Ivan McKee was appointed Minister for Public Finance in May 2024. His career has involved a number of senior roles in manufacturing and business, managing companies in the UK as well as Poland, Finland, Croatia and Bosnia. Early in his career, Ivan spent two years with VSO in Bangladesh. He is currently a trustee of the charity CEI, which supports education and health projects in Bangladesh. Ivan has been MSP for Glasgow Provan since May 2016. He was brought up in Glasgow where he studied at the University of Strathclyde. He also studied at the University of Newcastle.

Rona Dougall is a broadcaster, freelance journalist and also a popular TV presenter best known as the host of STV’s flagship current affairs programme ‘Scotland Tonight‘. The thirty minute live programme takes an in-depth look at the big news stories of the day, along with sport, politics, business, art and entertainment.

Before becoming a Scottish Television anchor, Rona was Sky News Scotland correspondent for over 15 years. During that time she covered many headline stories, including the Dunblane massacre, the trial of the Lockerbie bomber at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, the death of Princess Diana from Balmoral, the opening of the Scottish parliament and several Scottish elections.

She was also part of the British Bafta award winning team which covered the terrorist attack at Glasgow airport.

Off duty Rona Dougall is a mother to her two children, a keen runner and a voracious reader.

Nick spent eight years as Head of Commercial and Procurement at the Department for International Development. Following over 25 years within the private sector specialising in procurement, commercial and project management in roles across the UK, USA, Australia, and Spain, Nick joined the public sector as part of HMG’s Commercial Functional Leadership Group. Nick is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. Previously a CIPS Regional Chair and regular keynote speaker at conferences, Nick is also an active mentor for Procurement and Commercial professionals.

Nikki has worked in a number of private and public sector senior procurement and programme management roles since graduating in 1990 with a BA (Hons) in Business Economics and Marketing. With IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Agilent she gained extensive experience in leading national and international procurement and system transformation programmes. Since joining the Scottish Government in 2005 she has played a key role in driving and enabling public procurement reform in Scotland, with a particular focus on building Scottish Government’s Procurement, Commercial and Project Delivery skills.

An FCIPS Chartered Procurement & Supply professional, Nikki currently sits on the CIPS Foundation Steering Group and is an ex-trustee of their Global Board of Trustees. With specific interests in developing the capability of individuals, organisations, supply chains and our Procurement People of Tomorrow, Nikki also plays an active role in encouraging diversity (in all its forms) within senior procurement and supply chain roles.

‘Moving Forward’ – these two words perfectly encapsulate Ben’s approach to his role as CEO of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Chain (CIPS).

In a world where supply networks increasingly sustain businesses, industries and economies, Ben believes that the procurement and supply chain profession must take centre stage and step up to lead from the frontline.

It is a big and bold step for the profession.

With his multifaceted experience as a leader in procurement, supply chain management, membership, digital transformation and operations, Ben is uniquely qualified to bring this ambitious vision to life.

His most recent position was Director of Operations, Planning and Delivery in one of the UK’s largest retailers – the John Lewis Partnership.

An illustrious early career and achievements in the military laid the foundation for Ben’s Ben’s distinct high-energy, high-impact style of leadership.

Achieving the rank of Colonel at a very young age, he served as Commanding Officer of the Irish Guards. In recognition of his remarkable service, Ben was awarded an MBE when he was just 29 years old.

Today, as Chairman of the Invictus Games Foundation Programme Board and Chairman of the Forces Employment, Ben is also a respected leader in the charity sector. He is the Founder and organiser of the Blackthorn Rally, an international motorsport rally for army veterans.

Ben has proven his ability to marry ambition with impact.

With the coincidence of technology advances, the increasingly interconnected world, climate risk, and geopolitical instability, he is determined to move the procurement and supply chain profession and CIPS forward into a future where they are global leaders, shaping the future of the planet.

The Commonwealth Games return to Glasgow in 2026, from July 23rd until August 2nd, and it’s brilliant to be back!

As only the third city in history to host the Games twice, Glasgow brings deep experience and unmistakable character to this global moment. From world-class sport to street-level celebrations, Glasgow 2026 will be an 11-day festival of energy, community and ambition — all set within an eight-mile corridor that puts fans, athletes and the city side by side.

The Commonwealth Games creates a wealth of opportunities for businesses and suppliers and we’re really excited to be able to bring that opportunity to Glasgow, Scotland and further afield.

In the lead-up to the Games, we will be looking for suppliers of all shapes and sizes, to help us make the Games as brilliant as it can be. We’ve designed our procurement process to be Scotland-first; making sure that one of the legacies of our Games is supporting Scottish and Glasgow businesses.

