Mark regularly contributes to thought leadership in procurement and plays an active advisory role in supporting organisations on their transformation journeys. His specialist areas include procurement transformation, operating model design, procurement governance, strategy development, category management, and capability building.

Over the years, Firas has built a reputation for delivering sustainable, technology-driven solutions that transform procurement and supply chain functions. His work includes the design and implementation of digital systems, development of procurement strategies, and optimization of inventory and demand planning processes. He brings a unique ability to align operational efficiency with sustainability and long-term value creation.

Firas is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) and fluent in both Arabic and English. He has delivered complex transformation programmes involving multiple stakeholders, change management, and capability development, often acting as a key advisor to senior leadership teams.

Firas is currently driving a range of initiatives that help organisations manage supply chain complexity, accelerate digital adoption, and integrate sustainability into core operations. He blends practical execution with strategic foresight to design and deliver resilient, high-performing procurement and supply chain functions.

Firas holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto. He has completed executive programmes in Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Digital Transformation from the University of Cambridge.

In addition to his consulting work, Firas regularly contributes to initiatives that promote procurement excellence, digital maturity, and sustainable operations across industries. His areas of expertise include procurement and supply chain transformation, digital systems implementation, strategy development, inventory optimisation, demand planning, and capability building.

Throughout his career, Ramy has been recognised for his structured and pragmatic approach to procurement in complex and regulated environments. His ability to adapt procurement practices to diverse legal, operational, and sector-specific contexts has made him a trusted advisor for entities navigating evolving regulatory frameworks and operational challenges. He has held leadership positions including Country Manager and Regional Advisor, where he was responsible for overseeing operations and procurement strategy at a national and regional level where he has played a key role in developing procurement strategies, building governance frameworks, delivering training programmes, and enhancing sourcing effectiveness.

Ramy is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) and holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in Business Law, as well as a BA in Political Science and International Affairs. He is fluent in Arabic and English and brings strong cross-cultural communication skills to every engagement.

Ramy now leads a broad portfolio of work focused on procurement transformation, capacity building, and strategic advisory across complex environments. His experience spans a wide range of sectors including healthcare, education, construction, social development, and non-profit organisations. He is especially known for his expertise in humanitarian and emergency procurement, where speed, compliance, and ethical standards must coexist.

Ramy has completed executive education in Sustainable Supply Chain Management at the University of Cambridge and continues to champion procurement excellence through hands-on support, advisory roles, and knowledge transfer. His areas of expertise include public and private sector procurement, governance and compliance, contract management, risk management, supplier relationship development, and procurement capability building.

With a strong focus on enabling sustainable change, Tamara has delivered strategic sourcing initiatives, supported the implementation of digital procurement solutions, and helped shape governance frameworks that support compliance and performance. Her work spans the full procurement lifecycle - from category management and supplier performance to risk frameworks and process optimization.

Tamara is fluent in French, Turkish, and English and brings strong cross-cultural experience to her international engagements. She has held roles as Head of Procurement, Procurement Manager and Consultant across sectors such as automotive, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and luxury goods - gaining firsthand insight into the operational and strategic challenges of each industry.

Tamara currently leads transformation programmes that focus on building resilient procurement operating models and integrating digital solutions to unlock long-term value. She works closely with stakeholders at all levels to deliver practical solutions, foster internal capability, and embed a culture of continuous improvement across procurement functions.

Tamara holds a Master’s degree in international Purchasing and Innovation Management from KEDGE Business School (M.A.I.) and a BA in Business Administration from NEOMA Business School. She is also a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (MCIPS).

In addition to her project work, Tamara actively contributes to training and development initiatives and supports organisations in building future-ready procurement functions. Her areas of expertise include procurement transformation, digital procurement tools, operating model design, strategic sourcing, category and supplier management, and risk-based policy development.