Speakers

With over 37 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, Garth Kwiecien brings a wealth of administrative and financial expertise to every role he undertakes. A seasoned professional in procurement management, Garth has led teams, established priorities and timelines, and ensured strict compliance with laws, policies, and procedures—all while aligning operations with the broader mission and goals of the agencies he serves. Garth holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science, equipping him with the knowledge and analytical skills to lead complex administrative functions, design and implement programs from the ground up, and navigate the challenges of fiscal constraints and post-recession environments. Over the past two decades, Garth has worked as a contract administrator, senior administrator, supervisor, manager, director, consultant, and most recently, as a Senior Director. In these roles, he has directly managed or overseen the development and issuance of over 2,500 RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, RFBs, contract amendments, and change orders—from initial advertisement to final close-out.

Gilda is a Director at Huron Consulting, specializing in providing implementation services for spend management. With 10 years of experience in Travel and Entertainment (T&E) implementation for global organizations, she brings a wealth of expertise in streamlining processes and optimizing spend management systems. Over the past six years, Gilda has been an integral part of Huron's spend management team, working with both commercial and higher education clients. In her current role, Gilda leads pre-implementation planning projects for higher education clients, ensuring a smooth transition to effective spend management solutions. She has also conducted deployment readiness assessments for higher education institutions, recommending and implementing significant improvements in policy, back-office processes, and Concur site configuration.