On Thursday 14th May 2015, my team hosted an exclusive event at our London Office for senior procurement and supply chain professionals. In spite of the pouring rain, the evening was attended by over 80 delegates spanning industries from aviation through to utilities. 

After welcome drinks, our keynote speaker Kevin Gaskell shared anecdotes, advice, stories and successes from his career and various expeditions. Kevin spoke passionately about turning around businesses, enthusing staff at all levels in an organisation and how killer whales are the biggest danger in the North Pole! 

Attendees mingled, replenished their drinks and enjoyed some canapés in the break before an expert panel took to the stage to lead a discussion on the role of procurement & supply chain professionals on the board. 
Our panel consisted of:  
Martin Chown – Procurement and supply chain director at Balfour Beatty
Fabienne Lesbros – Chief procurement officer at Britvic Soft Drinks
Jonathan Patrick – Chief procurement officer at Serco
Morag Stuart – Director at Procuring Clarity Ltd 
The panel shared their views and experience across a broad range of topics. These included the benefits (or not!) of being on the board, whether organisations are focusing on risk mitigation over cost reduction, what the biggest opportunities for people working in procurement & supply chain are , how procurement is driving business innovation and what more we should be doing to develop talent within our respective industries.  
I’d like to say thanks again to Fabienne, Jonathan, Kevin, Martin and Morag for their participation and insights. I’d also like to thank attendees for making our inaugural Michael Page Procurement & Supply Chain conference such a great evening. I look forward to making this an annual event and seeing you there in 2016! 
Graham Lucas – Managing Director of Michael Page Procurement & Supply Chain
T:   +44 (0)16 1829 0385
M: +44 (0)7810 820 735
If you’d like to discuss your current or future hiring requirements please get in touch with me or one of my team