Government Procurement Board

The Board is comprised of nine members. The Board is chaired by a non-public employee, and the Deputy Chair is a public employee. The Board’s composition includes a range of individuals with skills encompassing project management, risk management, finance, construction, law, ICT, health, community and human services, civil engineering, and experience in the private and/or not-for-profit sector.

The current Board members are:

Coretta Bessi (Non-Public employee, Chairperson)

Ms Bessi is an experienced Procurement Executive having held Chief Procurement roles across ASX100 and Government business enterprises in finance, health, telecommunications, utilities and major manufacturing industries. As a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Ms Bessi now focuses on her Board, committee and consulting roles to support private and public sector in driving commercial acumen and governance.

Geoffrey Rutledge (Public employee, Deputy Chair)

Mr Rutledge is the Deputy Director-General, Environment, Water and Emissions Reduction within the Environment Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. Mr Rutledge leads the ACT Government’s response to climate change, energy efficiency, water, and our natural environment. In his pursuit to shape Canberra into a sustainable city, Mr Rutledge’s aim is to partner with both private and public sector contributors to make a collective difference to the Canberra community. Mr Rutledge is focused on delivering evidence-based solutions so all Canberrans can benefit from long term sustainable changes gained through reduced emissions and improved climate and environmental policies.

Mr Rutledge has fifteen years executive experience within the ACT Government, and holds qualifications in psychology, politics, public sector management, as well as a Master Degree in Policy Analysis, and an Executive Master in Public Administration.

Sally Druhan (Public employee Member)

Ms Druhan is the Chief Finance Officer for the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. Prior to commencing this role in January 2023, Ms Druhan held several senior roles leading areas responsible for finance, service delivery, risk management and policy implementation in a career spanning 18 years in the Department of Defence and the Australian Taxation Office. Ms Druhan is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and serves as a volunteer director on the boards of several not-for-profit organisations.

Dr Dave Gilbert (Public employee Member)

Dr Gilbert leads the Capital Project Delivery Branch within the Canberra Health Services Directorate and is responsible for the planning and delivery of major health infrastructure projects. Dr Gilbert has significant experience in the procurement of goods and services for private and public organisations, including within Defence, electricity, water and health sectors. Such experience includes procurement and management of large equipment and construction contracts for the Australian Government. Dr Gilbert is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ian Turnbull (Public employee Member)

Mr Turnbull is the Chief Finance Officer at the ACT Education Directorate. Mr Turnbull is a qualified accountant holding post graduate qualifications in management, audit, finance and investment supported by broad, public and private sector experience in procurement and sourcing arrangements in the education, health, disability and public safety sectors.

Mathew Baldwin (Non-Public employee Member)

Mr Baldwin is a qualified lawyer with over 15 years of Australian and international experience in providing advice on legal/ contracting, procurement, probity, and governance matters, primarily working for clients in government and regulated industries. Key areas of industry experience are government, information technology, facilities management, infrastructure and projects, health and pharmaceuticals.

Katherine McDermott (Non-Public Employee Member)

Ms McDermott is the founder of See Me Please, a digital marketplace which connects diverse edge-case users with organisations to make their digital services more accessible for people with disabilities. Ms McDermott holds a Bachelor of Business and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Ms McDermott previously led the digital design, software engineering and product portfolio at Service NSW for 6 years. Over this time, Ms McDermott scaled NSW’s government software development capability, delivered NSW’s Digital Driver License and transformed the Service NSW App to meet demand during the peak of COVID. Ms McDermott sits on numerous boards as a non-executive director, including the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia, The University of Sydney’s Computer Science Industry Advisory Board, and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists Board.

Sommer Roles (Non-Public Employee Member)

Ms Roles has been in the Procurement industry across multiple industries for over 20 years. Ms Roles has experience in strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, governance & analytics. In more recent years, Ms Roles has taken on operational responsibility for functions such as property, facilities, PMO, transformation and several other shared services. Ms Roles has helped businesses and clients drive transformation across their organisations and build sustainable delivery functions with a strong focus on customer service.

The Board’s role and its advice and recommendations are independent from the advisory services provided to Territory entities by Procurement ACT and Major Projects Canberra. Territory entity delegates are responsible and accountable for considering and implementing any advice and recommendations provided by the Board.

Procurement ACT as the custodian of the Government Procurement Act and as an enabling service provider to Territory entities has the following interactions with the Board:

• Secretariat: Procurement ACT provides secretariat support for the Board including the coordination of annual reporting on the performance of the Board, and management of the recruitment and appointment of new Board members.  The Board Secretariat can be contacted at: governmentprocurementboard@act.gov.au;
• Board Observer: a Procurement ACT Senior Executive Officer attends Board meetings as an observer and to provide advice on the Procurement Framework to Board members as required. The observer also identifies themes and issues raised by the Board to inform and improve future procurement practices and guidance for Territory entities; and
• Accreditation Team: Procurement ACT’s Accreditation Team is responsible for the assessment of accreditation applications submitted by Territory entities prior to the review by the Board in the Board’s role as the governance body for such accreditations.