GO Awards Scotland 2023/24 Judges

Grahame Steed​ - Lead Judge

Content, Research and Communications Director, BiP Solutions

Grahame joined BiP Solutions in 2003 and has held the positions of Senior Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Sales and Marketing Director, MD for Media and Marketing Solutions and Director of Business Intelligence and eSourcing, Now, as Content, Research and Communications Director, Grahame is responsible for driving the growth of the business through the creation and delivery of the most accurate, relevant and actionable data, content and insight available.

Nick Ford

Director Of Procurement and Property, Scottish Government

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.

Mark Elliot

CivTech Programme Director, Scottish Government

Mark has a long, successful track record working in both the creative and the business sides of the digital and creative industries. While CEO of the highly successful DigitalCity in NE England he helped hundreds of companies grow as fast and effectively as possible, and was a key player in The Difference Engine – Europe’s first tech accelerator. Moving north in 2013 he ran the UP Accelerator, Edinburgh and then joined the fun at CivTech, first as its Head of Accelerator until taking over as Programme Director in summer, 2019.

Paul Hansen

Account Director Central Government & Devolved Administrations Crown Commercial Service

Crown Commercial Service plays an important role helping the UK public sector save money when buying common goods and services.  Paul has been with CCS for more than 13 years, and leads the Crown Commercial Service Devolved Administrations and Crown Dependencies Team.  Prior to that  Paul held commercial roles in organisations such as the Ministry of Defence and Scottish Procurement & Property Directorate and has worked in the profession for more than 30 years.

Nikki Archer FCIPS

Head of Procurement and Commercial Policy & Strategy and Head of Procurement Profession, Scottish Government

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.

Andrew Morrison

Managing Director, AM Bid

Andrew Morrison is the founder of AM Bid, a UK-leading bid consultancy, which he sold in June 2023 to Bidding Limited.

In 2022, Andrew was honoured by APMP (Association of Proposal Management Professionals) with their inaugural Global Thought Leader of the Year award. He is generous in sharing work-winning insights as evidenced by his over 120 LinkedIn Live broadcasts (Andrew has 20,000 LinkedIn followers) which have reached an audience of over 150,000 viewers. AM Bid operates in 25 different market sectors across the UK, the majority of which bid for public sector contracts. They have 85%+ bid success rates (independently audited figures). In working with bidders of all sizes from FTSE-100s to sole traders, Andrew has a unique perspective on not only what is needed for bid success but also what constitutes good procurement. Prior to his 18-year career in bidding which has included leading 5 national bid teams at British Gas, Andrew had a 12-year career in local government. In addition to his bidding qualifications, Andrew is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and holds an MSc (with distinction) in Housing Studies from the University of Stirling.

Alan Heron

Director of Procurement, Places for People

Alan Heron is a procurement professional with over 20 years’ experience across both the private & public realms and multiple sectors including IT, automotive, healthcare, and public sector markets. He has extensive experience of Public Procurement legislation, contract negotiation, and contract management. Recently awarded a fellowship to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, Alan is an established and recognised procurement expert. He has been Director of Procurement with Places for People Group, one of the UK’s largest property management and Placemaking organisations since 2015.

Fiona Hughes

Deputy Director of Finance, Procurement, University of Strathclyde

Fiona has more than 25 years of Procurement and supply chain experience across private and public sector organisations and as the Deputy Director for Finance, Procurement has overall responsibility for the Procurement of all goods, work and services for the University.

Fiona Joined the Public Sector in 2009 when she joined Renfrewshire Council supporting transformation in line with Procurement reform and later leading the team in continuous improvement. She moved to the University of Strathclyde in 2016 where she has provided leadership and growth for the team and the University in its recognition of the power of embedding good procurement practices to provide sustainable contracts.

Fiona has been part of many cross sector forums and working groups, driving policy, improvements and excellence across the public sector and was recognised for her achievements as Individual of the year at the Scottish and National GO Awards 22/23.

Fiona has MCIPS and a MBA from the University of Strathclyde.

Julie Welsh

Chief Excecutive, Scotland Excel

Julie Welsh is the Director of Scotland Excel, the Centre of Procurement Expertise for local government. As the organisation’s senior officer, she provides leadership and strategic direction to ensure its services are aligned to the needs of the sector. Since taking up her post in September 2014, Julie has implemented strategies to extend the range of services provided by Scotland Excel, extend the influence of the organisation in the wider public sector landscape, and secure its future as a leading shared service.

Claire McCallum

Head of Operational Procurement and Compliance and Deputy Chief Executive, APUC

APUC is a Centre of Expertise for the Higher and Further Education Sector in Scotland and was formed in 2007. APUC is owned by Scotland’s Universities and Colleges and operates entirely in the interests of these institutional stakeholders. Claire has been with APUC for over 4 years and is responsible for Operational Procurement to ensure that compliant collaborative Framework Agreements are delivered under a Category Management structure to meet the needs of the sector driving benefits and efficiencies in line with the relevant Regulations.

Stevie Mclaughlin

National Services Scotland (NSS) National Procurement Head of Governance & Sustainable procurement, NHS Scotland

Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply with a MSc in Supply Chain Management from The University of Strathclyde. I hold wide responsibilities including strategy, assurance, statutory reporting, performance management and sustainable procurement within NHS NSS National Procurement Centre of Expertise for Health. Our organisation is tasked with procurement and supply of over £1.5bn of spend annually. I represent the organisation across NHS Scotland, cross-sectoral and governmental forums, engaging with senior policy and operational leaders influencing future direction.  

 

An advocate of continuous personal development and unlocking the potential of people to deliver the answers to the big issues we face.

Calum Elliot

Head of National Collaborative Procurement Division, Scottish Procurement

Extensive experience in both the public and private sectors in the UK and overseas.  Key proficiencies include procurement collaboration, strategic sourcing and relationship management.  Intimate knowledge of and exposure to the Scottish public sector procurement transformation agenda.  Experience also in the consultancy, aviation and drinks sectors. Currently head up the team in Scottish Government responsible for letting and managing national collaborative agreements accessible across the public sector; also responsible for the procurement of innovation.