YPO strengthens with three senior promotions

PRESS RELEASE

YPO, the UK’s largest publicly-owned buying organisation, has made three senior promotions within its public sector and education divisions, signalling the organisation’s continued investment in and commitment to the sectors.

Gavin Rimmington takes on the role of Head of Public Sector following seven years as Head of IT and Business Change, Martin Armytage has moved from his position as Head of Sales and Customer Experience into a new Head of Education role and Ashley Cartwright has been made Education Development Manager.

The three roles demonstrate a clear strategy for the organisation that focuses on the continued development of YPO within the public sector, alongside a drive to harness detailed insight into a UK-wide customer base that will influence the creation of market-leading products and services.

Leading the way with public sector procurement  

Gavin Rimmington begins his role as Head of Public Sector following 20 years working in change and innovation. After ten years working on large-scale technology solutions at Wakefield Council, Gavin joined YPO in 2013, first as a Programme Manager, then as Head of IT and Business Change.

With experience in leading digital strategies, such as developing YPO’s digital platforms, Gavin will be the driving force behind YPO’s drive to develop in-depth customer understanding in order to drive a world-class service.

Overseeing all public sector divisions at YPO, from energy solutions, IT, insurance, apprenticeships and HR solutions to name a few, Gavin is keen to support customers to transform, innovate and improve through championing collaborative procurement: “Whether we’re working health and social care, the  emergency services or a local authority, there is a clear appetite for incorporating new ways of working and innovation into their operations and, with our deep understanding of their requirements, what challenges they face and our solutions, we are able to provide a service that gives our customers opportunities to assist them in their approach to procuring goods and services,” said Gavin.

Gavin will continue to promote a culture of innovation at YPO which will involve building partnerships, like the ones launched in 2019 with Amazon Business and Edtech Impact.

A head for education

Martin Armytage takes on the new role of Head of Education following over 33 years working in the education arm of YPO. In his new position, Martin will be responsible for the entire education offering which encompasses sales, marketing, customer experience and buying.

Martin has seen many major transformations both within YPO and the wider education sector over the last 20 years. “Education can often be a challenging environment to work in, with budget considerations and measured outputs influencing almost all decisions, but I think one of the biggest, and most positive, changes I’ve seen during my time in the sector is the way schools have benefitted from having a wider commercial awareness, which is turn drives better value” said Martin.

 “We care about providing a valuable service to the public sector and this is supported throughout the sales and after-care processes. But our job is also to remain one step ahead of what schools and multi academy trusts (MATs) will need next which, currently, focuses on EdTech and the integration of climate change into the curriculum,” added Martin.

YPO works to simplify these areas for schools and provide them with a workable framework for incorporating software and other tools into lesson plans. 

Innovation in education

YPO’s other promotion within its education division is for Ashley Cartwright who assumes the role of Education Development Manager. Working closely with Martin to understand what YPO’s customers need, Ashley will be responsible for carrying out market analysis and leading on product innovation.

Pioneering new technology and learning tools for schools is just one part of Ashley’s role though. Hand-in-hand with this is ongoing gap analysis of the education market to ensure that what YPO develops and offers, is a direct response to what its 4,000 schools and MATs customers need.

With over one third of schools now being MATs, Ashley will be tasked with delivering solutions that work for all educational institutions, both now and in the future A task he is passionate about.

“Both schools and MATs are relying on public sector buying organisations more than ever to help them navigate the vast array products and tools available, and it’s our job to gain the market insight to ensure schools buy in a way that benefits budgets and learning goals,” said Ashley.

Ashley will also be responsible for influencing a change in the way schools get the information they need and will be promoting webinars, event and new template materials.