Our Team

At Proxima we value a broad range of skills, and so we recruit across the spectrum from tactical buyers to change management experts. As a result, our people are as diverse as they are like minded.

Since 1994, we have attracted talented individuals from diverse backgrounds (such as line procurement roles, management consultants, accountants and IT businesses), as well as from a cross section of industry backgrounds and experience (such as manufacturing, retail, financial services, engineering, consulting and the public sector).

In order to provide world class procurement services, we believe that in a fast paced, ever changing world, we need to invest continually in training and development to provide our people with the technical and soft skills they require to ensure they remain the best.

Our Board

Matthew Eatough

Matthew has had a long-term interest in making businesses more profitable. In the early 1990s, he turned around and sold a leveraged buy-out. In the process, he found that one of the key levers of success in the company’s transformation was better procurement.

Matthew decided to take this and make a business of it: Proxima, the leading procurement specialist and outsourcer, is the result.

Matthew Eatough

Chief Executive Officer

Guy Strafford

Guy is responsible for key client relationships, advising on procurement strategy and business development across Proxima.

Guy joined Proxima in 1996 and was an Account Director for a range of clients before taking responsibility for sales. Prior to training as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG, Guy studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University. He is a regular speaker at procurement and management conferences such as SuperReturns, ProcureCon and ProcureCon Indirect, and commentator on the procurement industry. Guy is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and a Fellow and Board Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

Guy Strafford

Chief Client Officer

Gareth Evans

Gareth is responsible for ensuring that we deliver innovative, consistent high quality services to all of our clients.

Gareth brings 18 years of experience across procurement and professional services. As one of the earliest proponents of the procurement outsourcing market, Gareth has held senior positions in procurement services at PwC and Accenture, where he was a Partner. Gareth has also worked at Fujitsu as Director of Business Consulting. He has architected and delivered complex procurement solutions for clients around the world.

Gareth Evans

Chief Operating Officer

Tom Lawrence

Tom takes responsibility for all aspects of Proxima’s marketing, communications and brand building.

Tom is also responsible for co-ordinating the development of the company’s strategic goals and plans. Prior to this role, Tom gained extensive experience in procurement consultancy and client management. He joined Proxima in 1995 as a graduate.

Tom Lawrence

Chief Communications Officer

James Bovaird

James is responsible for putting in place Proxima's financial targets and manages the business to those targets.

He designs and delivers regular performance monitoring that drives decision making and ingrains a culture of accountability for results. Working with the Board he oversees robust and scalable planning, budgeting and processes.

James is a Chartered Accountant who trained with PwC; he initially worked as a tax consultant before moving into management consultancy. James worked for Linklaters, the magic circle law firm, as a financial analysis manager for the London and Dubai offices. Prior to joining Proxima he was Financial Controller for the Management Consultancy and Rail divisions of Mouchel Group, the FTSE 250 business support services group.

James Bovaird

Chief Financial Officer

Katherine Coombs

Katherine is responsible for ensuring that our information and technology delivers strategic value to our clients.

Katherine joined Proxima in 2011, bringing with her 10 years of international IT experience gained in sectors such as professional services, outsourcing and finance services.

Katherine was a consultant with Accenture before joining Lloyds Banking Group where she was responsible for Group IT innovation & research, and later CIO of the Savings division. Katherine is a member of the British Computer Society and holds a University degree in Computer Sciences.

Katherine Coombs

Chief Information Officer

Vinny Patel

Vinny is responsible for working with clients to fully understand the business challenges they face and how these translate into procurement challenges.

Vinny has worked in the Procurement industry for over 19 years in both in operational and professional services context. Prior to joining Proxima, Vinny was a Partner at Accenture where he held a number of roles including business development, delivery and solution architecting.

Vinny Patel

Commercial Director

Edward Winterschladen

Ed has ultimate responsibility for all Proxima’s client relationships and client satisfaction across the UK and Europe.

He takes an active role in supporting key client engagements and in helping them to establish future procurement strategies. Ed joined Proxima in 2004, and worked for several years as an Account Manager responsible for managing accounts in the North of England. Over the last 16 years Ed has gained extensive procurement experience, both in operational roles (for example he was Procurement Director of Thistle Hotels) and in consulting.

Edward Winterschladen

Executive Director – Client Services

Richard Jones

In the course of his management career, Richard has served on boards of IBM Financial Services, Andersen Consulting Properties, Digital, Exult and Hewitt - in UK, Ireland, Netherlands, and India.

Now, amongst other projects, Richard is Chairman at Control Circle, Non-Executive Director at Proxima and Deputy Chairman at the Aimselect Group.

Richard Jones

Chairman (Non-Executive)

Our Team

Our Board

#1

Procurement outsourcer in Europe

25%

Annual growth for the past 5 years

$9bn*

Spend under management *£5.7bn / €6.8bn

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Our Team

Our Board

#1

Procurement outsourcer in Europe

25%

Annual growth for the past 5 years

$9bn*

Spend under management *£5.7bn / €6.8bn