Kim Andrews
Business Development & Sustainability Advisor
GECA
Kim represents GECA licensees and advocates for the uptake of sustainable products across multiple industries. She is also responsible for increasing the available range of GECA certified sustainable products and services by reaching out to manufacturers and encouraging certification. Kim has a background in sustainable materials and design with a focus on International Law and human rights in the materials industry.
Before coming to GECA, she spent 14 years working with the University of New South Wales as Design Coordinator for UNSW Foundation Studies, and has volunteered with Sustainable Business Australia as Manager of Safe & Sustainable Materials. Kim is GRI trained, holds Masters qualifications in Design (UTS) and completed International Law and International Relations (UNSW), Environmental Management Cert IV and Sustainability and Climate Change Law (UNU Tokyo). Kim has worked from the bottom up and the top down and is working to create greater change in the middle.
Victoria Bergmann
First Assistant Secretary, Procurement and Contracting: Capability Acquisition & Sustainment Group
Department of Defence
Building on nearly twenty-years of public sector procurement, contracting and commercial experience spanning four departments, Victoria currently has responsibility for Defence’s procurement policy and practice framework and the professionalisation of the Procurement and Contracting Job Family. She is also responsible for the provision of specialist procurement and contracting staff within Commercial Division to support CASG’s materiel and Defence’s non-materiel procurements.
Leading CASG’s Commercial Reform Program, Victoria is committed to streamlining and simplifying Defence’s commercial policy framework; reducing the cost of tendering and improving procurement processes; enhancing organisational commercial capability; improving strategic supplier management and engagement; and supporting implementation of Smart buyer. She is also leading the design and implementation of CASG’s Commercial Centre of Expertise to facilitate the achievement of these reforms.
Victoria has an Executive Masters in Business Administration (Complex Project Management); a Masters in Commercial Law; a Graduate Diploma in Public Policy; and a Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies). In addition to supporting strategic Defence materiel procurements in Australia and overseas, Victoria has previously led procurement and contracting at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Australian Agency for International Development.
Laura Berry
Chief Executive Officer
Supply Nation
Laura was appointed CEO of Supply Nation in May 2015, having been involved with the organisation since its inception through her work with two founding member companies, Leighton Holdings and Qantas Airways.
Laura has two decades of experience in stakeholder management, risk mitigation and reputation management with a career that has spanned the private and public sectors, including Federal and State Politics, Public Affairs and roles with top ASX Listed companies.
Laura joined Supply Nation following four years at Qantas where she led the Qantas Group’s Corporate Community Investment Program encompassing the Qantas Reconciliation Program, Qantas Foundation, Indigenous and Community Partnerships, Workplace Giving, National Arts Sponsorships and the Qantas Brand Ambassadors Program.
Laura is currently a Director of Indigenous Business Australia's Indigenous Tourism Asset Management Division, and formally the Chairperson of CareerTrackers Indigenous Internship Program and a director of Supply Nation and Engineering Aid Australia.
Laura holds a Graduate Certificate in Management from the University of Technology, Sydney and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Laura proudly identifies with her Aboriginal and Italian heritage and was born and raised in Canberra.
Hugo Britt
Content Director
Procurious
Hugo is the Content Director for Procurious.com, the business network for procurement and supply management professionals. He writes, sources, edits, polishes and publishes great content from all around the world for the benefit of procurement professionals globally.
Hugo also runs the research program at The Faculty, a specialised management consultancy focused on optimising the performance of global and regional procurement teams. He brings a number of skills to this role including experience in academic and business research, a love of writing, and a professional background in corporate communications, project management and editing.
Phil Cholewick
Strategic Partner Manager
Airservices Australia
A tertiary qualified supply-chain professional, Phil Cholewick has 25 years experience in producing and project managing multi-million dollar commercial solutions to business challenges, in a range of operating environments. Has successfully delivered major projects supporting business change programs in both Australia and the UK.
At Airservices Phil manages and delivers acquisition strategies to support Australian airways operations. Key areas of responsibility covers corporate information services, technical and facilities services.
