Name
Organization
Tim Cummins
An international, cross-industry career that has moved from corporate management to extensive research, advisory and capability development services to public, private and third sector organisations. Tim has lived and worked in the UK, France (3 years) and United States (20 years), building an impressive research and entrepreneurial record, with demonstrated commitment to delivering social benefit.
As Founder and President, World Commerce & Contracting (formerly International Association for Contract & Commercial Management), Tim has built a 72,000 member worldwide non-profit association which increasingly influences commercial policies and contracting practices in major corporations and governments. In September 2019, he was presented with the Financial Times ‘Market Shaper of the Year’ Award.
Tim was until recently Professor and Chair, International Commercial & Contract Management, University of Leeds, School of Law, where he taught and led development of inter-disciplinary commercial programs.
Prior to founding World Commerce & Contracting, Tim was on the Chairman’s staff at IBM Corporation and led the development of worldwide commercial processes and skills. His early career included management roles in banking, automotive and aerospace industries, where he led negotiations up to $1.5 billion in value. He has served in advisory roles for government departments in various countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan.
World Commerce & Contracting
Jacqui Archer
The PIC Foundation is a Community Interest Company offering practical commercial advice and holistic impact management tools designed to help companies deliver sustainable value.
Any commercial entity can join the PIC Foundation and enrol in our outcome-based business transformation programme designed to help companies actively mitigate climate related financial risks and improve their impact on workers, the environment and society.
Companies showing great outcomes may be eligible for a PIC Rating ®, an independent assessment of sustainable impact.
Endorsed by World Commerce and Contracting, the PIC impact management system goes beyond disclosure and reporting and puts positive impact at the heart of commercial business delivery.
Positive Impact Commerce Foundation
Brad Peterson
Mayer Brown
Sally Guyer
As Global CEO of one of the world’s fastest growing non-profits, Sally’s mission is to inspire and support the World Commerce & Contracting (WorldCC) team and global community to collectively drive recognition and excellence in Commercial and Contract Management.
She is an experienced and accomplished commercial and contracts management professional, holding senior commercial positions at a range of corporate and multi-national organizations. Her focus is on the creation of positive and successful business relationships, constantly striving to ensure that businesses realize their true potential and value.
In 2019 Sally was invited to become Chair of the Board for the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) and in 2021 she was appointed Professor in Practice in Strategy and Innovation at the University of Durham Business School.
World Commerce & Contracting
Pierre-Francois Thaler
EcoVadis
Victoria Cope
Victoria is the Commercial & Category Director for the UK Health Security Agency within the Government Commercial Function. Where she leads the Category, Contract Delivery and Business Development functions with a key focus on capability development, commercial innovation and social value.
Victoria has over 20 years’ experience in the Defence & Security sector, leading corporate procurement, commercial and finance functions within FTSE100/250 organisations including BAE Systems, QinetiQ, Airbus, Unilever and the UK Health Security Agency.
Victoria’s achievements were recognised by World Commerce and Contracting in the Inspiring Women list 2023. The Times & Sunday Times in 2019 as the winner of We Are the City Top 100 Women 2019 – Defence. Victoria was also awarded the Marshall of Cambridge Medal by the Duke of Edinburgh for her contribution to the industry.
Victoria is a chartered Aeronautical Engineer by background and holds an Executive MBA from Henley Business School. Victoria is a Fellow and Global Advisory Board Member of World Commerce & Contracting, a Non-Executive Council Member of The Air League Trust and a Non- Executive Director and Chair of Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee of the Inspiring Leadership Foundation.
UK Ministry of Defence
Keld Jensen
Keld Jensen has consistently ranked in the Global Gurus Top 30, reaching #4 as a Global Guru on Negotiation worldwide in 2024. In 2016 he was recognized as one of the world’s 100 Top Thought Leaders in Trust. He is the creator of the world’s most awarded negotiation strategy, which has received accolades from The Organization of Public Procurement Officers and The World Commerce & Contracting Organization’s Innovation and Strategic Award, IACCM etc.
Keld's extensive background in management and his role as a former CEO of a publicly traded technology company, underline his leadership and strategic acumen. An associate professor, Keld teaches at top-ranked universities worldwide, including the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU, BMI Executive Institute in Lithuania, BMI/Louvain University in Belgium, and Denmark’s Aalborg University. He is the former chairman of the Centre for Negotiation at Copenhagen Business School.
With more than 200 international TV appearances, and hundreds of articles in major business publications across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the U.S., Keld has established himself as a global thought leader. He is a prolific author of 26 books, which have been translated into 16 languages and have reached over 3 million readers worldwide. Several of these works have received awards, marking him as a significant voice in international business literature.
