| Date |
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| 10th January 2023 |
The SUMS Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Leigh Kopec to the newly created role of Head of SUPC, where he will assume responsibility for the strategic and operational leadership of procurement and commercial services.
As a dynamic leader in procurement, Leigh brings over 15 years of experience covering private, public and not-for-profit sector roles. Leigh joins us from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where he delivered transformational strategies as Head of Commercial for a cross-Whitehall fund, managing a team with commercial spend in excess of £500m per annum.
Leigh’s experience in the charity sector includes procurement leadership roles at the Royal British Legion, Marie Curie and Cancer Research. Leigh was admitted as a Fellow of CIPS in 2020 demonstrating his commitment to the profession: he is passionate about the value that robust procurement delivers to organisations.
Thanks to Rob Johnson, Head of Procurement Services, who has been an invaluable member of the team. We wish Rob all the very best in his new endeavours and look forward to him continuing to work with us as an Associate.
Bernarde Hyde, SUMS Group Chief Executive, said:
“We are delighted that Leigh will be joining the SUMS Group to lead the SUPC team in its next phase of development. His strategic vision and experience of leading commercial good practice in the public and charity sectors will help our organisation to drive greater value and savings for our members. There was an extremely strong field of candidates for this opportunity, which is testament to our growing brand strength and market position. Procurement effectiveness and efficiency has never been more important as the Higher Education sector addresses financial challenges.”
Leigh commented:
“I am thrilled to be joining SUMS Group. I look forward to bringing my experience to a new sector and adding innovation, new services and a focus on driving results to add even greater value to our members. I look forward to meeting SUPC members and partners in the near future.”
Leigh’s appointment builds on the expertise of SUPC’s core team and is a recognition of SUMS investment in high calibre people with commercial awareness and skills as the HE sector faces unprecedented change. Investment in the team will continue with further recruitment already underway.
Leigh will join the organisation in February 2023.
To find out more about how SUMS Group can support your institution, or to contact Leigh or any other member of the team, email supc@reading.ac.uk