Purposeful and Profitable, what does that mean?
Let’s start with the easy bit. We are a consulting business specializing in Procurement, Supply Chain, and Supplier Sustainability. We are also part of Bain & Company, the global leader in management consulting. We share an ambition to be the world’s best procurement consulting firm for our clients and our people.
Did you know that, on average, 70% of what an organization makes is then spent with suppliers? At Proxima, we help our clients to spend that money wisely and well. And that means that the work we do focuses on making businesses either more profitable, more purposeful, or hopefully both.
And we don’t just say it; we do it.
You can read a lot more about our services here. You can also find out more about Procurement, Supply Chain, and Supplier Sustainability through the links on these pages. But Proxima is about so much more than just what we do as the day job.
In these pages, we focus on some of the things that make working with, or for, Proxima a great experience.
WHAT WE DO
At Proxima, we provide expert delivery to some of the world’s leading businesses and government departments. We focus exclusively on procurement, supply chain, and supplier sustainability, and how they can drive better outcomes for our clients.
Read morePROXIMA WITH PURPOSE
Being a responsible procurement consulting firm is fundamental to our purpose, and we have a Board sponsored initiative to ensure that this aspiration is also a reality. Many exciting things are happening in and around our business, many of which are suggested by and led by our people. You can read more about that here.
Read moreInclusiveness and openness
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion framework is our strategic plan to ensure that we become a more diverse and equitable business and an open and inclusive place to work. We have a DEI committee who are holding us to account across a number of strategic initiatives and who also arrange events and activities to further educate, inspire discussion and promote DE&I.
Read moreNet Zero
As part of Proxima’s prioritization of SDG 13, Climate Action, we have commenced our Net Zero journey. We monitor our carbon footprint and are making changes to how we operate to reduce our footprint whilst investing in two carbon offsetting projects. These projects not only help us to be Net Zero today but also deliver positive social and economic change in local communities.
Read moreOur people
Running a procurement consultancy opens up a range of roles from expert procurement consultants to deep category specialists to operations and support gurus. At Proxima we employ brilliant minds from all backgrounds and walks of life, and all come together as part of the same collective effort. Click here to meet the Leadership Team, or view some of our people below and learn more about what being at Proxima means to them.
Rayvaughn West
Principal Consultant, Chicago
What are you known for professionally? What’s your specialty?
Professionally, I’m known for being an expert in Procurement specializing in Technology and highly skilled in complex and transformative environments.
What’s been the highlight/ proudest moment of your career at Proxima thus far?
Providing commercial leadership in support of a $1.5b global transformation program was quite the challenge but despite being a huge success, I was afforded tremendous growth opportunities.
Beth Bradley
Principal Consultant, Cwmbran
What’s been the highlight/ proudest moment of your career at Proxima thus far?
My proudest moment over the last five years was applying for a completely different role internally and making it my own!
What are you most passionate about personally or professionally? What can’t you stop talking about?
Personally, I’m absolutely obsessed with my new puppy Eric. He makes frequent appearances on video calls and I make any excuse to show him off!
Professionally, I’m really passionate about the work we are doing to help our clients in sustainability and social value. It’s an area with an increasing spotlight and we can really help deliver additional value and help make sustainable choices.
Al Maranon
Senior Consultant, Chicago
What’s been the highlight/ proudest moment of your career at Proxima thus far?
A proud moment at Proxima was when I received high praise for a job well done from one of Proxima’s legends, and I personally have the utmost respect for Mark McPhee. Sometimes it’s not the epic display of value that makes an impact, but the smaller, somewhat quiet show of appreciation that means the most.
What are you most passionate about personally or professionally? What can’t you stop talking about?
Diversity and inclusion have been a passion for me throughout my professional career. Through education and open dialogue, Proxima is at the forefront of leading the charge, and I’m very proud and excited to be included in this fundamental issue.
Bridget McCormick
Senior Consultant, Chicago
What are you known for professionally? What’s your specialty?
Professionally, I’ve delivered savings and complex projects primarily in the Facilities Maintenance space. I enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and working to understand the challenges our clients face. In addition, I’ve really enjoyed being able to get involved in broader aspects of the Proxima business through lecturing at universities, leading recruitment efforts, and working to help orient new colleagues to our business.
What’s been the highlight/ proudest moment of your career at Proxima thus far?
I was the first employee to join Proxima in the US directly from college. At that time, Proxima had very few employees in the US. It’s been rewarding to see my professional and personal growth over the last four years and to be a part of Proxima’s growth.
Rachel Watson
Principal Consultant, Chicago
What’s been the highlight/ proudest moment of your career at Proxima thus far?
Receiving a call from our CEO to thank me for my contribution to a successful year, on top of receiving great feedback from peers for my work across multiple teams and Clients. It’s a testament to our people-focused business that the time is taken to positively feedback when it’s thought due!
Oh and also being nominated to launch our internal Gender Equality Network, delivering a presentation to over 100 people!
What are you most passionate about personally or professionally? What can’t you stop talking about?
I can’t stop talking about my Beagle, Kobe. He’s a real character and often a contributor to video calls. I’m also a big health fitness fan and F45 regular.
Professionally I’m passionate about Procurement (of course!) – helping Clients to realize cost efficiencies as well as supporting responsible supply chain decision making.
Jack McConnell
Consultant, London
What are you known for professionally? What’s your specialty?
Professionally, transformation work has formed most of my client experience at Proxima so far. I have worked on engagements in this space for both public and private companies, helping to solve a variety of problems, from implementing a new contract management system to developing a service catalogue model for a large energy provider.
What are you most passionate about personally or professionally? What can’t you stop talking about?
I am incredibly passionate about travelling. I lived in Sydney for a year, and fell in love with travelling and exploring new places/cultures while I was there. Working at Proxima compliments this passion well, as there are great opportunities to travel to new places with work. I am also a proud member of our charity committee, in which we organise internal events to raise money for our partner charity, Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Courtney Brearley
Senior Consultant, Chicago
What are you known for professionally? What’s your specialty?
While I’ve been on client delivery teams across multiple industries and categories, my experience is largely within the Directs space. I’m known to be a team player and a champion for those around me, I try to ensure everyone’s voice is heard and that we’re motivating towards the same goal both internally and with our clients. Relationships are at the core of what we do and are very important to me, so I try to cultivate and build them every day.
What’s been the highlight/ proudest moment of your career at Proxima thus far?
This year I was nominated for the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ award. It was a huge honor to be recognized for this among my peers!
Arsha Etebar
Vice President, Cwmbran
What are you known for professionally? What’s your specialty?
My specialty is team management and building/managing relationships with clients. I’m known as someone who can create an effective environment for a team to prosper
What’s been the highlight/ proudest moment of your career at Proxima thus far?
Two weeks into my time at Proxima, traveling to Chicago at short notice to lead the completion of a key client deliverable that was crucial to the whole engagement. The deliverable was very well received and I felt a great amount of pride in being able to pick up such an important piece of work at short notice for one of our largest clients
Julie Craig
Vice President, Leeds
What are you known for professionally? What’s your specialty?
Ensuring a good team spirit on engagements, with an appropriate mix of hard work and play. My specialty is karaoke – we have had some legendary team nights out in Manchester!
What’s been the highlight/ proudest moment of your career at Proxima thus far?
Seeing team members progress in their careers and gain well-deserved promotions is something I am passionate about.