Gill and Annette lead Resilient Cactus Consulting and are supported at by a network of highly experienced and knowledgeable advisers and practitioners in specialist areas. Working with our clients we build resilience, ensure that all policies, accreditations and compliance across their business is robust, compliant and future proofed.
Gill Thorpe
Gill’s passion is being at the forefront of sustainable and ethical best practice and diversity and inclusion driving innovation and change. Gill has over 30 years’ experience as a qualified buyer with Chartered status through The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) where she is also a Fellow.
Gill is also part of the CIPS Fellows Committee and CIPS Special Knowledge Group. These volunteer groups bring insight and knowledge and working with other Fellows Committee members, support events around sustainable and ethical leadership, diversity and inclusion, risk management and compliance as well as emerging topics for members.
Gill started out in the creative services team of a marketing agency before moving into procurement and setting up her own company, The Sourcing Team, in 1996. Gill has led this team to become an accredited B Corp organisation, platinum EcoVadis rating, signatory to UN Global Compact, a SEDEX and WEConnect member to drive best practice.
Gill is part of the Six Butterflies network consulting group developing strategic sustainability, ESG and EHS programmes and also involved in driving diversity and inclusion in business being Founder and now President of the Women Business Enterprise Council (WBE), part of WEConnect to support gender diversity in the supply chain.
Annette Thurgood
Annette started off as a retail buyer before changing direction by moving to communications industry driving strategic solutions for clients across multiple sectors in the commercial and not for profit space.
A key part of this role was leading new business tenders and pitches. In the thick of a tender process or contract renewal an area of constant pressure was not having a thorough and up to date understanding of polices and accreditations required to comply with everchanging regulations.
The benefit of having expert advice to make sure all the requirements were created in advance and the reassurance that all policies and practice were up to date and robust peaked Annette’s interest and involvement in this area.
Annette works with clients to create Beyond Audit programmes to build best practice tailored to each unique organisation and business. This includes taking businesses through an audit journey and development of their own suite of policies to make sure they are compliant, up to date with all current thinking, aware of new regulations on the horizon and that they ready for opportunities as they arise.
