Linda O’Hare is Assistant Director – Procurement, at Business Services Organisation (BSO), Procurement and Logistics Service (PaLS), in Northern Ireland (NI). PaLS is the sole provider of professional procurement and logistics services to all Health and Social Care (HSC) organisations in NI. BSO PaLS manages £1.3bn of expenditure per annum, has circa 420 staff, with procurement offices and warehouses situated across NI. BSO PaLS manages procurements and contracts across all categories of goods and services - clinical, non-clinical, social care and ICT. Linda has 23 years Public Procurement experience, in the Health Services in both Ireland and NI. Prior to this she headed up the purchasing department in the 5-star Merrion Hotel in Dublin, and in her early career held a number of management roles in the hospitality industry. In her spare time, Linda takes long walks in the countryside, spends time with family and friends and likes to travel extensively.

Philip has a successful track record of achievement as a leader and senior manager in the public and private sector. In 2013 he was appointed to the OGP executive as head of sourcing education with responsibility for implementing and operating the centralised procurement model within the new DES sector sourcing hub, EPS. Within the Education Sector, Philip is responsible for sourcing a procurement spend of approximately €900m annually. In his role as director of EPS, he has established and developed a business model and change management strategy to on-board the model and has delivered savings of over €13m to date.

Originally from Belgium, Ingrid has been in Ireland since 1996. She is one of Europe’s leading supply chain, procurement and sustainability thinkers and expert practitioner. In her previous company, Ingrid built a leading strategic practice helping customers “Buy Better”; achieve cost savings while building better relationships with suppliers and the planet. A sought-after speaker, and lecturer in three of Ireland’s universities, Ingrid is passionate about supporting business and supply chain teams to drive sustainable change to positively impact the profit, social and environmental bottom line of the business. Ingrid is also the founder of the Procurement Transformation Institute (PTI), a non-profit organisation that elevates the Procurement Profession.

Procurement Consultant and Trainer – Jeanne is passionate about promoting the role of procurement in the public and utility sectors throughout the EU. Having successfully established a consulting and training business with a reputation for getting the job done, she is now focused on growing the Greenville brand and range of services to meet the current challenges facing the market including reduced supplier bases, growing costs, Brexit and effective contract management, all of which will doubtless have a major impact on Irish society in the years ahead.

Fergal Grogan has worked in the Policy Unit in the Office of Government Procurement since 2019. The unit is tasked with delivering public procurement policy that supports Government priorities and societal needs. Fergal’s work focuses on promoting the participation of SMEs in public procurement, sustainable public procurement and innovation procurement. Fergal also oversaw the development of Circular 05/2023: Initiatives to assist SMEs in Public Procurement.

Rita is the CEO of Shabra Group, a Fellow with the Athlone Institute of Technology, circle economy thought leader, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and awardee of the 2023 NCBI Philanthropy Award. As CEO, Rita’s focus is on transforming Ireland and Africa’s approach to recycling and plastic reprocessing. Her vision is one of the building blocks of the circular economy and environmental best practices in Ireland. Rita’s strategy for growth and expansion enabled Shabra Recycling to be the premier reprocessing plant in Ireland and the only company that can support Ireland in meeting its legislative goals within the Deposit Return Scheme.

Duncan is an experienced consultant supporting social enterprises at all stages of their journey from start-up to scaling, and is passionate about Impact Measurement & Reporting, in particular helping organisations measure & manage their social value. He is currently the Head of Innovation Projects at FoodCloud, a non-profit social enterprise working to tackle the twin issues of food waste and food security. He is also the EU Projects Researcher at the Irish Social Enterprise Network and Director at Collaboration Ireland.

Established in 1989, Coillte is proud to be the custodian of 440,000 hectares or 7% of Ireland’s land. This is primarily forested land and makes Coillte Ireland's largest forest manager and largest provider of outdoor recreation. Coillte also develops green energy projects, produces panel boards and delivers nature conservation projects of scale. Coillte is focused on delivering the multiple benefits from it's forests and land for climate, nature, wood and people. Coillte is part of a wider forestry sector, that together manages approximately 11% of Ireland's land, supports 12,000 jobs and contributes €2.3bn to the economy annually. Our purpose is to manage the state forests on behalf of the people of Ireland.