Paula Ponte, Founder and Principal Consultant

My career has focused on contracts and procurement, supporting organizations through complex projects, operational challenges, and the commercial decisions required to keep work moving.

My experience has taken me across mining and energy environments in the Canadian Arctic, Eastern Canada, Northern Alberta, and Sub-Saharan Africa. I’ve worked within different political and regulatory landscapes, extreme weather conditions, remote locations, complex logistics, and diverse operating environments. Those experiences shaped how I approach contracts and procurement: the operating context is often just as important as the commercial terms themselves.

I’ve managed contracts, led procurement activities, supported major sourcing initiatives, negotiated commercial terms, and worked with teams to bring structure to contract and procurement functions. I’ve also seen firsthand how scattered documentation, inconsistent processes, and hard-to-find contract information can slow decisions and create unnecessary risk.

I started 160W because I had seen the same pattern across different organizations: teams often need practical contract and procurement support that connects commercial decisions to the realities of the work. Sometimes that means supporting a major procurement activity, strengthening contract management, or helping turn years of disorganized files into a structured and usable repository.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa, a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Business Administration, and an Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Athabasca University.

My approach is practical, collaborative, and grounded in industry experience, with a focus on building contract and procurement solutions that organizations can actually use.

Experience

With more than 20 years in contracts and procurement, I have supported capital projects, major expansions, and operational requirements across mining and energy environments. My background includes precious metals and iron ore mining, oil and gas, and the commercial work needed to support complex projects and operations.

My work has included contract strategy and administration, procurement planning, tendering and RFPs, bid and commercial evaluations, negotiations, supplier engagement, change management, claims support, and performance management. I have worked closely with project teams, suppliers, stakeholders, and management to support sound commercial decisions and keep the work moving forward.

Throughout my career, I have seen how poor documentation, inconsistent processes, and disorganized contract records create unnecessary risk and make critical information harder to find. Those challenges were a significant reason I built 160W Contracting Services.