Nick has extensive experience across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Previously he was Lead NED at DWP, Lead NED for MHCLG and Deputy Leader of Westminster Council. Nick is also a founder of Safe Haven, a social enterprise charity that provides homes for the homeless in London after raising £33 million through an innovative funding model which effectively “securitises housing benefit” thereby requiring no government grants or donations. Nick has extensive private sector experience with roles including ITV Strategy Director, where he developed the concept of Freeview with the BBC and was in charge of the Carlton and Granada merger. Previously he was CFO of Laura Ashley and CEO of Top Up TV which was the World’s first successful Digital Terrestrial pay TV company which he established on the back of venture capital.  Nick has also served as the Chair of LCR, the part of DfT that specialises in driving regeneration around railways such as Kings Cross and Manchester Mayfield. Under Nick’s leadership, LCR majored on provisioning railway land for housing, making it equivalent to a UK top 10 housebuilder.

Andrew is a partner and the head of procurement within Hempsons’ specialist procurement law team. He has over 17 years’ experience of working with the NHS and specialises in procurement law, acting both for contracting authorities and bidders. Andrew utilises the knowledge gained from acting for clients on both sides of the fence to provide pragmatic advice on running defensible procurement processes/defending procurement law challenges, and also to advise bidders on improving their chances of success/challenging defective processes. Andrew led on the successful and timely delivery of one of the first innovation partnership procedures under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and regularly advises on designing and structuring processes, drafting procurement documentation and defending procurement law challenges. He also acted for the commissioner in defending the first NHS v NHS procurement challenge to reach the courts. Andrew is also currently advising on the implications of the current consultations for changes in procurement law, as well as specific changes to the commissioning of healthcare services. Andrew regularly provides training on procurement law duties and writes articles for publications dealing with procurement.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese-Australian writer, engineer and award-winning social advocate. Whether through literary essays, educational tiktoks or hosting a live television broadcast, Yassmin is an assured and intelligent voice, committed to social justice and making complex ideas accessible to all. In her non-fiction writing, Yassmin analyses the systemic challenges facing progressive politics and explores how we can collectively build fairer, safer societies. In fiction, both in novels and on screen, Yassmin enjoys fish-out-of-water stories, exploring rich, complex themes and centering Black Muslim women. Yassmin has published four books, written two plays and is currently developing a number of projects for screen. One of the LinkedIn 2020 #Changemakers and 2022 Tiktok #Teammates, Yassmin is an award-winning speaker and globally sought-after advisor on issues at the intersections of race, gender and faith. She has delivered keynotes and workshops in 25 countries in Arabic, English and a smattering of French. Yassmin founded her first organisation, Youth Without Borders, at the age of 16, leading it for nine years before co-founding two other organisations focused on serving women of colour. Her TED talk, What does my headscarf mean to you, has been viewed over 2.5 million times and was selected as one of TED’s top 10 ideas. With over a decade of governance experience across sectors, Yassmin’s work is informed by both theory and experience. She founded Youth Without Borders at the age of 16, leading it for nine years before starting Mumtaza, focusing on the empowerment of women of colour. She has been awarded numerous awards for her advocacy, including the Young Voltaire Award for Free Speech and Queensland Young Australian of the Year, and currently sits on the Trustee Board of the London Library, previously serving on the Boards of the Queensland Museum, ChildFund Australia and the domestic violence prevention organisation, OurWatch. Yassmin has presented TV and podcasts in Australia, Britain and the US, including national current affairs show Australia Wide, ground-breaking documentary The Truth About Racism, Hijabistas, a series looking at the modest fashion scene in Australia. She is a regular news and current affairs commentator on the BBC, Aljazeera, Monocle 24 and can be heard hosting podcasts such as Motor Mouth (on becoming a Formula 1 driver), EY’s Better Questions (helping CEOs lead into the future), and The Guilty Feminist. In all her work, Yassmin is an advocate for transformative justice and a fairer, safer world for all.

Simon has worked in the NHS for 30 years in a variety of roles. He graduated as a physiotherapist from Keele University in 1995, having trained at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH). He started out as a Physiotherapy Assistant and learnt a lot from that role before he trained and qualified as a physio. Having worked clinically for several years, he went to work for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in their employment relations team and worked nationally on the introduction of the NHS Agenda for Change Pay System, prior to moving into more senior management roles.  More recently, Simon was Chief Executive of two of the Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Groups, before joining the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICS as its Director in June 2017.  Simon is passionate about clinical leadership and about ensuring that our focus is always on improving things for the people that we serve. He has a Master’s degree in leadership and change management from Manchester University.

Mark joined the National Health Service in 1978 and worked for the Mid Glamorgan Health Authority Supplies Department, later moving to WHTSO (which became the Welsh Health Common Services Authority). In 1980, he joined the North West Regional Health Authority as a purchaser at Trafford Park Hospital. Following a move back to Wales as Head of Purchasing in East Dyfed Health Authority, he returned to WHCSA as Director of Materials Management with the creation of the Procurement Group in Wales. In 1996, he served as Director of Welsh Health Supplies following the market testing of the Contracting and Supply Chain services. In 2011, Mark was appointed as the Director of the Procurement Division of the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership. The Division has over 500 staff across locations the length and breadth of Wales covering Sourcing, Supply Chain, Accounts Payable, Purchasing and Capital. Mark also has the responsibility for the Health Courier Service, following its transfer into NWSSP from Welsh Ambulance Service. Mark retired from this post in 2019 to take up the role of Programme Director focusing initially on Brexit and latterly the COVID Pandemic. In 2012, Mark was honoured for a lifetime of outstanding achievement at the National Government Opportunities (GO) Excellence in Public Procurement Awards. He was recognised for his part in driving forward public procurement and making a real difference within the profession over an extended period of time and in 2017 he was awarded with a MBE. Mark is Chair of Trustees for the HCSA and also a Trustee of the Wales Quality Centre.

