New Government Chief Commercial Officer announced
Andrew Forzani has been appointed Government Chief Commercial Officer to steer the cross-government commercial community in delivering the Plan for Change.
Following an open and fair recruitment process, Andrew Forzani, has been appointed as the new UK Government Chief Commercial Officer.
The appointment comes as the government prepares to introduce the Procurement Act 2023 this month and publish an updated National Procurement Policy Statement.
Andrew’s experience of over 30 years in commercial, procurement and supply chain management will be invaluable in steering the cross-government commercial community to deliver the Plan for Change.
He will focus over 6,000 commercial professionals who are managing and influencing £176 billion of procurement spend on vital goods and services, into delivering for working people, ensuring every pound spent of taxpayer money delivers for the public.
From roads and trains to defence equipment and energy, government procurement is present in millions of everyday lives. By refocusing and reimagining the way we do public procurement, we can rebuild Britain in a decade of national renewal.
Andrew is currently the Director General Commercial at the Ministry of Defence (MOD), prior to joining the MOD in 2017 he was the Chief Commercial Officer at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, Cat Little said:
“The Government Commercial Function provides a crucial service to Government, delivering mission led procurement policy, harnessing the public sector’s collective purchasing power and working hard to improve the commercial capabilities of the Civil Service.
“Andrew has a wealth of senior commercial experience both within government and beyond, and will continue to drive excellence and commercial expert advice in everything we do. I look forward to working with him in this new role.”
Andrew Forzani said:
“I am extremely proud to be appointed as UK Government Chief Commercial Officer, at a critical point for our function. This is an exciting time for the UK Government, with a unique set of challenges ahead of us. But as we have seen, a highly skilled and committed public procurement community has repeatedly stepped up to meet these challenges head on and I’m confident we can continue to do so.
“I look forward to working with the entire Government Commercial Function community across the United Kingdom to ensure that every pound we spend or influence goes towards delivering great outcomes for the Country and the Plan for Change.”
The Government Commercial Function
The Government Commercial Function is a cross-government network procuring or supporting the procurement of goods and services for the government.
The GCF was formed in 2015 and incorporates around 6,000 people working in commercial roles, predominantly within central government departments and some Arm’s-Length Bodies.
The commercial teams in departments are supported by a central team based in the Cabinet Office which provides cross-cutting functional coordination support, as well as specialist services and expert advice on complex transactions, key suppliers and market stewardship. This helps to ensure that the Government can effectively leverage its significant scale, benefit from greater efficiency and drive improved value for money from its suppliers and the wider supply chain.