Nicola Jones has 26 years experience in the steel industry and she is now the Sustainability & Circularity Lead at Tata Steel UK. Nicola has been heavily involved in the Packaging Sector throughout her career, advising on government policy and recycling initiatives. Nicola is now supporting Tata Steel UK on its transformation journey to lower CO2 emissions in steel making via Electric Arc Furnaces.

Charlene is the Head of Policy Delivery for Supply Chains & Service Offering at Crown Commercial Service, the largest public buying organisation in the UK. Charlene moved into the commercial policy arena after over 12 years in category and commercial roles in the public sector. During this time she worked with colleagues across Cabinet Office and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to deliver the pilot procurement for delivery of social value within CCS, and helped develop PPN 06/20 on Social Value for Central Government.

Jeremy manages techUK's defence programme, helping the UK's defence technology sector align itself with the Ministry of Defence - including Defence Digital, DE&S, innovation units and frontline commands - through a broad range of activities including policy consultation, private briefings and early market engagement networking. The programme also supports the MOD as it procures new digital technologies. Prior to joining techUK, from 2016-2024 Jeremy was International Security Programme Manager at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) coordinating research and impact activities for funders including the FCDO and US Department of Defense, as well as business development and strategy.

Dr. Darar Apiri is a Senior Specialist at WRAP, providing technical expertise in sustainable procurement on the Welsh Government-funded Circular Public Sector Project, as well as on WRAP projects across the wider UK and the APAC region. He supports organisations in integrating decarbonisation planning, circularity and social value into procurement strategies and tendering processes, helping deliver low-carbon, resource-efficient outcomes and embedding circular economy principles into decision-making.

Darar holds a PhD in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, an MSc in Engineering Business Management, and a BEng in Civil Engineering. He is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CMILT), a member of the Association for Project Managers (MAPM), and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Before joining academia, Darar worked internationally as a procurement lead in aerodrome operations, gaining practical experience in complex, high-stakes supply chain and procurement environments. He subsequently held academic positions at the University of the West of England and the University of South Wales, teaching and leading research in sustainable supply chains, circular economy, global procurement, and project management.

Ian Evans is the Procurement & Information Governance Manager at Caerphilly County Borough Council, with over 25 years of public sector experience. He leads the Council’s approach to Procurement, Information Governance, and Cyber Security, driving innovation, transparency, and smarter decision-making through data and collaboration.

Ian manages a multidisciplinary team of 60, fostering a culture of positive teamwork, continuous improvement, accountability, growth and putting policy into practice. A trusted leader in high-profile, cross-sector projects, he champions partnership working and service excellence. As a Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), Ian is committed to the highest standards in public procurement.

Mark became the Assembly Member for Cardiff West in May 2011. He was Chair of the Assembly’s Health and Social Care Committee from July 2011 - March 2013 and of the All-Wales Programme Monitoring Committee for European funds from July 2011 – March 2013. He was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services in March 2013. He was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government in May 2016. Mark was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Finance on 3 November 2017. On 12 December 2018 Mark was appointed First Minister of Wales and became a member of the Privy Council on 13 February 2019. Mark was appointed First Minister on 13 May 2021.

Simon is Director of Commercial and Procurement for the Welsh Government. He has held various senior roles in the Welsh Government, including Continuous Improvement, Covid Recovery and Restart and Brexit Strategy. Simon has a wealth of experience in commercial strategy and policy development across social policy, tax and strategic investment, an extensive track record in programme and policy design and coordination, and practical knowledge of large-scale service delivery, corporate governance and leadership. He was formerly Director of Y Lab, a public services innovation laboratory for Wales, and was Corporate Director for Wellbeing in Bridgend County Borough Council on secondment.

Prior to joining the Welsh Government, Simon was a Management Consultant undertaking government strategy consulting for Accenture. In his early career he worked as a Statistical Analyst for the Office for National Statistics before joining the civil service fast stream and working in various roles across nine years in HM Treasury.

Dot has worked for many years for BBC Wales, ITV Wales, S4C, BT Sport, Radio 5 Live and Radio 4, and now presents the BBC Radio Wales Breakfast Show. She has hosted the Rugby World Cup for ITV and six nations for the BBC.

A fluent Welsh speaker, Dot’s broadcasting career very much began in the world of sport, however her network profile was elevated with her presence at Wimbledon for the BBC for many years. Her annual catch ups presenting alongside John McEnroe on ‘6love6’ a particular highlight!