Tracey Cramond has worked in the NHS Procurement for over 8 years as a senior procurement professional and has gained experience of all aspects of Public Sector Procurement during that period whilst working in an Acute Trust. Whilst in the trust she was seconded onto the Scan4Safety programme to implement the adoption of GS1 and PEPPOL global standards. Tracey also took a lead for supplier engagement to the programme, hosting and facilitating large supplier/Trust events to share the programme requirements and stimulate engagement and programme uptake, also working with the Department of Health & Social Care on supplier adoption initiatives for Scan4Safety and PEPPOL. She is currently seconded onto the DHSC Test & Trace programme offering supplier and contract management expertise and support to the Commercial Consumables, Reagents and Equipment category. Tracey is also an Enterprise Adviser – working in partnership with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (January 2019 to date). Her voluntary role as an Enterprise Adviser sees her work closely with Derwentside College to help shape the delivery of careers education and build a whole-school careers strategy, giving input as a business leader. This work is part of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s (North East LEP’s) North East Ambition programme, which works to support schools and colleges to meet the Good Career Guidance Benchmarks; a set of standards all schools must work towards achieving to help each and every pupil. Tracey has recently been appointed to the Board of Trustees at Derwentside. In her spare time Tracey is an avid fund raiser for charity, working on exciting local projects to improve the palliative care pathway and the end of life patient experience. She has also been the Chair of the North East Branch Morris Minor Owners Club for the last 17 years, with a membership of over 60 paid up Northern lads and lasses. She enjoys the arts, classical music, musical theatre and is an artist in her own right using the oil medium.

Clara has held various Procurement leadership roles within the private and public Healthcare sector, leading teams through major transformation programmes, delivering significant commercial benefits as well as changing the perception of Procurement, and the value it can deliver to Healthcare organisations; supporting best in class patient care and pathways. She was named a Deputy Chief Officer at HCSA in October 2022.

Brendan Hall is widely known for his talents as a professional yacht skipper, who impressively won the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2009. Joined by a team of 44 amateur sailors, Brendan was the youngest and least experienced member of the crew but nonetheless played a pivotal part in guiding his team to claim victory at an impressive 20 point advantage of their nearest competitor. Having experienced the extraordinary, Brendan is now booked as a speaker for corporate events to help clients navigate uncertainty and change and still emerge successfully. He is also booked to cover topics such as managing your mood shadow, removing blame culture and developing a growth mindset. A passionate yacht skipper, Brendan was selected to be a skipper in the 2009 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Given a team of 44 amateur sailors (some of whom had never sailed before), it was Brendan’s responsibility to coach the team so they could navigate the yacht through the world’s oceans and win the race. Aboard the Spirit of Australia, Brendan and his team finished victorious, and along the way, Brendan honed his skills of responsibility, determination, resilience and focus- all of which he can share his insights on as a speaker. Since winning the race, Brendan has also been the Captain of S/Y Acheron on which he competed in various regattas, spending summer seasons in France and winter seasons in the Caribbean. Continuing to be passionate about sailing but more focused on speaking, Brendan is now booked as a speaker on team culture and how to ensure results are achieved in times of change and adversity. He also commits his time as a Leadership Associate at the Cranfield School of Management and as an Education Executive for Ashridge Executive Education. He has also authored the book Team Spirit and been featured in the likes of Yachting World, Business Uncovered, the BBC and The Sunday Times. Now booked as a speaker for corporate events, Brendan uses his skills that he developed during his time as a yacht skipper and translates them into business context. Having previously spoken for the likes of PWC, SAP, GSK, Lloyds Bank and Tesco, Brendan is a seasoned speaker and helps organisations to manage their teams through times of organisational change and uncertainty. Brendan is renowned for teaching audiences how to provide safety in times of adversity, become resilient and developing an organisational culture that can withstand challenge. Having performed to audiences of 1200 + people, Brendan has helped over 200 teams to navigate change in the workplace. When booked as a speaker, Brendan delivers takeaway messages such as managing your mood shadow, creating a space, removing blame culture, developing a growth mindset, trust and giving ownership. When looking for a speaker who will help navigate through change and emerge successfully, Brendan Hall is a fantastic choice.

Mary is an experienced commercial lawyer with a particular focus on public procurement. She has extensive experience advising clients in a range of sectors including health, central government, local government, housing and utilities. Mary has experience of working in-house and has previously been Legal Counsel at DHL advising NHS Supply Chain on setting up framework agreements for health supplies and a commercial lawyer at the regional development agency, Yorkshire Forward, where she advised on some of their most complex projects including Finance Yorkshire and the Leeds Arena.