Phil is an experienced project manager and contracts negotiator whose capability is underpinned with strategic sourcing knowledge across a number of domains. He has provided procurement consultancy services covering organisational design and risk management.
Prior to Airservices, Phil was head of supply chain management for the London 2012 Olympic Games; and Deputy Commercial Director, Major Projects and Strategic Procurements, at the Home Office.
Simon Cotterill
Executive Director Commercial Specialist Team- Supplier Analysis and Engagements Branch, Capability Acquisition & Sustainment Group
Department of Defence
Simon Cotterill is the Executive Director, Commercial Specialist Team, in the Supplier Analysis and Engagements Branch of CASG. Simon has a range of responsibilities including the newly established Commercial Specialist Team. Prior to taking up this position, Simon worked in a range of contracting positions in CASG and the former DMO, including Executive Director Contracting Aerospace, and as a Chief Contracting Officer, based at RAAF Williamtown
Prior to joining CASG in 2008, Simon was a Partner with a Newcastle based law firm and practiced law from 2001-2008. Simon practiced in the areas of commercial law, contracting, property and conveyancing and wills and estates. Prior to practising as a lawyer, Simon was a Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers National Stamp Duties practice, providing advice to a diverse range of clients in relation to corporate stamp duties and tax issues.
Simon has a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the University of Sydney, a graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from UTS and an Executive Masters of Business in Strategic Procurement from Queensland University of Technology
Tim Cummins
Chief Executive Officer
IACCM
In his role as CEO of IACCM, Tim works with leading corporations, public and academic bodies, supporting executive awareness and understanding of the role that procurement, contracting and relationship management increasingly play in 21st century business performance and public policy.
Prior to IACCM, Tim's business career included executive roles at IBM and a period on the Chairman's staff, leading studies on the impacts of globalization and the re-engineering of IBM's global contracting processes. His earlier career involved the banking, automotive and aerospace industries, initially in Corporate Finance and later in commercial and business development. He led negotiations up to $1.5 billion in value and his work has taken him to over 40 countries.
Tim's writing is extensively published and he has acted in an advisory capacity to government bodies in countries that include the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Japan, as well as regular briefings to senior managers at many of the world's largest companies.
Giles Curtin
General Manager, Procurement
TAFE NSW
A Senior Procurement Leader with more than 14 years’ experience across procurement and supply chain. Experienced in leading teams through substantial procurement transformation and business improvement initiatives.
Giles has extensive experience across a broad range of both direct and indirect categories such as; marketing, people, professional services, corporate goods & services, engineered electrical network equipment, mobile telecom network equipment.
Giles has a strong foundation in process, planning, strategy and frameworks and has worked on a number of large and medium scale technology platform implementations including; Oracle iProcurement, SAP, Ariba and Emptoris suite.
His consultative approach to stakeholder engagement enables him to achieve buy-in and ongoing advocacy for procurement initiatives at all levels of management. He enjoys finding new ways to communicate to business stakeholders and is able to empathise and to tailor his approach to his audience.
He is known for his drive and passion to deliver procurement outcomes that enhance the goals of business stakeholders.
He maintains mutual respect in relationships with suppliers - whilst striving for innovation and value-generation within their cost-base.
Shaila Divakarla
Standards & Technical Manager
GECA
Shaila is a registered architect holding a Ph.D. in sustainable architecture and more than 10 years of experience in the industry/practice combined with teaching/tutoring experience as well. Shaila is also a Green Star Accredited Professional (GSAP), Greensmart professional and an accredited NatHERS/BASIX assessor. Her work has spanned across design, research, project coordination and education/training. Her passion for sustainability is supported by a proven track record in championing sustainable project housing highlighted by her crucial role in the recent Ecoliving Display Village, which was the recipient of state and national awards.
Barry Graham
Head of Professional Services & Capability (Procurement)
Scottish Government
Barry is responsible for Scottish Government Procurement, Central Government Procurement Shared Services, and the Central Government Sector Procurement Capability Teams. Following a period putting in place outsourcing solutions in the Ministry of Defence, he joined the then 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 Baby Boxes, Electronic Monitoring of Offenders, Energy Assistance Programmes, and Lifeline Ferry Services. He led the project to establish the Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise and headed up this team since December 2007. He represents the central government procurement community on various procurement reform groups.
