Official Event Advisory Panel - GovProcure 2015
Quest Events would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the panel members below who are contributing their valuable time and expertise to ensure the conference agenda is timely and relevant for all stakeholders in Australia's public procurement sector.
Jonathan Dutton
Managing Director
JD Consultancy
Jonathon Dutton was the founding Managing Director of CIPS Australasia for over eight years up until February 2013. He was responsible for all aspects of CIPS activities as the global peak body for professional procurement & supply management in the region. He represented the profession and its standards to the highest levels of business and government. As a former qualified procurement manager himself, as well as sales manager turned marketing director, Jonathan can easily draw on experiences from both sides of the negotiating table. Jonathan has worked in senior positions for British Airways, QANTAS, Regus & CHUBB, and is a fellow of four institutes covering procurement, marketing, management and the royal society of arts. He is also a graduate diploma member of the institute of company directors, and has a degree in economics with accountancy and business law.
Jonathan is married with two young children and lives in Melbourne, and can be reached easily through LINKED IN or his website.
Mike Blanchard
Chief Procurement Officer
Sydney Trains
Mike, General Manager (CPO) heads up Procurement within Sydney Trains running the Strategic Procurement Group within the finance, IT and Corporate Services directorate. He is responsible for Managing the spend ($1.7BN AUD) through enabling valued business outcomes via cost effective supplier solutions. His Team of 66 delivers direct categories to all stakeholders and is also for managing the interface with Transport Shared Services who deliver the indirect categories for Sydney Trains in an outsourced model.
Mike is the Process Owner for Procurement for Transport NSW in the delivery of the new SAP environment and is a member of the Global Practice Advisory Board for Public Sector Procurement for CIPS.
Prior to this role Mike headed up Procurement within Transpower NZ ( The National Grid ) running there Sourcing, Supply and Contracts Group (SSC) Responsible for over $3.8b NZD of infrastructure spend managing the cradle to the grave elements of for all of the National Grid and IT Procurement and Supply chain. Mike originally has a Telecoms and IT background with previous roles as Managing Director (APAC) of a UK software company TeleWare, Commercial Manager for Gen-I (a Telecom NZ company) and Various General Management, Sales, Marketing and Technical Management roles with Ericsson around the world.
Mike is always looking to assist organisations that understand the need for growth or are looking to build and divest, but have not necessarily developed a strategy and/or able to translate it into delivery. He understands the bottom line having P&L responsibility for small startups and large Corporates
“I can translate concept and theory through innovative thinking into clear and decisive plans resulting in short and long-term organisational success”
Peter Morichovitis
Chief Procurement Officer
Gold Coast City Council
Peter commenced as Chief Procurement Officer with Gold Coast City Council, Australia’s second largest local government, in July 2010. In this role Peter is responsible for developing a strategic procurement function for the Council including ensuring greater effectiveness of Council spend, procurement process efficiency, probity and customer service.
Peter’s previous role was as head of Procurement for BHP Billiton Olympic Dam, Australia’s largest underground mine and minerals processing operation, where he was responsible for all procurement and supply chain activities. Peter led Olympic Dam to win ‘Most Improved Procurement Operation’ at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Australasia (CIPSA) 2009 Procurement Professional Awards.'
Peter’s career spans 20 years as a Procurement professional in the resources, manufacturing and government sectors. He has specialised in global supply chain, procurement and commercial activities at a range of locations.
Peter is the Vice Chair for CIPSA in Queensland and holds post graduate qualifications in Marketing as well as undergraduate qualifications in Commerce and Journalism.
Geoff Holden
Director Procurement Strategy
WA Department of Training and Workforce Development
Geoff Holden is the Director of Procurement Strategy at the Western Australian Department of Training and Workforce Development. His experience includes a wide range of procurements spanning training delivery, disability services, consultancies, IT projects, and across government initiatives.
Prior to joining the Department, Geoff was a senior procurement manager with the Disability Services Commission, where he was instrumental in developing new procurement solutions that gave the citizen more control over their supports. He was also instrumental in market development initiatives such as the creation of the inaugural Disability Industry Plan which was a finalist for the Premier's Award and blueprint for other states and sectors.
Kaljit Bhachu
Director Supplier Diversity, Procurement Advisory
NSW Office of Finance & Services
Kaljit Bhachu is the Director, Supplier Diversity for NSW Procurement. Before this, Kaljit’s search for purpose brought her to Australia from the UK where she had previously worked for the likes of Carphone Warehouse and Woolworths Group. Since 2007 Kaljit has work for different organisation in Australia, including ActewAGL, Commonwealth Bank to then join Leighton in 2013 as Group Supplier Diversity Manager. In this role, she developed a strategy to focus on the supplier development of under-represented groups by more than tripling spend with Indigenous businesses - ensuring the procurement function was leading the charge. Kaljit also started mentoring a young woman with the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation as well as becoming a mentor to migrant girls from Asia, helping them understand their world of two cultures. Kaljit’s commitment and achievements in Supplier Diversity were recognised in 2014 when she won the Supplier Diversity Advocate of the Year Award.