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About Us – YPO

Introduction

YPO has almost 50 years' experience in giving back to the public sector. Five decades ago, 13 local authorities came together to combine their buying demands and achieve efficiency, and that's when our organisation as it's known today began.

We supply products and services to a wide range of customers including schools, local authorities, charities, emergency services, the public sector, and other businesses such as nurseries and care homes.

We're 100% publicly owned, by our 13 member authorities, which means the profits we make are returned to our public sector customers, delivering even better value for money.

Our values

We are helpful - It’s in everyone's nature at YPO to be helpful and kind. Looking to meet ever-changing needs by being experts in our fields. We stand by our customers’ side, sharing our knowledge and experience to support our customers every step of the way.

We are straight-talking – At YPO, we are open, honest and transparent. Using language that is appropriate for our customers we make sure we are always understood.

We care – We’re deeply committed to supporting our customers and our communities. Our hard work. Insight and thoughtfulness help to understand exactly what is needed. We are all champions of public value.

We don’t like waste – We’re on a journey to lighten our impact on our planet, taking our responsibilities to society and that world very seriously. Through digital innovation, reducing our use of resources and reviewing every aspect of how we operate. We are working hard to because increasingly more sustainable.

Our purpose

To help the public sector achieve the best possible value when buying products and services.

It’s an incredibly stimulating and rewarding purpose that our increasingly diverse team is dedicated to achieving. We champion public value, helping education and public sector organisations get the most from their resources. What sets YPO apart is our public-ownership model, which sees every penny of profits given back to our customers and owners.

Our mission

What sets YPO apart is our public-ownership model, which sees every penny of profit given back to our customers and owners.

We champion public value, helping education and public organisations get the most from their resources when buying products and services.

Our five-year strategy – Invest for Success

Our Invest for Success strategy sets out our plans for how we’ll grow YPO over the next years. There are several key areas to the strategy that sets out how we’re going to achieve our strategy looking at our brand, social value, our people, brilliant basics, digitalisation, partnerships, growth and assets to achieve record profits to return back to the public purse.

Meet the Board

Simon joined YPO in July 2011 from the former regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, where he was Executive Director.

Previously, Simon was Managing Director of electronics automotive manufacturer Kostal UK Ltd. With experience across procurement, sales, and general management, he also has 10 years of public sector and 20 years of commercial experience.

Simon is also an elected Executive Council Member of BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association and Company Secretary of YPO Procurement Holdings Limited.

- Simon Hill, Managing Director

Jo joined YPO as a Business Development Manager in 2010 from her position as Head of Public Sector at Samsung Electronics and was promoted to Commercial Director the following year. With a strong sales background, Jo has been working with the public sector for over 25 years. She leads the organisation’s commercial functions including sales, marketing, customer experience, and trading.

Recently shortlisted for Businesswoman of the Year, Jo is also the board strategic lead for customer experience and is Vice President of the Institute of Customer Service.

- Jo Marshall, Executive Director

Julie joined YPO in May 2021 as Finance Director from her previous role as Managing Director of Office Friendly, a buying group in office products.

She previously worked for Kingfield Heath Wholesale and has over 30 years of experience in the office products industry and joined the board of Boss Federation in 2022. Julie was awarded Professional of the Year in 2018 and European Professional of The Year in 2019. Julie leads the organisation’s finance, business change and HR functions.

- Julie Hawley, Executive Director

Jacquie joined YPO in July 2021 and is responsible for leading the organisation’s warehouse, logistics and IT teams. She joined from Arla foods where she held the position of Head of Logistics and Warehousing for the UK.

Jacquie’s career has been dedicated to logistics. She’s worked for several blue-chip organisations including Carlsberg, Hallmark Cards, DHL and Whitbread. Jacquie has experience of managing both insourced and outsourced operations and a strong background in leading large teams and instigating business change.

- Jacquie Lightfoot, Executive Director