She has since ventured into the world of current affairs, presenting for Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and Radio 4, along with S4C’s flagship ‘Y Byd ar Bedwar’ and ITV’s Wales This Week.

Her versatility further demonstrated by presenting the National Eisteddfod for S4C in 2022 from her home county of Ceredigion, and she has many more exciting projects to be revealed over the coming months.

Dot Davies recently confessed her growing interest in online casinos, sharing how this form of entertainment has become a personal favorite pastime. According to Dot, the various gambling games offered by online casinos, which you can find more about here: https://800gambling.org, provide not only excitement but also a way to unwind after a busy day. She explained that, for her, engaging in these games allows her to relax and disconnect from daily stress.

One of the reasons why online casinos have gained popularity, including with Dot, is the convenience they offer. Unlike traditional casinos, which require traveling and sticking to a schedule, online casinos are available 24/7 and can be accessed from the comfort of home. Dot highlighted how this flexibility fits seamlessly into her lifestyle, enabling her to enjoy her favorite casino games whenever she has free time, whether that’s late at night or during a quick break.

Dot was brought up on a farm in west Wales, and her love of the outdoors continues as she brings up her 3 children.

Paul leads Welsh Government’s Procurement Delivery team, overseeing a spend of some £700 million per annum. He also steers the delivery of a collaborative procurement pipeline for Wales with over 30 national frameworks. Prior to this Paul has held a variety of procurement roles across the Welsh Public sector including Head of Category Management of the National Procurement Service (NPS) and the Strategic Procurement Adviser to the Welsh Government’s Economy Department. An advocate for inclusion of Welsh SMEs and Social Enterprises in public sector supply chains, Paul’s team have won multiple awards at the Go Awards Wales for their work to embrace and deliver social value.

I have been working in NHS procurement for over 30 years with the majority of my career spent in Northern Ireland Health and Social Care national procurement organisations. In recent years I have worked at a senior level in Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and my present role in leading Procurement Services within NHS Wales. I hope my experience over many years of working within different political and operational environments in the NHS has allowed me to develop a keen sense of what works well (and not so well). I look forward to continuing the work with my procurement colleagues across Wales and beyond to help meet the many current and emerging challenges where our profession can make a real difference for our patient population and wider society.

Alice Horn has been working at the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales for the last six years. In her role as a Sustainable Development Advisor, she supports public bodies and regional partnerships to achieve meaningful impact, drawing on skills she developed as part of the Future Generations Leadership Academy Alumni.
She also works on the well-being economy mission, ensuring Wales transitions towards an economy that prioritises people and planet. Within this, Alice’s priority areas include economic development strategies, Real Living Wage and AI. She also leads on the Commissioner’s work around procurement policy and implementation of recommendations from the first Section 20 Procurement Review.

Liz is the Director of Transformation, Digital and Procurement. Previously Head of Customer and Digital Service and Head of Procurement at Caerphilly Liz leads a team of 160 FTE’s who is responsible for the delivery of all services in relation Customer experience, Digital transformation, Procurement and Information Governance. Liz is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply with a keen interest in social and economic regeneration through the effective use of procurement.

Jane is a Reader in Procurement for the Logistics and Operations Management section of Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University.

Her subject areas for research and teaching include innovation and social public procurement, supply chain management, and collaboration.

Jane is Programme Director for the UK Government funded ‘Help to Grow Management’ programme delivered at Cardiff Business School aimed at supporting SMEs with business growth.

Her additional roles include being a Member of IRSPP (international research study on public procurement), Branch Chair of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) South Wales and Associate Director (MICW) of Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW), Cymru.

Carl has a wealth of public procurement experience, having previously led the award-winning procurement team at one of Wales’ largest housing associations.

Before joining Welsh Government, Carl worked for the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), where he taught procurement and contract management best practice to public and private sector organisations across the globe. Carl also played an important role in CIPS’ work post-Grenfell, and supported the work of Working Group 11 to agree specific procurement competence levels for people involved in the construction of new higher risk residential buildings.

Carl was also responsible for developing Welsh Government’s wider Procurement Reform engagement activity, working closely with stakeholders across the Welsh public sector to ensure they were ready to maximise the opportunities arising from procurement reform.

With a career spanning the retail, hospitality, FMCG and Higher Education sectors, Catherine is not your typical procurement professional - she began her career in sales, before moving into training, product marketing, category management and then, as many do, ‘fell’ into procurement, and more specifically indirect procurement.

