The Industry Advocate
Mr Ian Nightingale
The Industry Advocate, Ian Nightingale was appointed in 2013. Since this time he has become more aware how important public procurement can be as a mechanism to deliver the Government’s broader economic and social objectives.
Ian’s role and that of his office is to be a catalyst for change with reform recommendations that benefit the State’s economy and small business.
Through the SA Industry Participation Policy, Ian has established a strong platform to ensure local businesses can make the most of opportunities from the $4 billion in State Government Goods and Services and $1.5 billion in contracts awarded annually and through building and construction projects in South Australia.
Establishing the Industry Advocate Act 2017 together with a commitment from the Government to maintain an industry participation policy provides industry with the confidence they need to fully embrace these initiatives and continue to contribute and invest in the South Australian economy.
Ian has years of experience in running small businesses in metropolitan and regional South Australia and has applied the insights gained from running his own businesses to influence policy outcomes within Government.
The Deputy Industry Advocate
Mr Phillip Dowsett
The Deputy Industry Advocate, Phillip Dowsett has been with the office since 2016. As the Deputy Industry Advocate the role supports the Industry Advocate with the strategic application of the South Australian Industry Participation Policy (SAIPP) by Responsible Government Agencies with the objective of maximising the economic benefit to the State from government expenditure.
From an advocacy perspective, Phillip’s role is to increase the number and diversity of South Australian based businesses winning government contracts. The SAIPP and the Industry Advocate Act 2017 underpins the functions of the both the Deputy, and the Industry Advocate.
Over the last 17 years, Phillip has considerable experience in leading, managing and developing highly successful multidisciplinary teams across international divisions incorporating sales and marketing, service, operations, production and warehousing. From operating his own business through to various managing director roles, his primary responsibility was for the generation of growth, developing submissions for government tenders and managing new and existing government and private sector contracts, across the Asia Pacific region.