Metropolitan Police Authority appoints new Met Director of Procurement

55/02
15 May 2002

Steve Atherton has been appointed as the Metropolitan Police Service’s new Director of Procurement leading a team of 40 staff which manages over £150m of procurement spend and a similar value in major outsourced contracts. 

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Atherton said: 

“There is no other organisation quite like the Met. I know from my work overseas that it has a truly worldwide reputation and I am delighted that I will be playing a key part in ensuring that the police have the equipment and services they need to do an important and very demanding job. I will bring my previous lifetime experience in procurement to the role and help enhance the skills and ability of what I know already to be a very professional team. Together we will bring a new professionalism and customer focus to the support that we provide to front line policing.”

Mr Atherton, 45, is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and of the Institute of Logistics. He joins he MPS from KPMG where, as Principal Consultant, he undertook various supply chain and performance improvement projects for both private and public sector clients.

Prior to this, Mr Atherton was the Director of Scottish Healthcare Supplies, responsible for all goods and services contracting to support the NHS in Scotland. As a national appointment, Mr Atherton was also involved in strategy and policy work at national level. 

Mr Atherton’s earlier career was in the Royal Air Force (reaching the rank of Wing Commander), culminating in him leading a multi-national team to examine the United Nations’ procurement activity in support of peace-keeping operations. Once the recommendations had been taken by the UN Secretary-General to the General Assembly for approval, he was requested to remain in the UN in New York to implement the new policies and procedures. He was also involved in a logistics review of the delivery of humanitarian aid in the ‘food for oil’ sanctions programme in Iraq, as well as other peace-keeping operations.

While working for the Deputy Secretary-General (now the Secretary-General, Mr Koffi Annan), Mr Atherton’s UN career also took him to Bosnia, Croatia and Rwanda.

The Director of Procurement Services is one of six Directors reporting to the Director of Resources, Mr Keith Luck, and will be a member of the Resources Board. The Director of Procurement’s key liaison with the Metropolitan Police Authority is through its Finance, Planning and Best Value Committee.

MPA member Rachel Whittaker, who sat on the selection panel, said: 

“Mr Atherton impressed us with his professional knowledge and career to date, but his work with the United Nations has given him far greater insight into cultural and diversity issues than most mainstream candidates. We expect him to bring these insights to his new post with the Met.”

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback