About
My mission is to change the face of procurement to more accurately reflect the dynamic and critical role the profession plays in business today.
What is procurement?
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this question, I would be a very wealthy woman!
Procurement is about buying "stuff"- big stuff for big companies.
Procurement professionals work with their colleagues across the entire business, determining what their needs are and supporting them in finding and negotiating deals with the best suppliers.
Working with suppliers means procurement engages with the outside world just as much as within the organisation. As supply chains become more global and complex, procurement roles demand an increasingly strategic approach to the full gamut of issues that can potentially impact corporate reputation.
I have been fortunate to call Australia home for most of my life. I grew up in the sunshine of Queensland and had the privilege of attending one of the best girls’ schools in Brisbane – Moreton Bay College.
Having first studied business at Queensland University of Technology, I went on to complete my MBA at Pennsylvania State University.
In the earliest stages of my career I always believed, and still do, that the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
My career began with marketing roles at Alcoa & Rowland in Australia, and the Walt Disney Company in the UK. Following this, I was appointed as one of Alcoa’s first global commodity managers in Pittsburgh which is where my fascination with and commitment to the procurement profession started. I loved being commercially creative and delivering obvious and tangible value to a company.
I eventually became frustrated with the corporate hierarchy and decided to embrace my entrepreneurial side and move back to Australia where I founded The Faculty, a niche management consultancy that focuses on procurements best practice. It was at this time that I married my husband, the smartest and most supportive person I know.
Having seen a gap in the market for a premium recruitment offering for our profession, I started The Source, my second venture into the market.
In 2014, I relocated to London and created my third company - Procurious.
It has been a long-held belief of mine that improved networking, training and communication are critical to the progression of the procurement profession globally.
Social media and the ease of access it provides between users is not a fad, it is a new way of doing business. We need not only to embrace it but we need to master it, harnessing the potential and opportunities it provides, allowing access to a far greater audience than previously possible.
My passion and drive has so far contributed to this successful journey and will continue to influence my future endeavours in the hope that a new generation of motivated procurement professionals will be created and inspired.
