Chief Executive appointment Office of Government Commerce

The Prime Minister, with the agreement of the Chancellor, has appointed Nigel Smith as the new Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), which leads the drive to modernise government procurement and deliver value for money.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, John Healey MP said:

"I am delighted to announce Nigel Smith's appointment as Chief Executive. Nigel has a wealth of commercial and procurement experience and a proven track record leading successful national and global businesses. He will play an essential role driving up standards in government procurement."

Notes for editors

1. The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is an Office of the Treasury, reporting to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury. Its purpose is to transform procurement in central government, by:

setting standards and monitoring performance and capability;
developing a cadre of skilled procurement professionals across Government; and
driving value for money deals on a collaborative basis.

2. The 2006 Pre-Budget Report announced that the Government would draw up detailed plans to make the step change required in its procurement capability to deliver world class public services. Transforming Government Procurement, published on 23 January 2007, set out a demanding programme of work for OGC and the procurement community across government.

3. As head of the OGC, Nigel's priorities will be to:

set out a clear procurement framework that all government departments will follow, and carry out capability reviews to monitor departments' performance against that framework;
lead the relationship with government's key suppliers, to ensure consistent management of them across different projects and sectors;
raise the skills and status of the Government Procurement Service, giving it the leadership it needs to meet the increasing demands on the profession;
work closely with the Treasury in scrutinising and supporting the Government's largest and most complex procurement projects;
drive through more government-wide procurement deals through a rigorous strategy of single sourcing; and
develop and lead a strategy to maximise the effective use of the Government's property estate.

4. Nigel Smith, 52, has been President of Invensys Rail Systems since 2003, managing the strategic direction and business performance of the global rail industry activities of Invensys plc, with a turnover of £420 million and over 3,000 employees in the UK, USA, Spain and Australia. Prior to joining Invensys, Nigel was Chief Executive of Charter plc and has also worked in senior management in GEC - Marconi and Dowty Aerospace.

5. Nigel Smith will join the OGC as a civil servant on 3 September 2007, on a three year contract, at permanent secretary level. His salary will be £180,000 a year. He will also join the Treasury Board. He succeeds John Oughton as Chief Executive, who announced he was standing down following the publication of Transforming Government Procurement, to allow his successor a full term in which to implement it. Peter Fanning will continue to serve as Acting Chief Executive until Nigel takes up his post.

6. Media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury press office on 020 7270 5238.

7. Non-media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury Correspondence and Enquiry Unit on 020 7270 4558 or by e-mail to public.enquiries@hm-treasury.gov.uk.

8. This press release and other Treasury publications and information are available on the Treasury website. If you would like Treasury press releases to be sent to you automatically by e-mail you can subscribe to this service from the press release site on the website.