One on One with Kelly Irwin, General Manager of Procurement and Supply Chain, Foodbuy

Foodbuy welcomes Kelly Irwin as our new General Manager of the Procurement and Supply Chain team, having recently joined us on 1st August.

Kelly brings a wealth of strategic procurement and leadership experience to our Foodbuy organisation alongside her technical capability as an accomplished practitioner and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (FCIPS). We are delighted to add Kelly to our amazing Foodbuy team as we continue our growth journey and in delivering further outstanding benefits for our clients through the relationships with our Supply Partners across Australia.

A little about Kelly?

I moved around quite a bit as a child, born in Brisbane, started school in Port Moresby and have lived around the Sunshine Coast, Hunter Valley, Sydney and Singapore. I am the proud mother of two adult children who are just really good people. I enjoy a laugh, a drink, a dance and I try not to take myself too seriously.

What has been your procurement journey to this point?

I have worked in Procurement my entire professional career. I started in NSW Govt, moved to private enterprise working at Qantas and Coates Hire before moving into the construction industry with Boral and then Holcim. I moved to Singapore in 2018 as Global Head of Procurement in the shipping industry before returning to Sydney to work with Transurban and now Foodbuy. I love the value Procurement can bring to an organisation and in unlocking the capabilities in our supply chain.

Why Foodbuy?

The people, the culture and a new industry for me to continue to develop my career and of those within my team. I love to work for organisations who truly understand, and invest in, the value that Procurement can deliver both for our clients and our communities. Foodbuy is absolutely that – a very unique procurement and supply chain organisation connecting the very best capability and innovation within our supply chain through to all our clients spanning multiple industries and geographies across Australia.

What are you looking for from our relationships with our Supply Partners?

The relationships we have with our Supply Partners are key. It is here we will continue to unlock market-leading value, the highest levels of service and exciting innovation underpinned by a true understanding of our business and our client’s requirements. We will continue to invest in a strong ESG focus through the Worldfirst™ platform and in supporting our Supply Partners to take the lead in bringing exciting new initiatives and opportunities to our markets.

Where does your association and love of food come from?

Food brings people together, makes people happy and creates fabulous memories, it’s special. 

What food-related experience, venue or occasion has stuck with you and why?

Eating at Hawker centres in Singapore with my kids the first time they visited- it was so special to be able to immerse ourselves in a new culture and experience the wonderment of food in Singapore!

 “Be a champion for causes you care about and motivate others to join the journey through authentic and inclusive leadership.”

Some of my favourites: 

Food – Japanese and icecream

Place to eat – Lumi is my favourite restaurant in Sydney

Way to relax – drinking wine and walking my dog (not usually at the same time)

Place to stay – MACq01 Hobart is pretty special