You negotiate with Microsoft every few years.
We do it daily.
We know where these suppliers make their margin and where they have room to move. Our proprietary commercial intelligence tells us where to push and how far.
Resetting the leverage
Microsoft, AWS, Salesforce negotiate thousands of deals a year. You negotiate them once every few years.
That creates a structural advantage.
SWAN was founded to reset the leverage.
Michael Burt, a former FTSE Chief Procurement Officer, recognised that combining commercial intelligence, benchmarking and negotiation expertise gives buyers the insight and leverage they need to negotiate better deals.
Meet The Team
Michael Burt
Founder & CEO
Michael Burt is the Founder and CEO of SWAN and a former FTSE Chief Procurement Officer, responsible for managing multi-billion-pound technology spend across market-leading network, IT and fintech businesses.
Over a 20-year career, Michael has led complex, high-stakes, multi-million-pound technology negotiations from inside some of the UK’s largest businesses, giving him a deep understanding of how the world’s largest technology suppliers structure, price and negotiate their deals.
Today, he brings that experience to your side of the table, helping CFOs, CIOs and private equity investors secure stronger commercial outcomes across Microsoft, Salesforce, AWS and other strategic technology suppliers, reducing cost, improving profitability and enterprise value.
Grahame Ball
Partner
Grahame Ball is a Partner at SWAN and an experienced Chief Procurement Officer, having held senior procurement leadership roles across multiple global technology organisations, including Microsoft.
He brings extensive experience in commercial strategy, complex supplier negotiations and procurement transformation, helping organisations secure stronger commercial outcomes from their most strategic supplier relationships.
Grahame holds an MSc in Supply Chain Management from Cranfield University.
Gary Jago
Director
Gary is a senior procurement professional with extensive international experience across financial services, retail, FMCG, the public sector, and aerospace and defence.
He brings deep expertise in commercial strategy, strategic sourcing and complex supplier negotiations, combining strong technical understanding with proven commercial judgement to deliver stronger commercial outcomes.
Gary is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (MCIPS) and holds a First-Class Honours degree in Technology and Business.
Cath Davies
Business Development Director
Cath Davies is Business Development Director at SWAN, responsible for developing client relationships and supporting the firm’s growth across new and existing markets. She brings extensive experience in business development and stakeholder engagement across professional services environments.
How we work
1. Find the opportunity
We analyse your spend, usage and contract structure to identify where value is being lost.
3. Reset the leverage
We build the commercial strategy around supplier priorities, competitive tension and your negotiating position.
2. Benchmark the position
We use commercial intelligence from live market agreements to establish what good looks like and where to push.
4. Deliver the outcome
We negotiate alongside your team to turn identified opportunities into measurable savings and stronger commercial terms.