Chief Procurement Officer, Royal Mail Group

Odgers partnered with Royal Mail Group to identify a transformative Chief Procurement Officer with Rebecca Simpson commencing her role in February 2023. 

An established international delivery service established in 1635, Royal Mail has been a public listed company on the London Stock Exchange since 2013. 

What attracted you to the role?

There were several things that attracted to me to the role. Lucy Harding did a great job positioning it and how it would play to my strengths and passions. Firstly, the brand – Royal Mail touches all our daily lives and despite its challenges, holds a special quality. I am always keen to move industry when looking for new challenges, so this was an opportunity to move into the logistics/retail space and into a B2C environment - not just B2B - and therefore broaden my experience. 

The role was greenfield - whereby nobody had filled the role for several years - which I always feel is a great opportunity to make your own mark. The business was going through an enormous period of transformation, with a new and energised executive leadership team, who were supportive of the role and could see the benefits that could be realised from it.

What are your ambitions for your role?

To ensure procurement is fundamentally seen as a truly value-adding strategic partner within Royal Mail Group, to help shape and deliver the wider business strategy based on our unique insight, along with our wider market knowledge – that means driving revenue and margin growth. 

It was a business in financial distress and we want to credibly unlock sustainable value which can be seen on the P&L. 

ESG and Scope 3 is a key differential for the business and I understood there was not much of a plan around Scope 3 emissions and reduction, and so that to be high on the priority list, along with building an energised and capable team that is future fit and agile to handle both the short terms challenges but to cope with the increasing pace of change. I also wanted to have a lot of fun!

How was your journey with Odgers?

My journey was effortless. It helped from the start that Lucy and her team knew me and so approached me with a role that did prick my interest. There was clear communication throughout including useful insight into key stakeholders and business challenges. 

I also felt I received good, honest advice when discussing topics around renumeration. The team at Odgers have been a great sounding board ever since; for example they have been great at connecting me with peers who have faced similar challenges as I have hit problems and to offer their own insight and perspectives.

Read our interview with Rebecca discussing her insights into successful leadership, including how to demonstrate role model behaviour, measuring performance and celebrating team achievements.

Read our interview with Rebecca Simpson

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