Gillian King

Senior Management Associate, Spearhead Training, U.A.E.

Gillian is a U.K. national procurement professional, with over 15 years experience of global buying, negotiation and management of the supplier base for blue chip companies. She has worked within public and private sectors, providing leadership to multinational team members across the globe.

Her procurement career began in buying for the British Government. She was a Buying Officer dealing with diverse procurement assignments, such as catering, uniforms, facilities, and works orders. In this role she had to use an official formalised tendering process to comply with strict laws for government fair competition. During this time a rigorous training programme was implemented to establish high standards of ethical procurement among the staff.

Gillian has worked with customers up to director level in the U.K., U.S.A., Switzerland and Australia, as a Category Group Leader / Procurement Manager. Leading a team of procurement professionals in these locations, she gained experience working with a range of diverse cultures. In these positions she handled a wide variety of products and services, including facilities management, marketing, human resources, and information technology.

Working with large multi-national companies Gillian has written numerous contracts, negotiated with, and managed, suppliers globally, including Ariba, Microsoft, Publicist, Adecco and Alexander Mann. Her role involved providing leadership to teams responsible for spending budgets of over $400,000,000. In her last post, her team recorded yearly savings in excess of $10,000,000.

Gillian holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Honours) from Portsmouth University, U.K. She continued to further her studies by obtaining a second degree status with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), completing their graduate diploma in 1998 (CIPS are an international organization with branches throughout the world).

Continuing to promote the procurement brand, Gillian supported CIPS as Chairman of the CIPS South of England branch, which at the time had the largest U.K. regional membership.

In 2000 Gillian established her own consulting company, and successfully delivered additional support for organizations, in the form of consulting, mentoring and tutoring in procurement excellence. She also lectured and fronted corporate presentations, notably providing Procurement lectures at Warwick University. With this broad spectrum of experience, in 2000 Gillian was invited to join the CIPS Graduate Diploma Examination Board as an Examiner.

Her wide knowledge and experience in the field has also resulted in her being asked to review business books on the subjects by London publishing houses.

After extensive global travelling Gillian settled in the U.A.E. in early 2007, where she joined Spearhead Training as a Senior Management Associate, specialising in the following courses:

> Introduction to Purchasing
> Negotiation for Procurement Professionals
> The Tendering Process
> Contract Management
> Supplier Management

Course Directory

Consultancy Services

Spearhead Training

"All subject areas were covered exceptionally well. They focused on difficulties & provided solutions."
Time Management -
Petroleum Development Industry