With a passion for adding value and making a difference be it commercially or through developing procurement talent, Catherine’s mix of private and now public (HE) sector experience enables her to bring change and a different lens to procurement at USW, balancing commerciality with the legislative requirements of the sector.

Detective Inspector with South Wales Police currently seconded to the Wales Cyber Resilience Centre.  The WCRC is a Police led organisation which aims to support the business community in Wales against the threat of cybercrime.  A police officer for 26 years Paul is committed to supporting the business community in making them aware of the current threat levels of cybercrime and what security measures they can install to protect them against the threat.

Jarrad Morris is the Founder and CEO of FleetEV, an award-winning business driving the transition to electric vehicles across the public sector, businesses, and individuals. Under his leadership, FleetEV has secured two major industry awards for collaborative procurement projects delivered in partnership with the Welsh Government and has saved the public sector over £1.2 million on fleet procurement costs between 2023 and 2025.

Alongside FleetEV, Jarrad also leads PLUG Charging, the company’s infrastructure arm, which delivers innovative EV charging solutions to support the wider adoption of sustainable mobility.

A first-language Welsh speaker and passionate advocate for a greener Wales, Jarrad brings unrivalled knowledge of electric vehicles and practical solutions to help organisations decarbonise their fleets. He is also a strong believer in the power of procurement as a force for good, ensuring that every project creates meaningful social value alongside environmental impact.

Stuart Milligan is an Associate Teaching Professor at the Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics, Thompson Rivers University. Stuart has held senior positions in retail and higher education. Stuart holds a PhD in Supply Chain Management and a master’s degree in data science and is interested in responsible supply chains. Recent teaching and research interests involve exploring how technology can add value to the procurement function.

Adam Cox is Lead Consultant for Social Value at Cwmpas, the UK’s largest co-operative development agency. He leads national projects with Welsh Government, housing associations, local authorities, and private sector partners, with a particular focus on embedding social value through procurement using relevant legislation to shape the learning. Adam is recognised for challenging conventional approaches to social value and championing innovative, evidence-based practice that delivers real impact for communities and supply chains.

With 30 years at the forefront of delivery in the built environment across Wales and the UK delivering award winning projects such as Loudoun Square, Thames Water’s HQ, LG’s first UK Gigga factory and the Senedd amongst others.

Currently delivering the Optimised Retrofit Program in connection with Welsh Government and CCHA alongside

Vice Chair of the Sustainability Advisory Panel and board member of FCHA.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonjohnbrown/

Grahame joined BiP Solutions in 2003 as Production Director with responsibility for the multi-disciplined media and production department, including Content, Research and Distribution. Prior to that, he worked in various senior editorial and publishing roles for the media company EMAP plc.

Grahame was appointed Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the BI Division in May 2012 and became Sales & Marketing Director in May 2016 with overall responsibility for driving revenues through private and public sector sales, marketing and events teams.

In January 2017, Grahame was appointed Managing Director of the Media and Marketing Solutions division of the BiP Group. In this role he assumed overall responsibility for two of BiP Group’s recent acquisitions – Pro Mark Media and Ingenium – as well as BiP Solutions’ events and training portfolio.

Following a restructure of BiP Group in April 2018, Grahame was appointed Sales and Marketing Director for the Business Intelligence and Public Sector business units, before subsequently being appointed Director of Public Policy, Research and Communications in 2023.

Aled is a Chartered Geographer and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, with a strong expertise and passion for sustainability. He currently leads and implements the Procurement deliverables outlined in the "Delivering a Net Zero NHS" strategy for NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP), an independent organisation owned and directed by NHS Wales. In his role, Aled serves as the board-level net zero lead for Health Boards, Trusts, and regional NHS teams. He develops and executes NWSSP's approach to sustainable development and provides senior professional advice.

Aled engages and collaborates with a variety of internal and external stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive approach to sustainability and carbon neutrality, aligning these efforts with the organisation’s values and corporate goals.

He is a skilled communicator who proactively works with partners to drive energy and sustainability improvements. Aled collaborates with all procurement teams across Wales to integrate decarbonisation opportunities into their sourcing and supply chain plans, linking them with the Foundational and Circular Economy.

Aled also has experience in creating Circular Economy and Carbon Literacy strategies, which are incorporated into broader corporate plans.

Rhian Rogers works as part of the Welsh Government Commercial Procurement Directorate, which supports procurement for both the wider public sector and the Welsh Government.