He is the founder and head of The SMARTnership Negotiation Organization, a pivotal force in consulting and training for both the private sector and governmental bodies. His clientele includes industry giants such as Vestas, LEGO, ConocoPhillips, Novo Nordisk, Johnson & Johnson, Bechtel and leading organizations like UNICEF and World50, as well as the governments of Canada, Denmark, and Great Britain.
Keld is the Negotiation Expert in Residence at WorldCC.
World Commerce & Contracting
Tanya Harris
Tanya brings over 20 years procurement experience, working and leading procurement and sustainability functions in the private and international development sectors. She was a contributor and expert practitioner of Sustainable Procurement – Guidance ISO 20400, a sector and industry roundtable representative of the Australian Federal Government consultation developing the Modern Slavery Act, the productivity commission assessment of National Supply Chain Vulnerabilities and Resilience and a United Nations One Planet Network sustainable procurement expert advisor.
Tanya is a member of the Australian Circular Economy (ACE) Hub procurement working group, the UN Asia Pacific Green Public Procurement Network, the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum for the Environment Governing Consortium, the secretary of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness Climate Action Working Group and co-author of the global eye care sustainable practices guide, and the international steering committee for www.iso20400.org
Edge
Kate Graefe
A senior level commercial leader, Kate has over 25 years experience in procurement and supply chain management in both the private and public sector. For the last 12 years, she has been the lead officer for procurement and contract management at London Borough of Ealing and then Reading, responsible for driving improvement in commercial practice at both authorities. With a passion for ensuring public services not only deliver for the client but also in a way that can generate wider public value where possible, Kate created and implemented the Social Value Policy at Reading as well as supported the business case for a local place-based social value model.
Kate is currently working with SOENECS (an independent research and innovation practice set up in June 2014, to support public and private sectors deliver circular economy) on a circular economy business case. She is also collaborating with Social Value UK on their “Contract for Change” programme (https://contractforchange.org ), as co-lead on the workstream seeking to engage interested partied in order to influence the new UK procurement policy and legislation, aiming to embed social value principles based practice into procurement, commissioning and contract management in a way that works for all parties.
Reading Borough Council
Matt Friedman
Matt Friedman is an international human trafficking expert with more than 30 years of experience. He is CEO of The Mekong Club, an organization of Hong Kong’s leading businesses which have joined forces to help end all forms of modern slavery. Mr. Friedman previously worked for USAID and the United Nations in over 30 countries. Mr. Friedman offers technical advice to numerous governments, banks, and corporations working to eliminate all forms of modern slavery and is the author of twelve books. In 2017, Mr. Friedman won Asia’s prestigious “Communicator of the Year” Gold Award.
The Mekong Club
Mark Cohen
Mark is a global thought leader and innovator in the legal industry. He is the CEO of Legal Mosaic (www.legalmosaic.com) a legal business consultancy; regular contributor to Forbes where he has a column on the global legal marketplace; and sought-after international speaker. Mark is the Executive Chairman of the Digital LegalXchange, a global nonprofit learning community designed to accelerate digital transformation in the legal function and ensure the legal industry can keep pace with its corporate counterparts.
Mark was appointed by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) to serve as its inaugural LIFTED “Catalyst-in-Residence” and concurrently serves as the General Editor of the forthcoming LIFTED Global Partner white paper on future legal skills. He has been a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center and at Northwestern University Pritzker College of law and presently teaches at Bucerius (Germany), IE Spain), and the College of Law (Australia). His Legal Mosaic blog was recognized by the American Bar Association as one of the 50 outstanding worldwide legal blogs in their inaugural “Web 100.” He also serves as an Intelligence Fellow for ALM.
Mark has focused on “the business of law” since the turn of the Millennium. Prior to that, he was an internationally recognized civil trial lawyer, serving stints as a decorated Assistant United States Attorney, BigLaw partner, national boutique founder, outside General Counsel, and Federally-Appointed Receiver of an international aviation parts business.
Digital Legal Exchange
Matthew Gingell
Matthew Gingell is the General Counsel of Oxygen House Group and the founder of the Chancery Lane Project. Matt has been instrumental in establishing a new doctrine of Climate Aligned Drafting: ground level commercial contracts creating global environmental outcomes. He is widely recognised as an innovator who is helping shape the UK legal profession as a force for good.
Oxygen House Group
Thomas Barothy
UBS
Arne Ott
Evonik
David Gillespie
Jemena
Luis Castillo-Melendez
Jemena