PASA is celebrating 25 years of bringing leading events and valued content to procurement and supply practitioners across Australia and New Zealand.
Procurement and Supply Australia (PASA) – formerly known as btTB – was founded in 1999 by former Informa Sales Director the late Nigel Wardropper, who set out to provide information, education and networking opportunities for travel category managers.
Launching with the btTB Travel Conference in the year 2000 – which still exists as a ‘must-attend’ event to this day – btTB went from strength to strength, winning a CIPS tender in 2004 to become their official conference partner.
In 2013, btTB was rebranded as the PASA we all know and love today, expanding its reach to include all procurement and supply professionals throughout the ANZ region.
With COVID-19 severely impacting the live events industry in 2020, PASA weathered one of its biggest challenges yet but bounced back stronger than ever before, thanks to hard work, adapting strategies and adopting new technologies.
Sadly, as 2020 came to an end, tragedy struck. Nigel passed away suddenly, leaving behind a huge legacy and an even bigger void that was felt across the industry. Nigel’s wife, Lesley Wardropper – who had been involved in the organisation from the very beginning – took over the running of PASA.
Lesley and the dedicated PASA team continue to honour Nigel’s vision, ensuring that he and his legacy live on through the organisation’s brand values: practicality, passion, curiosity and relevance.
Nigel is also remembered through the annual peer-voted NIGELS Awards – formerly the PASA Annual Procurement in Practice Awards – which were rebranded in his memory.
The most prestigious NIGELS accolade, the ‘Most Improved Procurement Team Award’, reflects Nigel’s strong passion that relative improvement is a greater prize than scale or inherited corporate capability.
Today, in its 25th year, PASA is now the largest provider of procurement conferences and events in the ANZ region, with a 50 percent share of the procurement conference market.
With over 10,000 subscribers to PASA’s weekly Insider newsletter, over 50 PASA Connect learning and development roundtables each year, a jam-packed events schedule featuring almost 20 conferences and so much more, it’s safe to say that PASA has packed a lot into the last 25 years.
To celebrate this milestone anniversary, PASA delivers an exciting new conference calendar for 2025, incorporating an expanded New Zealand line-up.
For the first time ever, PASA will host an invite-only CPO exchange in Auckland in May, which complements the established Australian equivalent in August.
The popular PASA Connect Big Breakfast series will also begin its annual tour of major Australian and New Zealand cities in May, extending the line up from seven to nine events with new additions in Wellington and Christchurch.
“As we celebrate this tremendous achievement, I would like to personally thank everyone who has supported PASA over the past 25 years – no matter how big or small,” said Lesley.
“PASA has grown alongside its loyal community, relishing the good times and overcoming significant challenges, all while building on Nigel’s original vision which he executed with such passion and dedication.
“This year, we bring you an expanded line-up and more new content than ever before as we embark on the next 25 years and prepare to welcome a new generation of procurement and supply professionals.”
