Focus on Procurement interviews Mel Ahnau, Managing Director of Conscious Buying

Where are you from?

He uri ahau nō Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa hoki.

I am a descendant of Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Kahungunu in the Wairoa district.

I was raised in Wainuiomata and have lived in Wellington for most of my life, except for 2 years spent living in Gisborne.

What did you train in and where did you study?

I left home and school quite suddenly when I was young due to challenges within my family at the time. In the years that followed, I moved around frequently, meeting people from all walks of life and was exposed to some of the community and societal issues I now work hard to play my small part in tackling. I returned to formal study at the age of 26. I studied business administration and worked as an administrator for a year before being asked to cover the role of a procurement advisor while she went on maternity leave. Since then, I’ve built my career in procurement, completing all my qualifications while studying part-time over 5 years, working full-time, and raising my daughters. This was possible thanks to the incredible support of managers who recognised my potential. Now, I hold national and international qualifications in procurement, project management, social procurement, negotiation, contract management, engineer to the contract, and te reo me ōna tikanga Māori.

What attracted you to a role in procurement? And what keeps you here?

Very early in my career, I worked on a programme to install clean heating and insulation in homes. A cost–benefit analysis was carried out, and I was struck by the indirect positive outcomes it revealed. Warmer, drier homes meant children missed fewer days of school, elderly people experienced fewer respiratory issues, and overall workplace productivity improved.
That experience shaped my understanding of the power of procurement to change lives and protect the environment. Procurement is more than a process. It can open doors for local businesses, provide people with the opportunity to work in industries they love, ensure fair wages for their skills, and improve the well-being of whānau and communities. I enjoy problem-solving to design approaches to the market that maximise these wider benefits.

What advice would you give anyone considering a career in procurement?

Procurement, both in Aotearoa and globally, is undergoing a shift. It’s no longer just about buying goods, works and services efficiently or driving down costs at any expense. Today, it’s about building strategic relationships, ensuring value for money, supporting environmental goals, and using the government’s purchasing power to deliver long-term, positive outcomes for people and communities. The World Commerce and Contracting organisation has been an invaluable source of support throughout my career, and I highly recommend their learning opportunities and events to anyone seeking to deepen their technical skills.

My advice to those considering a career in procurement is to remain curious and humble enough to continuously learn from others. Even after 15 years I still have a lot to learn. Always hold onto your “why,” and to surround yourself with a strong network of like-minded peers.

Qualifications and training provide a vital foundation, but true success lies in the ability to bring people with you, helping business groups achieve their goals while also contributing to broader societal outcomes. Technical skills are important, but so too are empathy, active listening, and supporting those who are more reserved to share in groups settings, to capture diverse ideas.

This work is not always easy. Procurement teams can sometimes be viewed as a roadblock, and there will be times of doubt or resistance. It’s important to reflect on our why and focus on the communities we are here to serve.

Can you please detail your top 3 achievements from your time in procurement?

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of being recognised with awards, contributing to the multi-organisational procurement reform, working on significant projects and speaking at public events. Those experiences were valuable, but my greatest sense of achievement has come from the less visible moments, the times when I’ve seen shifts in thinking. When people have realised the power, they have to change the trajectory of another person's life and contribute to positive societal outcomes, one contract at a time.

The true milestones have been when people begin to see procurement differently, when they start to consider disadvantaged or minority groups in their processes, or when they reframe how they approach the market with fairness and inclusivity in mind. These are the moments when I know change will ripple through future decisions, achieving more than anything I could do alone.

Social procurement is important to you. Could you please share your definition of what social procurement is and how you operate inside that space?

Social procurement is about achieving indirect positive outcomes for people, communities, and the environment through the way we spend.

Looking ahead, I’d like to see the term “social procurement” become unnecessary. Ideally, procurement and contract management should naturally embody the principles of social procurement, so they’re woven into everyday practice rather than treated as a separate policy area. In the same way that we routinely carry out market analysis or write business cases, considering social and environmental outcomes should be part of the standard procurement process.