Alistair Kerr is the Chair of the Community Wealth Advocacy Forum, Director & Chair of BASE Scotland, and Partnerships and Development Manager for Scotland at PeoplePlus, with a strong focus on creating sustained and inclusive employment opportunities for disadvantaged people or groups in our local communities. Utilising Sustainable Procurement legislation, Community Wealth Building & Social Value Policy drivers to transform lives of Disabled or Disadvantaged people across the UK, Alistair has held various Executive, Board & Chair positions since 2002 representing Disabled Peoples rights and advocating a Socially just society. He is recognised by Scottish Government as a Champion of Scotland’s Supported Businesses.

Jane is a Professor in Procurement for the Logistics and Operations Management (LOM) section of Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. Jane’s subject areas for research and teaching include innovation and social public procurement, supply chain management, and collaboration. Jane is the strategic lead for Procurement Labs in a WEFO funded project, Infuse (Innovation of Future Public Services).

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. Additional Roles: Member of IRSPP (international research study on public procurement) Branch Chair of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) South Wales Associate Director (MICW) of Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW), Cymru.

Neil is the global lead for community wealth building at the USA-based organisation- The Democracy Collaborative. He has been involved in economic development for many years and was for three years seconded into the Scottish Government as a community wealth building adviser within the economic development directorate. His work in Scotland and globally involves advancing an economy that genuinely works for people, place and planet.

As Chair of EDAS, he promotes and supports their work, liaising and meeting with people and organisations, ensuring economic development is at the cutting edge of building Scotland’s wellbeing economy, including a just transition to a decarbonised and fairer economy where wealth is enjoyed by all. Whilst working globally, he is also involved locally in local community economic development in the west highlands, where he lives.

Glasgow Caledonian University is a vibrant environment for learning, teaching and applied research.

Our welcoming University community of over 1,600 staff and more than 22,000 students from nearly 120 countries enjoy state-of-the-art facilities across our campuses in Glasgow and London. With transnational partnerships in China, South Africa, Oman, Bangladesh and Mauritius, our success as a globally connected University is demonstrated by the large number of international students studying at our UK campuses.

The Procurement Section is based within the Finance Department. We are responsible for supporting the University to maximise the contribution that procurement makes to the University’s expenditure in teaching and research so that the University can deliver more with the funds that they have available.

David is Chief Product Officer at Procurement Leaders and Sustainability Leaders. With 20+ years experience of working with and in the service of procurement, sustainability, finance and technology executives, he has gained a rich understanding of the challenges faced by business executives across the business spectrum.

Joining Scottish Government as Scotland’s first ever Procurement Modern Apprentice, Rachael now has over ten years of public procurement experience, which includes leading and supporting critical procurements through periods of significant economic and supply chain instability. Rachael is MCIPS and degree qualified and has been an active member of the Procurement People of Tomorrow community, helping to promote procurement as a profession of choice and mentoring new entrants based on her own career journey. Rachael has had a breadth of roles from commercial capability, contract management, buying and now leads the Communications and Strategic Engagement Team.

Peter brings over 25 years of diverse experience in business management across the medical device, healthcare services, and property sectors. As the National Procurement Category Manager for Heat and Power Purchase Agreements at NHS National Services Scotland, he focuses on advancing sustainable and innovative procurement practices. Peter’s background spans global business management, strategic sourcing, and governance, supporting his focus to optimise procurement strategies. He holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science from Stellenbosch University (South Africa), with international business training from Grenoble Ecole de Management.

James joined Scotland Excel in August 2024 and is a Senior Procurement Specialist with an emphasis on Capital Project Support within the Construction Portfolio. He is a qualified Architect; PRINCE2 Practitioner and an NEC4 Accredited Project Manager.

James brings with him 30 years of experience in both the public and private sector, including a number of years running his own architectural practice. James focuses on the technical and contractual element of the call off process and supports our members when making contract awards through our frameworks. James also delivers construction contract training on behalf of Scotland Excel.

With over 20 years of experience working in the Scottish public sector, Carolyne's role as senior AI Policy Officer in the Scottish Government allows her to bring together her passions for IT, innovation and the delivery of high quality public services.

As a member of the Scottish AI Alliance, a partnership between the Scottish Government and the Data Lab within Edinburgh University, she currently has responsibility for delivering the Scottish AI Register, a tool designed to ensure that Scottish public sector AI use is open and transparent for all our citizens.

