Procurement Conference

BIOGRAPHY

 After graduating from Kings College and the London School of Economics, Alyson began her career in the retail procurement sector, and then as an NHS Graduate trainee and has continued as an NHS procurement professional ever since at trust and local level, and as an advocate of collaborative procurement at all levels.

 

Alyson set up the NHS collaborative procurement hub, NHS Commercial Solutions, in 2006/7 which is now in its 20^th year of operation and has saved over £310m for the NHS providing end to end services across the full procurement cycle.

 

Having worked as a procurement professional in the NHS for 45 years – 27 of which have been within collaborative working environments - Alyson is firmly convinced of procurement’s key role in the delivery of quality improvements, as well as in the achievement of value for money.  Alyson has a strong commitment to building and developing strategic partnerships designed to improve patient care. Alyson is Chair of a collaborative Procurement Hub Sustainability and Social Value Group with attendance from NHS England Sustainability Leads. Alyson also Chairs a European Sustainability and Social Value Group for the European Health Public Procurement Alliance.

SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

 After graduating from Kings College and the London School of Economics, Alyson began her career in the retail procurement sector, and then as an NHS Graduate trainee and has continued as an NHS procurement professional ever since at trust and local level, and as an advocate of collaborative procurement at all levels.

 

Alyson set up the NHS collaborative procurement hub, NHS Commercial Solutions, in 2006/7 which is now in its 20^th year of operation and has saved over £310m for the NHS providing end to end services across the full procurement cycle.

 

Having worked as a procurement professional in the NHS for 45 years – 27 of which have been within collaborative working environments - Alyson is firmly convinced of procurement’s key role in the delivery of quality improvements, as well as in the achievement of value for money.  Alyson has a strong commitment to building and developing strategic partnerships designed to improve patient care. Alyson is Chair of a collaborative Procurement Hub Sustainability and Social Value Group with attendance from NHS England Sustainability Leads. Alyson also Chairs a European Sustainability and Social Value Group for the European Health Public Procurement Alliance.

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Chief Medical Officer, NHS LPP Assoc. Professor, Global Business School for Health, UCL Medical Director, National Council, HCSA Director (interim CMO), M&S Health & Care Partnership As Chief Medical Officer for two NHS regional organisations, and for the National Council of the HealthCare Supply Association, Andrew is an established clinical leader, and a recognised leader in efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare delivery. An alumnus of the King’s Fund, he has advised on healthcare network delivery in the UK and abroad, and has significant experience in clinical engagement, change management, and leadership.  He is a strong advocate of enabling improving culture, and using data to drive improvement, and he speaks nationally and internationally on topics including quality improvement and outcome measurement.  In his various roles, he is responsible for the clinical strategy across the regional health economy, and works with the DHSC, and colleagues in procurement, to improve patient experience and value for money, including value-based procurement. He sits on regional and national boards and networks, and works with HM Department of Business & Trade, influencing clinicians and non-clinicians in strategic and operational delivery, and has held several advisory roles in the UK and abroad.

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Kiran is Head of Business Development at Hexarad, the only end-to-end teleradiology platform where clinical excellence and system intelligence work together. Hexarad coordinates people, processes and technology across the entire diagnostic pathway, supporting NHS trusts and imaging providers across the UK, Ireland and Saudi Arabia.A doctor by background, he trained as an ENT surgeon before leaving clinical medicine three years ago to move into health tech. Kiran brings a clinician's perspective to the commercial side of healthcare, connecting frontline clinical experience with the practical challenges of scaling technology across health systems. 

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Liv is a Business Development Manager at Hexarad, with a background spanning medicine, public health, and healthcare strategy. She trained as a medical doctor at the University of Oxford and holds a Master’s in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. After beginning her career as a resident doctor in the NHS, she moved into consulting at Boston Consulting Group, where she advised pharmaceutical and NHS organisations on strategy and transformation projects. She now brings this combination of clinical insight, strategic thinking, and commercial expertise to her work at Hexarad, helping drive partnerships and growth across the healthcare sector. 