A lot of my work is helping people and organisations to operationalise these principles in their unique communities and environments. Local supplier bases, organisational priorities, and environmental needs differ. It has been a real privilege to customise procurement and contract management approaches within the parameters of the rules, giving people confidence to achieve their goals to serve their communities and protect the environment using procurement as an enabling tool.

What are the possible gains for the public when indirect benefits are considered as part of the procurement process?

Social procurement delivers many indirect outcomes: job creation, economic growth, better health, reduced crime and stronger education outcomes. The most profound impact I’ve seen is when people can do work they genuinely love, at a fair and reasonable price. This financial stability enables them to provide a better life for their whānau, which in turn strengthens the whole community.

I have benefited from programmes directly and indirectly via having access to a specialised kindergarten programme that could care for my daughter, who had quadriplegic cerebral palsy and was paralysed from her neck down. The direct benefits were that my daughter had a safe place to learn, develop, and socialise. The indirect benefits were that I was able to continue studying and working to provide for my family. Without that support, our quality of life and opportunities to contribute to society would have been significantly reduced over a long period.

We know that poverty drives many of the negative outcomes we see in health, crime, and overall well-being. In recent years, my focus has shifted more toward direct and indirect economic development due to this correlation, through approaches such as unbundling contracts, targeted market engagement, and relational contract management processes. These methods help business owners build their capability, gain experience in delivering contracts, and establish a track record that allows them to increase their chances of winning more work.

You’ve been part of a deployable commercial team, mandated by Cabinet, that works across the government system, supporting agencies to deliver complex commercial projects. How did that happen and what was that like to be part of?

A mentor I have encouraged me to apply for the role in NZGP’s commercial pool, telling me it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work alongside and learn from some of the best commercial practitioners in the country. She was absolutely right. I still remember being interviewed and feeling star-struck by one of the panellists who had led the Scott Base redevelopment in Antarctica, navigating the extraordinary complexities of building a research station in such a remote and hostile environment.

From my first week, I realised I would need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, and that I was about to experience more personal and professional growth than ever before. Soon after I started, New Zealand entered Level 4 lockdown, and I was deployed to MIQ: Future of Infrastructure. It was fascinating to be exposed to that fast-paced world, learning about virology and working in a high-pressure commercial environment under tight deadlines. What stood out even more was watching our manager lead with calmness and strategy, never panicking despite the immense pressure. He was intelligent, had a great sense of humour, and genuinely cared for people. I knew instantly that this was the kind of leader I aspired to become.

Over time, I came to see that many of my colleagues shared those qualities. I often joked with friends that it felt like working with the Avengers of Procurement. Later, I was deployed to a project focused on creating a supplier panel that included Māori and local businesses with a commitment to equitable work allocation. I couldn’t set it up and walk away; I wanted to see it succeed, so I left the commercial pool to dedicate 2 years to working on that project directly, where I learned a great deal that I now share back with the system.

The commercial pool team was exceptional, and I’ve worked hard to maintain my connection with both the past members who have moved on and the new Advisory Services Team. Being part of that team was a privilege, and it has shaped the way I lead and approach complex projects to this day.

In 2023, you were Aotearoa New Zealand’s sole nominee for the World CC Foundation’s Inspiring Women compilation. How did that feel? And has that changed you?

I’m still just Mel. I’m incredibly grateful to have been selected as an Inspiring Woman alongside 18 incredible women from around the world, because that recognition allows me to share my messages with large national and international audiences.

There have been times in my career when I’ve felt like the only person in the room who could see the vision I was holding, or when naysayers tried to dampen my passion. The nomination came at a time when I was beginning to feel tired, and it gave me the wind in my sails to keep going.

