Buying Professional Services: How to Get Value for Money from Consultants and Other Professional Service Providers

Fiona Czerniawska is a leading commentator on the consulting industry, and managing director of Source, which provides infromation about the management consulting market. She spent more than 15 years as a management consultant, primarily working in the areas of marketing and strategy, and now speaks, lectures and writes extensively on the consulting industry and related issues. After Oxford University, she obtained a PhD from the University of London, and an MBA (with distinction) from Kingston Business School. Her books include The Intelligent Client and Management Consulting in Practice: Award-Winning International Case Studies. She is also the co-author of Business Consulting: A Guide to How it Works, also published by The Economist.

Peter Smith is an expert on purchasing and supply chain issues, and Managing Director of Procurement Excellence, a specialist consulting firm. He has advised UK public sector organisations such as the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence, and international businesses such as Barclays and Reuters. Before moving into consultancy, he was Procurement Director for the UK's Department of Social Security and the NatWest Group, as well as holding senior purchasing positions at Dun & Bradstreet and Mars. He studied Maths at Cambridge University, and is a Fellow and past President of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.