Start date: August 2010
Location: Melton Mowbray
“I am a Chartered Accountant by training and, prior to joining Samworth Brothers, I spent eight years with Northern Foods and seven years with Ideal Standard Armitage Shanks in a variety of finance roles.
I joined Samworth Brothers as Finance Manager for one of its sites in Leicester. After just over two years in this role, I moved across to another company within the Group as Site Accountant. I became interim Finance Director in July 2013. After eight months, this became a permanent role.
This was a fantastic opportunity for me, as it meant I was part of the team that built the brand new Brooksby Foods, formerly known as Pate Road, and used as an innovation centre to Kettleby Foods. This involved recruiting and creating all of the required departments and processes to create a standalone business from January 2013.
I moved from Brooksby Foods to Melton Foods (about 500 metres) in August 2016 as Finance Director to replace Rod Goss who retired. It was a fantastic opportunity for me to move into a bigger and hugely successful business with plenty of different challenges to be faced. It is culturally very different, operates in a different sector, with different products and with different customers from Brooksby, all of which creates the challenge for the years to come.
As one of the four directors in the business, I contribute to the operational performance and strategic direction of the company, with particular responsibility for all matters financial.
One of the great things about working for Samworth Brothers is that it has a culture of providing employees at every level with a good package of rewards and benefits. Also, as there are 19 companies within the Group, there is plenty of opportunity for people to move between the businesses and gain new experiences.”