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Hilary Gillies is an experienced and accomplished procurement professional with a career spanning senior and executive leadership roles across the public and private sectors. Her expertise has been built within health — including acute settings, commissioning, and procurement hubs — as well as in local and central government, housing, and private sector manufacturing. Hilary’s experience has equipped her with a unique perspective on how procurement and commercial strategies can be harnessed to drive transformation and deliver tangible value.

Throughout her career, Hilary has established a strong reputation as a skilled leader who combines strategic vision with practical delivery. She applies a results-oriented approach to achieving outcomes, with a particular focus on service transformation, organisational change, and operational efficiency.

In her current role, Hilary is delivering integrated health and care solutions across the wider system. By working collaboratively with cross-sector partners, she is committed to building models of care that not only improve efficiency but also enhance outcomes for communities. She is passionate about harnessing procurement as a strategic enabler for change, that aligns resources, fosters innovation, and creates sustainable change in health and care systems.

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

 After graduating from Kings College and the London School of Economics, Alyson began her career in the retail procurement sector, and then as an NHS Graduate trainee and has continued as an NHS procurement professional ever since at trust and local level, and as an advocate of collaborative procurement at all levels.

 

Alyson set up the NHS collaborative procurement hub, NHS Commercial Solutions, in 2006/7 which is now in its 20^th year of operation and has saved over £310m for the NHS providing end to end services across the full procurement cycle.

 

Having worked as a procurement professional in the NHS for 45 years – 27 of which have been within collaborative working environments - Alyson is firmly convinced of procurement’s key role in the delivery of quality improvements, as well as in the achievement of value for money.  Alyson has a strong commitment to building and developing strategic partnerships designed to improve patient care. Alyson is Chair of a collaborative Procurement Hub Sustainability and Social Value Group with attendance from NHS England Sustainability Leads. Alyson also Chairs a European Sustainability and Social Value Group for the European Health Public Procurement Alliance.

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Caroline Heckscher is a London-based Head of Procurement with extensive experience driving strategic sourcing and value optimisation within complex, regulated environments. With a strong track record of partnering cross-functionally, she has led initiatives that enhance supplier performance, improve cost efficiency, and support the delivery of high-quality clinical services.

At EBME, Caroline brings a procurement perspective to the evolving intersection of technology, clinical engineering, and patient outcomes. She is particularly interested in how procurement can act as a catalyst for innovation, sustainability, and resilience across medical equipment supply chains.

Caroline is passionate about fostering collaborative relationships between procurement and EBME professionals to ensure that commercial decisions align with operational excellence and patient care priorities

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Hilary Gillies is an experienced and accomplished procurement professional with a career spanning senior and executive leadership roles across the public and private sectors. Her expertise has been built within health — including acute settings, commissioning, and procurement hubs — as well as in local and central government, housing, and private sector manufacturing. Hilary’s experience has equipped her with a unique perspective on how procurement and commercial strategies can be harnessed to drive transformation and deliver tangible value.

Throughout her career, Hilary has established a strong reputation as a skilled leader who combines strategic vision with practical delivery. She applies a results-oriented approach to achieving outcomes, with a particular focus on service transformation, organisational change, and operational efficiency.

In her current role, Hilary is delivering integrated health and care solutions across the wider system. By working collaboratively with cross-sector partners, she is committed to building models of care that not only improve efficiency but also enhance outcomes for communities. She is passionate about harnessing procurement as a strategic enabler for change, that aligns resources, fosters innovation, and creates sustainable change in health and care systems.

SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

 After graduating from Kings College and the London School of Economics, Alyson began her career in the retail procurement sector, and then as an NHS Graduate trainee and has continued as an NHS procurement professional ever since at trust and local level, and as an advocate of collaborative procurement at all levels.

