• £52m turnover business specialising in pot desserts. Manufacturer of all Cadbury desserts in the UK.
• Responsible for managing the Cadbury account, accounting for 45% of the site turnover.
• Management of all accounts except Asda within the business, including Waitrose, JS, Tesco, Ireland, discounters, Danone.
• 2 direct reports – account manager and product development manager
• Moved a key retail account from a loss making position to a positive profit position in 2 months

• Management of all UK sales channels for the business – retail, wholesale, foodservice and B2B with a budgeted turnover for 2007/08 of £18m. Annual growth achieved of 15% in a flat market.
• Management and introduction of a leading brand into a new product sector, with year 1 sales estimated at £1.5m.
• Recruitment, management and development of a new national account management and sales support team
• Direct management of Sainsbury and Tesco accounts, providing annual growth of £1.6m.
• Wholesale consolidation implementation to improve sales opportunities and reduce business complexity

• Prepared, chilled foods supplier to Marks and Spencer with a £126m turnover. Responsible for all commercial and development activity for one of two business units, manufacturing chilled added value ranges, with a £65m turnover
• Responsible for the development of new commercial and product development teams (10 reports)
• Managed and presented a business proposal which resulted in being awarded an additional £9m of pie product ranges and becoming sole supplier to Marks and Spencer for the category
• Achieved budgeted targets for sales and profit for 2005, with a year on year profit increase of 36% against 12% sales increase. Exceeded 2006 budget by 5% across sales and profitability
• Developed the most successful new product range within M&S’ spring catalogue, delivering annual sales of £2.5m
• Secured product inclusion in an M&S TV advert, providing additional sales of £0.6m
• Participant of the RHM Leadership Programme for the top 100 managers within RHM group

National Account Controller
• UK retail cheese division of an international food company with a £210m turnover
• Responsible for a team of 6 National Account Managers looking after a turnover of £120m, including JS, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, Iceland, Tesco, Co-op and discounters
• Deputised for Sales & Marketing Director
• Led the team to take up sole supply status for all own label cheese for The Big Food Group, increasing account turnover from £8m to £21m
• Growth of Morrisons account from £0.5m to £4.5m in 12 months through relationship building and strategic positioning

Senior National Account Manager – JS and Asda key accounts
• Responsible for an account team looking after the JS account (£27m turnover). Year on year sales growth of 20% achieved with key contract secured for 12 months worth £19m
• Development and launch of added value new products in JS which provided additional annual turnover of £2.3m
• Led a consumer research project for a key product sector within the business to fully utilise new equipment investment
• Sales turnover with Asda £22m; grown to be the company’s largest account for 2001 at £41m, primarily through securing a 6 month contract worth £13m plus strategic ranging to grow volume and profitability.
• Development of relationship to become one of 4 key suppliers to the cheese category in Asda.

• Responsible for the category management of Cheese, Salads and Dips (including the Delicatessen) with a sales turnover of £32m, involving cost negotiations, product ranging, pricing and promotional activity
• Moved the Salads, Dips and Cottage Cheese categories from being in decline to a growth level higher than the market performance. Christmas sales improved by 30% on the previous year for Salads and Dips. Improved the profitability of the cheese category by £320,000 per annum
• Development of own brand ranges determining the products launched, the packaging format and their distribution. Managing design briefings, overseeing packaging print runs and first production runs
• Previously responsible for the category management of Butter and Spreads (sales turnover £21m)

FOX’S BISCUITS - Business Development Manager (7/96-9/97)
• Responsible for all packaging and product development for M&S for both seasonal and all year round product ranges from initial concept through to launch (37 products launched in total)
• Extensive involvement with M&S merchandisers, developers and technologists. First technical contact point for M&S.
FOX’S BISCUITS - Account Services Manager (2/96-6/96)
• Control and analysis of M&S stock requirements for both hometrade and export. Resolving day-to-day issues
• Decision making with planning, production services and distribution on operational issues
• Determining product costs and promotional activity with M&S domestic, international and franchise departments.
PARK CAKE BAKERIES - Process Development Technologist (5/95-2/96)
• Responsible for the successful launch of chilled and frozen cake products from concept through to launch
• Extensive contact with the M&S development and technical team with regard to new product launches
NORTHERN FOODS GRADUATE TRAINING SCHEME (9/94-5/95)
• 3 month commercial placement: Fox’s Biscuits: Project Work: ‘International Discounters – A Future for Fox’, encompassing the analysis and subsequent proposal for a suitable trading strategy with the international discounters
• 3 month distribution placement: Dale Farm Yorkshire Region: Project Work: ‘The Rationalisation of the Distribution System for Hull & Wakefield Dairies’. The implementation of the recommendations resulted in an annual saving of £130,000 in transport and staffing costs
• In house training courses on Production, Commercial Aspects and Positive Thinking; A week-long Outdoor Management Development Course in the Lake District

• Conducting research in the area of fats and oils, with particular emphasis on oxidation and subsequent effects on nutritional value
• Supervision of BSc students in Food Chemistry practicals; lecturing to MSc level
• Publication of two papers in the Journal of the Science of Food & Agriculture, presenting one in Atlanta at the American Oil Chemists’ Society Annual Conference