Rob Halsall
Head of Procurement
Westpac New Zealand
Rob is the CPO for Westpac New Zealand and the Managing Director of The Executive Athlete.
Rob has coached, developed and led high performing individuals and teams for over 15 years and is passionate about assisting others achieve their personal and professional goals.
Rob has over 20 years domestic and international commercial experience within leading Automotive, Chemicals, Aerospace, Telco, Tertiary and Financial Services organisations. This includes providing leadership within organisational structure, business strategy, commercial project delivery and e2e procurement & supply chain services.
Rob has a MSc in Procurement, a BSc in Business IT and is a published author within procurement. Rob achieved MCIPS status in 2001 and was the youngest recipient globally of the Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply when he received the honour in 2011. Rob is also a certified behavioural, emotional intelligence and motivators analyst.
Shae Howard
Director IT & Digital Government
NSW Department of Finance, Services & innovation
Shae is a business professional with over 20 years’ ICT experience specialising in strategic relationship management, spend optimisation, service delivery and process improvement. She recently completed her MBA in Macquarie Graduate School of Management with a focus on Leadership and Strategy. Shae has held a variety of global and local roles with Cisco, Gateway Computers and most recently with the Dept of Finance, Services & Innovation in NSW Government. Shae has played a leading role in the creation of a diversity resource groups to attract, develop and retain female employees in STEM. In 2014, Shae was shortlisted for the ARN Women in IT Award for her work in developing female mentoring programs.
Andrew Jacopino
Assistant Secretary, Supplier Analysis & Engagement, Capability Acquisition & Sustainment Group
Department of Defence
Responsible for the establishing and leading the newly formed Supplier Analysis and Engagement Branch as part of the Commercial Division. The role of SA&E branch is to manage supplier engagement, performance and payment and to provide analysis and insight into current and future supplier trends. This is delivered through 3 focus areas:
1 - Supplier Engagement and Performance (SEP) including the delivery of Performance Based Contracting (PBC), company scorecard, Supplier Relationship Management (SRMs), supplier quality assurance and strategic panel management;
2 - Supplier Payment and Analysis (SPA) including basis of payment support to projects, undertaking rate reviews and financial viability assessments; and
3 - Supplier Insight (SI) including delivery of timely, accurate and tailored reports on suppliers and managing CASG e-procurement activities.
Greg Kelly
Director Vendor Management & Procurement
Queensland Treasury Corporation
Greg Kelly has over 25 years’ experience in senior executive roles specialising in international procurement, vendor management and global supply chain development. Working with a diverse range of organisations, Greg has optimised procurement strategies across industry sectors including industrial, mining, transportation, global consumer goods manufacturing, marketing and distribution.
Greg has held senior roles with private and public sector organisations including Arrium and Aurizon. As Global Operations Manager of Absolute Board Company, he was responsible for manufacturing, distribution, operations, IT, HR and supply chain across Europe, North America and Australia.
Greg is currently the Director, Vendor Management and Procurement for Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) and is responsible for developing and managing strategic partnerships in IT, HR and core financial platforms recently outsourced after 25 years of being developed and managed internally.
As the Queensland Government’s central financing authority, QTC plays a pivotal role in securing the State’s financial success. With a focus on whole-of-State outcomes, QTC provides a range of financial services to the State and its public sector entities, including local governments.
QTC’s reliance on high-performing vendors and their capability beyond the contract is critical not only for QTC, but more importantly for the State of Queensland.
Luke Kenny
Chief Executive Officer
Local Government Procurement
Luke is the CEO of Local Government Procurement, a buying group for councils. He is responsible for in excess of $500m in annual spend under contract, a procurement consulting practice and training arm.
Luke joined Local Government Procurement in October 2016, having spent the last 7 years as CEO of Australia’s largest not-for-profit buying group. Prior to his time in the not-for-profit sector, Luke had 10 years in NSW state government holding various senior positions where he was primarily responsible for $3.9 billion in annual contract spend, and the adoption of electronic procurement solutions for state government.
