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B&I Procurement Director |
Brief summary of career so far:
I’ve worked for Cadbury since 2001. Initially as Procurement Sector Manager I managed a team of 8 buyers who bought packaging for all our factories in B&I, then from 2004, I moved into a role doing the same thing but across Europe for our Beverages and Confectionery businesses. I managed a team based in 4 European locations.
From 2006, I was also responsible for buying packaging for our Africa and Turkey businesses, and I also managed someone based in Istanbul.
Before Cadbury I worked for a couple of years at Dyson as Supply Chain Manager. Dyson was a company that was growing 25% a year and only 7 years old! There I led a team of 108 people in planning, the warehouse, distribution & customer service.
Earlier jobs in my career include 4 years doing a similar job to Dyson for a large packaging manufacturer – who was a big supplier to Cadbury. Before that I spent several years in the procurement teams at Master Foods and Northern Foods.
An overview of current role:
I am responsible for managing a team of 25 based at Bournville who buy the packaging and ingredients we use to make our products and also many other goods and services we use: everything from machinery to cars, stationery and office furniture. We are expected to deliver year on year cost savings, measure our supplier’s performance and agree targets to improve business service levels. We spend a great deal of time working across the global procurement team and other departments in Cadbury to improve what we do and what we buy to constantly improve the cost, service and innovation we get from our suppliers.
What do you love about working at Cadbury?
- The spirit and passion and pride that the Cadbury team have about our products.
- Cadbury has played a part in the history of our country, and everyone’s lives, the brand is universally recognised and eating it makes people happy!
- I can walk into any shop that sells confectionery, look at our products and say “I contributed to that fantastic product”
What has been your favourite role and why?
My first job at Cadbury – but I’m hoping that my current one will be the best, I’ve only had it for 2 months so far. Better than any of the other companies I have worked for!
What has been your most difficult role and why?
My role at Dyson; a start up company, only 7 years old, with no processes, systems, procedures, and new supply chain that could not cope with the massive demand for the product. It was a case of being tenacious, setting a plan to cover all the areas that needed improving, and stick to it. We improved customer service from 71% to 99% consistently and I am very proud of that, but it was pretty stressful.
What is your favourite product and why?
Fruit & Nut: it tastes fantastic and I look at it and think about all the suppliers who supply the ingredients and the packaging!