HEAD OF CONTRACTING & PERFORMANCE, NHS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, 29

In 2002 Kristian Smith joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as a trainee doing everything from opening the post to learning about procurement. Two years later he joined Coventry City Council as a strategic procurement officer, followed by a contracts manager role, before becoming service head for contracts and governance.

In only a few years he has worked his way up to become a head of procurement in the public sector. His current role, head of contracting and performance at NHS Northamptonshire, is a senior management post with responsibility for achieving value for money, improved service delivery and market management for a £150 million primary care budget with 300 contracts spanning GP, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy and estates.

Smith was also the youngest CIPS examiner in the country when appointed and has completed a masters in procurement. Earlier this year he was strategic procurement director at Matrix SCM on a short-term contract. As part of the senior management team, he attended meetings of the board, chaired by business entrepreneur James Caan.