With a degree in Communications, an MBA and his MCIPS status, today Luke is focused on ensuring LGP remains Australia’s leading authority on local government procurement strategy and practice, as well rapidly expanding the organisation to provide greater value to the sector and its suppliers.
Shane Lamont
Head of Procurement & Supply Chain
Sydney Water, NSW
Currently the Head of Procurement “CPO” at Sydney Water accountable for leading the Procurement function and for the strategy architecture and delivery of Sydney Water’s procurement transformation program. Having worked in senior positions for leading private and public sector organizations Shane brings a demonstrated practical in aligning procurement vision with organisation strategy as well as developing and embedding leading procurement capabilities with the purpose of partnering with the businesses to determine how to best optimise supply chain value that deliver greater returns.
Prior to working at Sydney Water Shane has worked for various leading ASX organisations including Asciano, Caltex Australia, BlueScope Steel and BHP Billiton in leading major programs that enhances stakeholder value. Shane’s contribution as an industry Procurement Leader is also prominent in the way of his commitment in speaking at various procurement / supply chain or industry conferences.
Benjamin Marx
Senior Researcher and Prevention Officer
ICAC
Dr Benjamin Marx is a senior research and prevention officer within the ICAC’s Corruption Prevention Division, where he has worked for over 10 years. During this time, he has made significant contributions to several ICAC projects, including those on procurement, employment screening, IT contractors, human services within NGOs, and controls around invoice payments. Dr Marx has also performed or managed corruption prevention analysis on over a dozen ICAC investigations.
Kevin McCafferty
Executive General Manager
Broadspectrum and Asia-Pacific’s CPO of the Year 2017
Kevin McCafferty is the Executive General Manager, Procurement for Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd, with responsibility of over $1.7b in expenditure per annum, as well as responsibility for Property, Strategic Asset Management and Supply Chain Operations.
Kevin has 18 years experience within the Procurement industry and has held a number of high profile procurement roles in recent years. He has earned a reputation for successfully delivering some major procurement transformations at organisations such as Fortescue Metals Group, Qantas and RailCorp.
Kevin is passionate about “professionalising” the procurement profession and the development of procurement professionals through a structured framework addressing all of the core competencies across the procurement skill set.
In May 2017, Kevin was awarded the Asia-Pacific's CPO of The Year at the CPO Forum Gala awards, hosted by procurement consultancy The Faculty.
The Faculty's Founding Chairman, Tania Seary, said: "The significant change project undertaken by our new CPO of the Year, Kevin McCafferty, highlights how modern procurement teams are driving business innovation by putting the end-customer and shareholder value first. By enabling procurement leaders to drive cultural change internally, Broadspectrum has achieved both bottom-line company benefits, as well as delivering true business and commercial partnering, in a remarkably short period of time."
Kevin is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (FCIPS). He was awarded the Procurement Professional of the Year Award in 2014 and the Procurement Leadership Award in 2010 by the Institute.
Co-founder and Director of ArcBlue Consulting, Chris began his consulting career in 2011 following over 13 years experience in senior procurement and management roles in Local and State Government. MBA qualified, Chris is a highly skilled facilitator, consultant and trainer with extensive experience in driving reform through procurement transformation.
Jonathan Opata
Procurement Administrator
Maryland Department of Transportation
Dr. Jonathan Opata is a leading expert in Government Procurement and Supply Chain Operations. He is Procurement Administrator for the Maryland Department of Transportation; State Highway Administration responsible for the procurement, review, and approval of procurements completed by others throughout the administration. He is known for developing winning proposals and providing leadership in building high performance teams. Dr. Opata teaches Supply Chain Management courses at Southern New Hampshire University and has a long-term field experience implementing donor-funded procurement reforms.
He holds a doctorate degree in Global Operations and Supply Chain Management and a Chartered member of the Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS, UK), a Certified Professional in Contract Management (CPCM), Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM), Certified Commercial Contracts Manager (CCCM), and Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM). He’s had a specific interest throughout his career on implementing category management and developing the skills and capabilities of procurement teams.