Gillian Cameron is the Programme Manager for the Supplier Development Programme (SDP), a business support initiative, supported by Scottish Government, Scottish Local Authorities and Agencies. The Programme’s aim is to help Scottish SMEs improve their performance in winning contracts in the public sector. Gillian has over 25 years’ experience in public sector procurement, previously working on many high-profile supplier engagement projects with the Ministry of Defence, the NHS and London 2012 Olympic games. She is a member of the Scottish Government’s Procurement Supplier Group, which aims to inform, influence, and engage with procurement strategy and derive the maximum economic benefit from public sector purchasing.

Starting his career as an apprentice in Glasgow with Barr & Stroud, Iain moved into high volume, commercial packaging for tech companies and then within the drinks industry. This led onto working as a Category Manager for OKI, covering quality and all commercial aspects of all print & packaging including branding. Iain developed his career further within Mitsubishi as Materials Manager, negotiating and procuring goods from across the globe and the management of Stores and delivery into Production.

After a short period working in Ireland for a small printing company as Operations Manager, Iain returned to Scotland and worked as the Corporate Procurement Manager, with the key task of facilitating change, for Renfrewshire then South Lanarkshire Councils, over 7 years. Iain then took up the post of Head of Procurement for BT to deliver an outsourced procurement on behalf of South Tyneside Council, delivering significant benefits to the Council and the full restructure of the service.

Upon completion of that 10 year contract, Iain took up the post of Head of Procurement for Police Scotland, having had the initial task to deliver change to support improvement to the service and now working to ensure the procurement service continues to add value to the benefit of the Police Officers and the public.

Sarah Cawthorne is an Assistant Director in the Competition Enforcement team within the Competition and Markets Authority. She is currently leading an investigation into conduct in the housebuilding sector, and has previously worked on a range of competition law cases involving digital and pharmaceutical markets.

Sarah joined the CMA in 2020, after completing a PhD at the University of York. She now works from the CMA’s Greater Manchester office in Salford, where she was one of the first members of staff. During her time at the CMA she has been involved in phases across the lifecycle of a regulatory investigation, including dawn raids, case launch, complex evidence reviews, issuing infringement decisions, accepting legally binding commitments, and successfully defending a CMA decision on appeal.

Transport Scotland are the national transport agency for Scotland, delivering the Scottish Government's vision for transport. Through the development of transport projects and policies, they support Scotland's businesses, communities and services, connecting people across Scotland and beyond.

Procurement underpins much of the delivery of their priorities and has a notable impact on performance and success. In recognition of the wider impact that procurement policy and practice has on the Scottish Government’s purpose and our commitments, their vision for procurement is to support the delivery of value for money, sustainable and innovative infrastructure and services in fulfilment of the Scottish Government’s ambition and vision for transport, and Transport Scotland’s corporate commitments through a strategic and systematic approach to procurement.

Helen Martin is the Head of the Fair Work Convention Secretariat. The Fair Work Convention is independent of Government and brings together unions, employers and academic expertise, with a remit to advise ministers on fair work and to advocate and promote fair work in Scotland. Prior to taking up this role, Helen was Deputy General Secretary at the Scottish Trades Union Congress, with responsibility for policy, research and parliamentary relations while also supporting the STUC’s equality structures. Before joining the STUC in 2010, Helen worked in the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Jamie is the Strategic Partnerships and Engagement Manager for Social Enterprise Scotland and joint lead for the new and exciting Social Enterprise Scotland Buy Social Scotland Pledge initiative.

Jamie has worked in senior executive positions in the Third Sector for nearly 20 years, leading and developing sizeable manufacturing and service offering Social Enterprises in Scotland, Ireland and Poland.

With a passion to embrace the power of Procurement to support the sector, Jamie is keen to support and influence both private and public sector organisational policy and strategy that facilitates and encourages sustainable and profitable procurement opportunities for Social Enterprises.

Out with work, Jamie is a youth rugby union coach and passionate supporter at his local town rugby union team.

Michelle develops and delivers The Data Lab’s Professional Learning and Leadership Development programme. She has over a decade of experience delivering learning and development in the professional, higher, and further education sectors. She has a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction and a background in user-led design and experience.

She strives to create and deliver clear, accessible, and learner-centred content. Her expertise ensures engaging and impactful learning experiences that foster growth and leadership in digital culture.

George joined Edinburgh Climate Change Institute in May 2018 to lead their work on the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN). Before joining ECCI, George managed the SSN and a range of sustainability and climate change initiatives at Keep Scotland Beautiful. He has experience of climate change policy, carbon accounting, public sector climate change reporting, managing events and communications, and working with a wide range of organisations to support public sector action on climate change and sustainable development. Prior to leading SSN George worked for Oxfam as Trade Campaign Manager, before taking up post as Oxfam Scotland’s Parliamentary Liaison Officer. George has a degree in Community Studies.

