The Faculty Awards of Excellence 2024: CPO of the Year
The Faculty Awards of Excellence 2024 CPO of the Year was awarded to Giles Curtin, Executive Director, Procurement at TAFE NSW. The award was presented at The Faculty Awards of Excellence gala dinner, held on September 3rd 2024, at Melbourne’s iconic Plaza Ballroom.
For the past 13 years, this prestigious award has honoured remarkable commercial leaders who consistently exceed expectations, significantly impact business results, and contribute to the Procurement and Supply Chain profession.
Some of the exceptional achievements Giles’ has achieved in his role include recruiting and developing a high-performing team of procurement professionals - a team which holds the highest employee engagement score in the whole of TAFE NSW. Giles also established a robust Procurement framework comprising Policy, Processes and Procedures, and successfully implemented an ‘eProcurement ecosystem’ that enhances compliance and reduces administration across the full spectrum of ‘Source to Pay’ process, adopted by over 3,000 users across 160+ campuses.
Giles was selected for the CPO of the Year award due to his introduction of sophisticated processes, which have been particularly impressive given the complexities of TAFE NSW's operations. Despite challenges such as the geographical breadth of TAFE NSW’s stakeholders — spanning more than 160 locations and delivering training in over 1,000 professional areas — Giles's dedication and persistence have led to significant success. He has built TAFE NSW’s procurement function through strong people leadership, a commitment to continuous improvement, an advocacy for simplicity, and the strategic use of technology.
After winning the CPO of the Year award, Giles shared:
"Thanks to all the great people I've had the privilege of working with, and learning from, over the course of my procurement career so far. I love what I do, and what it does, and I can't wait to do it some more!"
Giles brings 23 years of management experience across diverse industries, including Aviation, Transport, Telecoms, Energy and Education. The role of Executive Director, Procurement was newly created prior to Giles’s arrival, and since 2017, he has grown the procurement function from scratch to a 28-strong strategic and operational brand in 2024. Giles now leads a large team of professionals and has over $1.1bn of spend under management at TAFE NSW.
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About the Award
The CPO of the Year award recognises a remarkable commercial leader who is making a demonstrable difference to business results, taking into account the particular circumstances of different industries, budgets and the diversity of procurement team size and experience.
The Award is a measure of executive presence, commercial insight, people leadership abilities, innovation, professional advocacy, technical ability and integrity.
The Judging Process
Nominees are assessed against The Faculty’s X-Factor Procurement Leadership Framework which is based on a demonstration of strength and balance across four key areas - Functional Excellence, Leadership Attributes, Commercial Leadership and People Leadership.
The Judging Panel
The Awards of Excellence 2025 - Register Now
Registrations for The Faculty Awards of Excellence 2025 are now open! Join us on Tuesday 26th August at Melbourne’s iconic Plaza Ballroom for an opulent night of celebration. Find out more here.