Molley Qi
Procurement Director
Australian Taxation Office
Molley started in the role of procurement Director for the Australian Taxation office in January 2017. Her focus within ATO over the year has been building category management capability to address all elements and functions and to enhance procurement performance at both strategic and operational levels.
Previously the Head of Procurement at City of Melbourne, Molley was accountable for leading the Procurement function and for the strategy architecture and delivery of one of largest scale procurement transformation programs.
Having worked in senior positions for leading private and public sector organisations she brings a strategic yet practical approach to change and value delivery.
Kishwar Rahman
Advisor NDIS eMarketPlace
NDIA
Former Policy Advisor Digital Marketplace
DTA
Kishwar is a Digital Transformation Lawyer with extensive Commonwealth Government experience having worked with Defence, ATO, Department of Human Services and Department of Finance in various roles as a public servant, as a senior lawyer in a tier one firm, and as a management consultant.
Her experience in procurement includes designing complex procurement arrangements, visualisation of contractual arrangements, dispute resolution and advising on ICT procurement policy reform. Most recently she has assisted the Digital Transformation Agency with the launch of their Digital Marketplace which has included implementation of click-wrap work orders and digitisation of the procurement process.
She loves her work and is curious and excited about the endless possibilities of transforming transactional exchanges between government, businesses and citizens to make them more affordable, efficient, and accessible.
Charles Salinas
Co-founder
ProcurHub
A driven and innovative thought leader with +15 years’ experience in large scale, hands-on procurement ranging from enterprise and government category management, strategic sourcing, commercial management and program management.
Specialised skills such as Procurement Process Audit (ICAC), Procurement System Transformation (NSW RailCorp), Defence QA inspector team chief for regional IT networks, Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning Digital Procurement Platform and Block Chain Build Strategy.
Charles possesses strong interpersonal, communication, problem solving and decision making capabilities. Has the ability to establish and maintain strong alliances; lead and motivate teams; drive projects to successful completion; convey complex technical requirements/data; exceed customer expectations and achieve fiscal bottom-line results.
Phil Scott
Head of Tendering & Contracts
Local Government Procurement
Phill has a background in Tendering and Contracting in both the private and Local Government sectors. He is currently Manager-Tendering & Contracting for Local Government Procurement in New South Wales and lectures part-time at TAFE in the areas of Purchasing, Warehousing and Logistics. He has been involved in drafting, evaluation and governance of an estimated 150 tenders and contracts for goods, services, consultancies and constructions over nearly 20 years.
Phill was awarded lifetime Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) accreditation from Victoria University in association with the Institute for Supply Management (U.S.A.). He was recognised as a ‘Fellow’ of the Australian Association of Procurement and Contract Management Pty Ltd in 2010. Phill is a member of Resolution Institute and is accredited as a probity adviser by that organisation.
Phill is a contributing author to the book "Supply Chain Management – A Procurement Perspective" and has written articles published in a number of professional magazines. He has spoken at number of professional conferences in recent years.
Prior to working in Local Government, Phill gained experience in a diverse range of industries including industrial coatings, aircraft fabrication, commercial air-conditioning, horticultural, chemical and electronics industries. He also gained experience working for short periods in the U.S.A and China.
Adam Summons
Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer
NSW Fire & Rescue
Adam Summons is the Executive Director and CFO at Fire and Rescue, NSW. Reporting to the Commissioner / CEO and members of the Executive Leadership, Adam is responsible for the largest urban fire and rescue service in Australia and one of the largest in the world with 7,500 employees, 7,000 volunteers and an annual budget of $750 million.
Adam has served a number of roles as a Finance Executive with over 25 years experience across Australia, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. He has held senior financial management roles with Fortune 500 and European multinationals (at global, regional or national levels) during growth and change.
Kylie Towie
Transformational Leader, Former Chief Procurement Officer/Chief Information Officer and Chief Executive
WA Government
Erin Westcott
Government Strategic Sourcing Professional
National Disability Insurance Agency
Erin is an Australian lawyer with extensive experience in government contracting and procurement. As the Assistant Director Strategic Sourcing Branch, she is accountable for the development and implementation of procurement policies, procedures and templates for the National Disability Insurance Agency.