Catherine is the SME outreach and Policy Lead for the Ministry of Defence. Always keen to talk and hear about experiences first hand, Catherine is committed to supporting industry and government in overcoming barriers commonly experienced by micro, small and medium sized enterprises. In support of this work, Catherine has responsibility for helping suppliers to access opportunities in the supply chain through Doing Business with Defence. She is looking forward to meeting suppliers at the event and encourages you to drop into the MOD stand and make contact.

The City and County of Swansea is a large multi-million pound turnover (£850m p.a.) Local Government unitary body with a broad public service remit for its 300,000 residents and as a lead body for its city region that covers the 1m population of South West Wales: - highways provision and maintenance, schools, waste and recycling, sports facilities, and care services and homes are just some of the services provided in our lively urban centres and on the world famous Gower Peninsula - the first area in the UK to be designated of 'outstanding natural beauty'.

Carla Lavender has over 20 years of experience in public sector procurement, including eight years leading collaborative teams across a range of categories. At the National Procurement Service (NPS), she led senior legal professionals in developing two major national frameworks for Solicitor and Barrister services, and directed procurement teams in high-risk areas as interim Head of Food, and later as interim Head of Fleet and Professional Services.

As a Senior Manager for Procurement Reform, Carla supported the development of procurement policy and legislative guidance, and acted as the single point of contact for Learning & Development between the Cabinet Office and the Welsh public sector. To complement the UK Government’s core L&D offer for the Procurement Act 2023, she developed supplementary bilingual training tailored to the Welsh context. This training also supported stakeholder readiness for the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 and the Health Service Procurement (Wales) Act 2024.

In her current role as Senior Procurement Review Unit Manager, Carla plays a central role in supporting compliance with the new procurement regime in Wales. She leads the implementation and refinement of processes that monitor the integrity and efficiency of procurement activities, ensuring contracting authorities adhere to regulatory requirements. Carla also collaborates closely with stakeholders to assess procurement practices, take corrective action where necessary, and assess supplier exclusions under the Procurement Act 2023.

Sue has worked in procurement policy, in Welsh Government and in Whitehall, for most of her career. She has worked on projects to improve competition for public contracts, and opportunities for SMEs and consortia bids.

WLGA’s lead officer for procurement. Richard came into public procurement “From a background of Logistics, Branch Management and B2B Sales in the private sector.” Initially as one of Cardiff Councils operational procurement team where he ran the County Supplies Catalogue and a delegated suite of procurement frameworks; then to a joint Welsh Government & WLGA initiative, the Welsh Local Government Procurement Support Unit; from there to the WLGA core team.

A champion of social value and the wellbeing of future generations; he's taking a pivotal role in central/local government relations, coordinating the National Procurement Network for councils in Wales and much more. Army of one and fiercely loyal to his procurement officer network, he is coordinating local government responses to consultation and participating in the Government's reform programme. In 2021 Richard initiated the NPN Market Intelligence Expert Group and currently acts as researcher, editor, publisher. He says that he’s just a middleman; the value comes from the people on the group and the knowledge they have; but that’s what Richard does, he brings the good from the people he’s with.

Richard has been speaking on the National stage, at the National Local Government Procurement Expo about Procurement in Difficult Times, about the Local Government Showcase at the National Social Value Conference and about Digital Transformation in a Gov News Masterclass. Wales representative to LGA's National Advisory Group for procurement, he's providing a weekly bulletin to an extended network of 114 procurement stakeholders and is credited in the Social Value Roadmap 2023, an important document nationally.

So far, in 22/23 he's appeared in 10 separate external (non-WLGA) searchable and public facing digital media events. There were at last count 21 separate live events online featuring interviews, presentations, keynotes and reports where Richard is recorded or credited as a contributor.

Dr Eva Katharina Sarter is a Political Scientist with significant expertise and research interests in public policy, political economy, the Welfare State, employment, digitalisation, and comparative political science. Particular topics of interest include policy-making and implementation, marketization and the political economy of the welfare state, the regulation of labour and governance of public services. Current research includes the investigation of sustainable public procurement as a regulatory policy tool and the study of digitalisation, particularly in relation to the welfare state and public services.

Daniel Elwyn Thomas is a Decarbonisation Advisor for Business Wales, the Welsh Government’s fully funded business support service for Welsh SME’s.

Decarbonisation Advisors support businesses across Wales in becoming more sustainable and reducing their carbon emissions. Services include identifying suitable technologies and funding opportunities, calculating carbon footprints, and developing tailored Carbon Reduction Plans to help businesses prepare for tenders, secure grants, and take meaningful steps towards Net Zero.