Inside the Doors: Business Development Team
The formation of OECM’s Business Development (BD) Team in May 2022 is a testament to this organization’s growth and expansion as a leading supply chain entity supporting public sector procurement. The BD Team serves a strategic function to identify business opportunities and partnerships within existing and new sectors. Working closely with key government partners such as Supply Ontario, Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery of Ontario (MPBSD), Ministry of Education (MEDU), Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) and other related ministries, the BD Team strives to support broader government objectives to ensure alignment with customer priorities.
The BD Team is led by Director Jim Hadjiyianni, managed by Senior Manager, Patrice Likamshum and supported by Business Development Lead, Luba Medvedeva, Strategic Projects Lead, Tommy Theophanopoulos, Project Manager Nala Balarajan, and Business Analyst, Francesca Arcadi. Each member of this dynamic team contributes to strengthen and grow existing relationships with OECM’s industry partners, provide valuable research and insights into emerging markets, and facilitate opportunities for cross-collaboration.
Built upon the strategic framework and past accomplishments experienced within the education sector, the BD Team aims to further contribute to OECM’s success through business growth in other sectors, including municipalities, healthcare, and not-for-profit organizations. The team is currently working alongside OECM’s Strategic Sourcing team and providing expertise on the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems project for School Boards, which is presently in the evaluation stage. Furthermore, BD Team members have participated in several industry conferences as OECM’s business experts and developed a targeted Municipal Strategic Advisory Team to prioritize municipal customer needs.
As Hadjiyianni notes, “the establishment of the Business Development Team further reinforces OECM’s commitment to aligning our strategic objectives with customer priorities – we are taking an organic approach by listening to our customers and exploring strategic partnerships that will drive value to our customers and suppliers.”