Margaret is a Procurement Portfolio Manager in Social Security Scotland, and has worked in procurement within the public sector since 2007, working with Scottish Enterprise, Stirling Council, Scottish Government and now Social Security Scotland. She loves her job and getting involved in a wide variety of projects across the organisation - anything from Telephony to Furniture. She have a particular interest in community benefits and how procurement can ensure that the contracts they place benefit society and the communities that they work with. She was also involved in publishing a Community Benefits Strategy for Social Security Scotland and is working closely with her team to implement this.

Raymond is a chartered QS and leads on the delivery of Fife Councils Construction Capital Projects.

He leads a team of 40 in house professionals including architects, M+E engineers, civil engineers and quantity surveyors delivering on average 400 projects per year.

He also leads on Fife Council's partnership with Hub East Central Scotland on delivering our larger infrastructure projects. This included the £125m Dunfermline Learning Campus that is officially the largest Passivhaus education building in the world and was a recent winner for the projects approach to social value at the recent UK Procurex awards in Liverpool.

Laura Santi is the Category Manager within National Distribution Services : National Services Scotland (NSS) . She was the Procurement Lead in the redesign and successful tender of the National Home Oxygen Service for Scotland . Laura has a background in Medical Equipment Procurement and has been employed in Procurement & Commercial roles within NSS for 9 years.

In her current role she is responsible for understanding the needs of Scotland's Health Boards nationally to ensure the delivery of high-quality product choice and providing strategic procurement direction, also contributing to Strategic Sourcing Programme targets by ensuring best commercial outcomes are achieved and that service delivers true value in line with procurement best practice.

In addition her role influences national strategies and procurement initiatives, taking advantage of the wider purchasing power of NHS Scotland and also works collaboratively with other public sector organisations to leverage Scotland-wide spend, securing additional value and long-term benefits.

Joe is a BAFTA Award-winning designer and entrepreneur with two startups under his belt, and a rare mix of creative, tech and commercial experience. He has worked with the Scottish Government’s CivTech team since the programme’s inception in 2016, where he now heads up the Accelerator and Business Growth System, coordinating a diverse group of public and private sector experts who support participants through an extensive workshop and mentoring programme.

Sam is a multi-disciplined creative practitioner, who has worked across public and private sector for global brands such as HSBC and Virgin; building products and user experiences. She is now Head of Design in Digital at the Scottish Government where leads a diverse team of specialists to design and deliver services that are user centred, accessible, inclusive and scalable at their heart.

Ian founded and leads the Scotland Excel work-based-learning Academy, with the team delivering an award winning multi-disciplinary portfolio.

Our Academy supports collaborative learning nationally engaging people in progressive practices which help them do their job well.

Ian has a commercial and operations background transforming people and organisations across Scotland, Europe, USA, Israel, Russia and China.

Gregor is a Chartered Procurement and Supply Professional leading on procurement and commercial capability across Scotland for the Scottish Government. He is passionate about making procurement a Career of Choice and on building diversity and inclusion in the profession.

Thomas Rysgaard Christiansen is a partner at Netcompany and works with governments across Europe to drive digital strategies and transformations. He joined Netcompany in 2023 as Head of Digital Government and oversees key initiatives, including the large-scale EU EUDI Wallet project.

Before joining Netcompany, Thomas gained extensive international experience in the public and private sectors. Most recently, he spent seven years as CEO of KOMBIT Inc., leading the procurement, development and implementation of efficient, integrated and user-friendly IT solutions for Denmark's state and local governments. With his technical and business expertise, he played a key role in modernising critical case management and self-service systems while ensuring the implementation of new digital infrastructures across all Danish municipalities and local authorities.

As a strong advocate of digitalisation and a connected public sector, Thomas brings extensive experience from both the public and private sectors to his approach to digital transformation. He is an active member of expert committees and leads several networks focused on digital development and transformation.

James is an Assistant Procurement Specialist at Scotland Excel within the Contract Delivery team. He has a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Stirling in Marketing and Psychology.

James supports the tender process and contract management of several frameworks within Scotland Excel’s Construction portfolio, which includes the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies framework. Recently awarded national collaborative framework agreements include New Build Residential Construction and Demolition and Deconstruction.

Paul has worked in the civil service for more than 20 years, predominately in the areas of critical infrastructure resilience, emergency planning, and finance with a particular focus on energy resilience. He joined the Scottish Government’s Cyber Resilience Unit as Head of Public Sector Cyber Resilience in 2018.

Gillian has nearly 30 years of experience of experience as a procurement professional in the public and private sectors and as a small business and social enterprise owner.

