Executive experience 1982 to 2012
11 years in the Co-operative Group as Managing Director of the Co-operative Farms (now owned by the Wellcome Trust), including a year on the Co-operative Food Executive Board
- Credited with turning round the farming business, losing £6m p.a, to one of the most respected farming businesses in the UK, in 2011 making £6m profit
- Integrated production vertically into packing and branded produce in Co-op stores
- Encouraged co-operation in machinery sharing, input purchasing and focus on R&D
- Initiated the award-winning “From Farm to Fork” project which has had over 250k school children spend an educational day on a farm and Habitat Heroes, a project enhancing the environment for red-listed species on the farms
- The farm sold at £50m premium to the value of the land, which I perceive as the value I added
12 years in fast moving consumer goods: brand management with Mars Confectionery and Vodafone and Marketing Director at Anchor Foods (now Fonterra)
- Launched the Tracker brand at Mars Confectionery and created the Milky Way advertising still known to children today (through You Tube).