Ian Makgill
Founder Spend Network Public Procurement, Public Tenders, Open Data, Winning Bids @Spend Network
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WORK HISTORY
Founder Spend Network Public Procurement, Public Tenders, Open Data, Winning Bids @Spend Network
Spend Network uses public data on spending and contracting to create unique insights into the public sector market. We are proud to publish our data openly, giving everyone access to data on public purchasing. Spend Network is not the Open Data Institute\'s start up programme. Our data is used by government and businesses that sell to government.Our services include:+ Market intelligence on the public sector+ International research on public spending+ Pricing predictions for tenders+ Spend analysis, tender pipelines
EDUCATION
Cranfield School of Management
Business Administration and Management, General
Cranfield School of Management
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
SKILLS
ABOUT IAN MAKGILL
I didn’t start my career in government procurement or big data (who does?). My first job was as a bicycle courier in Soho, weaving through London traffic. Those urgent deliveries were usually bottles of scotch, liquid thankyous or expensive apologies. That job didn\'t teach me much more than how to get around central London, but it was a lot of fun.Since then, I’ve followed an annoying ability to understand technology into a career in data. I helped to build some of the first e-commerce platforms in the UK, including Tesco’s early home shopping service and products for WHSmith News. Later, I spent nearly two decades consulting in government procurement and supply chains, where I saw first-hand how to win and keep public sector clients, and how rewarding it can be to work with bright, dedicated civil servants around the world.I\'m a passionate believer in the power of open data: when information is made transparent and accessible, it fuels innovation, accountability, and growth. At OpenOpps, we’re proving that principle every day by turning vast, messy datasets into tools that help businesses of every size win and making that data available to researchers and academics under an open license.We\'ve been collecting public procurement data for over 20 years, in 2024 we relaunched OpenOpps.com: the world’s most comprehensive tender alert service where we aggregate data from over 180 countries. Today, we track $13 trillion of global opportunities, offering multilingual search, categorisation, and competitor analysis so that businesses can navigate the market with confidence.I’m passionate about how AI and big data can level the playing field—making government contracts more transparent and helping businesses of every size find their way into this vast market.If you’re curious about data, public services, growth, or how to apply AI to real-world datasets, let’s connect. I’m always up for a conversation about the “routes” others are taking and the opportunities they uncover.
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