I’ve never been motivated by awards or recognition for their own sake, but I’ve seen how they can create a platform. People tend to listen more, or are less likely to dismiss innovative ideas, when you have a strong track record for delivering complex projects and public acknowledgements. If recognition helps me share my messages further and show others how to create a positive impact, then I’m all for it.

Your expertise is in expanding supplier diversity, which aligns with addressing child poverty and wealth creation. How were you able to build your expertise in this area and can you explain how expanding supplier diversity can impact child poverty and wealth creation?

Much of my expertise has been shaped by lived experience. I’ve walked alongside whānau in poverty, I’ve spent time with young people in state care, and I’ve witnessed the effects of violence and generational trauma. I also cared for my late daughter, who had cerebral palsy, navigating a fragmented health system on her behalf. These experiences grounded me in the reality of inequity and taught me the power of a “hand up.” It is this understanding that motivates me to use procurement and commissioning as tools to create opportunity and lasting change.

At times, working in government can feel disconnected from the communities we serve. That’s why I place such importance on being present in those communities, listening, learning, and building trust. Impactful procurement is not theory; it’s practical, hands-on mahi that requires strong networks, transparency, probity, and not setting false expectations. Expanding supplier diversity means that Māori, Pasifika, and locally owned businesses gain equitable access to opportunities. The research shows, and I’ve seen first-hand, that these businesses often provide natural pastoral care for their employees. When the most vulnerable in our society thrive, we all benefit generationally.

For practitioners starting out, I encourage connection with networks like Amotai, whose conferences and community are welcoming and insightful. Once you know your community, you can begin designing robust approaches to market that actively reduce barriers and create pathways for diverse suppliers. I’m proud that Te Matarau a Māui will soon launch free resources to guide procurement practitioners through this process too.

You contributed to economic development agency WellingtonNZ’s report, ‘Opportunities for Impact through Procurement”. How did you get involved in the project? And do you have any key takeaways from that experience you can share?

A wahine toa invited me to share some insights from a supplier panel I was managing at the time. While I wasn’t responsible for authoring the report itself, I acknowledge the WellingtonNZ team and Puna Awarau, who put in countless hours to develop it. My role was to contribute a case study that demonstrated how procurement, when designed thoughtfully, can deliver meaningful impact.

That experience reinforced for me the power of connecting real-world examples with strategy. Case studies help bring policy and theory to life; they show people what’s possible when procurement decisions are used not just to buy goods, works and services, but to strengthen communities, create opportunities for local businesses, and generate lasting social and economic benefits.

What is the most exciting thing happening in procurement right now?

One of the most exciting shifts I’m experiencing and seeing globally is the way technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), is transforming procurement. For a long time, procurement has been viewed as highly process-driven, with heavy administrative demands.

What excites me most is the potential for AI to free up procurement professionals from repetitive tasks, allowing us to focus on building relationships, designing more equitable approaches to the market, and achieving impactful strategic outcomes. I imagine a system in the near future where AI automates compliance checks and contract reporting, allowing practitioners to use that time to engage with the communities we serve and develop accessible and impactful opportunities.

In an ideal world where you were not confined by a budget, what would you introduce to procurement that could help the industry function and develop?

I would invest in a nationally recognised qualification with an after-hours learning programme that combines technical knowledge with experiential learning to help build procurement capability. Where procurers could gain best practice commercial and procurement skills, learn from supplier diversity case studies, and relational contract management.

An equally powerful part of the programme would be the opportunity to learn from a diverse group of inspirational speakers, including individuals from the disability sector, former gang members, and others who have experienced a hand up in their own lives.

These voices bring fresh perspectives, foster empathy, and illustrate the broader societal impact of inclusive procurement practices. It could even involve a road trip or an international trip to visit other government procurers, communities and business groups to learn and develop. I studied social procurement online via a Canadian provider, at 3am in the morning! Going to places like Canada and Norway to learn about the methodologies they employ could help us to accelerate the evolution of procurement in our country.