From Apprentice to Procurement Director: Leigh Hurrell’s Journey

What does it take to grow from a young apprentice to leading global procurement transformation?

In this episode of Talent Talks, Leigh Hurrell, Director of Indirect Procurement at Entrust, joins Martin Smith to discuss his two-decade journey through aerospace, defence and technology.

From BAE Systems, Thales, Onfido and now Entrust.
Leigh shares how he built a career grounded in curiosity, long-term planning and a deep belief in the value of trust and relationships.
Leigh offers practical advice for building great teams, fostering transparency with suppliers and balancing commercial rigour with innovation and agility.

This episode is proudly sponsored by https://www.omnea.co/

If you enjoy conversations that unpack leadership, growth and the evolving role of procurement, this one’s for you.

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Chapters
00:00 – Intro
00:40 – How Leigh started in procurement
02:50 – Early lessons from BAE Systems and Thales
06:36 – The power of curiosity and career planning
08:24 – Building lasting supplier relationships
13:19 – Moving to Onfido and adapting to rapid growth
17:42 – Procurement during acquisition and transformation
20:30 – Balancing technology, budgets and risk
23:14 – Building teams and hiring the right people
27:29 – Leadership and team culture
31:10 – The evolution of procurement and new challenges