Head to Head with Gareth Rhys Williams (Cabinet Office)

Gareth Rhys Williams, Government Chief Commercial Officer, will be in conversation with Jo Causon, as part of our Head to Head series to discuss his thoughts on the challenges ahead.

Gareth Rhys Williams has been the Government Chief Commercial Officer since March 2016, where he has led the transformation of the government’s commercial activities. From building the capability of the Government Commercial Function through a programme of accreditation and senior recruitment to delivering improved contract delivery and savings averaging well over £2Bn a year.

Before joining the Civil Service, Gareth was Chief Executive Officer of PHS Group, a leading provider of outsourced workplace services in the UK. Gareth is an experienced CEO and NED, with a consistent record of reinvigorating and reinventing listed and private equity backed companies through creative growth strategies. He has a strong record of driving transformational change in large, complex and federated organisations.

Prior to his role at PHS, Gareth was CEO of Charter International, the FTSE 250 engineering group, until its successful sale to Colfax Corporation in 2021. Prior to that, he was CEO of Capital Safety Group Ltd, since sold to FFR, and CEO of Vitec Group plc, the supplier of broadcast and photographic equipment and services.

Gareth is a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He is on the Council of FFI, the world’s oldest international conservation organisation.