 

Alyson set up the NHS collaborative procurement hub, NHS Commercial Solutions, in 2006/7 which is now in its 20^th year of operation and has saved over £310m for the NHS providing end to end services across the full procurement cycle.

 

Having worked as a procurement professional in the NHS for 45 years – 27 of which have been within collaborative working environments - Alyson is firmly convinced of procurement’s key role in the delivery of quality improvements, as well as in the achievement of value for money.  Alyson has a strong commitment to building and developing strategic partnerships designed to improve patient care. Alyson is Chair of a collaborative Procurement Hub Sustainability and Social Value Group with attendance from NHS England Sustainability Leads. Alyson also Chairs a European Sustainability and Social Value Group for the European Health Public Procurement Alliance.

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Corey Frazer is a radiographer-turned-technology leader with a simple mission: use technology to make people's lives better. As Associate Director of Clinical Technologies at Hexarad, the UK's leading teleradiology provider, Corey bridges the gap between clinical practice and scalable tech solutions. With a background on the frontlines of imaging, he brings rare insight to the challenge of building clinical systems that actually work for the people using them. At Hexarad, Corey leads the Clinical Technologies function, designing the systems and leading the teams that power high-quality, efficient radiology services across the UK in both NHS and private sectors. He's as comfortable in a detailed technical conversation as he is talking to a radiographer about their day-to-day frustrations and he thinks that combination matters. A problem-solver at heart, Corey is passionate about the intersection of clinical expertise, engineering rigour, and human-centred design. 

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Hilary Gillies is an experienced and accomplished procurement professional with a career spanning senior and executive leadership roles across the public and private sectors. Her expertise has been built within health — including acute settings, commissioning, and procurement hubs — as well as in local and central government, housing, and private sector manufacturing. Hilary’s experience has equipped her with a unique perspective on how procurement and commercial strategies can be harnessed to drive transformation and deliver tangible value.

Throughout her career, Hilary has established a strong reputation as a skilled leader who combines strategic vision with practical delivery. She applies a results-oriented approach to achieving outcomes, with a particular focus on service transformation, organisational change, and operational efficiency.

In her current role, Hilary is delivering integrated health and care solutions across the wider system. By working collaboratively with cross-sector partners, she is committed to building models of care that not only improve efficiency but also enhance outcomes for communities. She is passionate about harnessing procurement as a strategic enabler for change, that aligns resources, fosters innovation, and creates sustainable change in health and care systems.

SCHEDULE

BIOGRAPHY

Karen heads up Sustainability and Social Value at NHS Commercial Solutions an NHS collaborative procurement hub based in the South East and covering the NHS and wider public sector nationally. Karen has over 25 years experience working in Sustainability, she was a conservation and environmental scientist for 15 years before changing careers and joining the NHS where she has worked for 16 years in hospital trusts both clinically and in strategic leadership, in an ICB in a strategic workforce role and now NHS Commercial Solutions. Karen is also a director and Sustainability Lead for her professional body, the College of Operating Department Practitioners, has volunteered with Unison and small charities for around 20 years. She chairs the HCSA EDI&B Network. Karen is passionate about Sustainability and Social Value, it has been a golden thread throughout her career over the past 31 years.

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BIOGRAPHY

A driving force in healthcare technology management, John Sandham, CEng DProf FIHEEM FIWBL MIET, holds an Honorary Professorship at Warwick University, and has served as Chairman of EBME (www.ebme.co.uk) since 1999. As a Senior Research Fellow at Middlesex University, John is a leading expert who has significantly impacted device management policies and processes within both NHS and private healthcare settings. His proven ability to enhance regulatory compliance and improve patient care is built upon years of practical experience spanning biomedical, diagnostic imaging, endoscopy, and pathology equipment. John's commitment to disseminating knowledge is evident through his impressive portfolio of over 300 published educational articles, featured in publications including the Open University Science Review and the Clinical Services Journal. He is a passionate advocate for innovation in healthcare technology.

 

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