Gillian recognises from both perspectives that more needs to be done to support smaller organisations to access public sector work and she co-founded Go4Growth to fill that gap. She’s committed to removing the barriers that prevent SMEs or VCSEs from being able to compete for the work on offer, creating a level playing field for all.

Mike is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. Following a successful career in the Civil Service and NHS, Mike set up his own training and consultancy business, Perigean Ltd, where he continues to train and advise on procurement, contract, and supplier-related matters. Mike is an enthusiastic and accomplished professional with a good balance of academic rigour and pragmatic, real-world experience.

Paul has been in procurement for over 30 years, working in leadership positions in large organisations in both the private and public sectors. He is passionate about new technology and innovation and believes that we have only just scratched the surface of what technology can do for our profession. As a co-founder of Love Me Tender, he's leading the charge in adapting new tools such as AI to the specific needs of the procurement world.

Lesley trained at Glasgow Eastern College of Nursing and Midwifery, and later completed her BA in Health Studies at Glasgow Caledonian University. While working for the NHS, she specialised in various fields across Glasgow, including Vascular High Dependency, Cardiology, and ITU. She also established the Surgical Day Care Unit at Gartnavel General Hospital.
In 1996, Lesley left the NHS to join Johnson and Johnson Medical. She later moved to Fresenius Medical Care, where she became the National Sales Manager for the Haemodialysis Business Unit.

Lesley joined Vivisol in 2014. As a member of the Scottish Leadership team, she's responsible for delivering the Home Oxygen Service and serves as the primary contractual and business liaison between Vivisol and National Services Scotland.

Lesley lives in Dumfries and is an avid golfer. In addition to her work at Vivisol, she and her husband run the DH9 Foundation, a charity they established in memory of their son. The foundation provides automated external defibrillator (AED) devices and offers free CPR training to schools and community organisations.

BESA - the Building Engineering Services Association is the UK's leading trade association for building services engineering contractors – representing the interests of firms active in the design, installation, commissioning, maintenance, control and management of engineering systems and services in buildings.

BESA’s headquarters are in London, but we are active throughout the UK. We have a separate presence in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as eight regional offices across England. This regional presence facilitates member networking and sharing of best practice, business opportunities and advice on local and national developments.

Barbara has been central to the development of the Scottish Government's CivTech programme where she leads operations and the development of strategic initiatives. The CivTech programme has been widely recognised as setting a gold standard in driving innovation in the Public Sector while delivering jobs, investment, and economic growth opportunities for Scotland.

Her experience spans, Cabinet Office policy roles, delivering Olympic venues, running her own business, and consulting on innovation for organisations including the French Atomic Energy Commission. She’s passionate about the wider impacts CivTech can make as an opportunity to deliver real impact in the public sector, while creating the new innovative businesses of the future.

Louis joined Scottish Procurement as a care leaver intern in 2023 and works on improving procurement capability. He is a keen advocate for the care leaver scheme and other areas of diversity and inclusion, seeking to create a more inclusive Scottish Government. Louis also supports the Procurement People of Tomorrow programme, which you can learn more about on Stand 41 at Procurex.

Dan Wogan is a Product Manager and managed print specialist at Epson UK. With two teenage daughters declaring ‘while you’ll die of old age, climate change likely be the end of us’, a newly found interest in growing brassicas and a good few years experience in the IT industry, he now combines the absolute essential (clearly spouts are, but referring to sustainability in this instance) and the every working day at one of the worlds largest imaging equipment manufacturers.

Lee Rutherford is the Head of Digital Commercial Strategy, Digital Commercial Service, leading on innovative commercial approaches to digital procurements and maximising and improving engagement with industry across Scottish Government.

Lee has spent 19 years within Scottish Government working across digital and procurement disciplines working in Technical Strategy for Scottish Government and Collaborative ICT Procurement for Scottish Procurement. Lee is a keen hillwalker and runner in his spare time.

Alexis began his career as an Investment Analyst, raising capital for startups, before transitioning into software engineering. With experience in high-growth technology startups, he recently led a team of developers and data scientists at the University of Cambridge. Now, as CEO and co-founder of Supply25, Alexis is steering the development of a platform that will shape the future of procurement in Scotland.

Alex is the co-founder of Supply25, an online platform dedicated to transforming and streamlining Scotland’s public procurement process. With a background in architecture and a keen eye for design, Alex focuses on modernising outdated systems. He has served as a Tech Lead for companies of all sizes, successfully delivering multiple high-impact projects while specialising in cloud and serverless solutions. Through Supply25, Alex is committed to enhancing user experience and driving meaningful change in public procurement by creating efficient, technology-driven solutions.