We caught up with Rosanna Carr, Group Business Projects Manager, to learn more about her career journey, her experience of the EMERGE Leadership Programme and her ambitions for the future.
Tell us a little about yourself…
Hello! I’m Rosanna, Business Projects Manager for The Billington Group. I started my journey with The Billington Group back in 2024, with the commercial team at Billington Foods, first as a commercial exec, before moving up into Junior Commercial Manager position in the middle of last year. I was also the sustainability representative for Billington Foods from the beginning of 2025. In May this year, I moved into my new role as Business Projects Manager at Group, which has been very exciting. Because of this, as of very recently, I am based out of Liverpool, and I’m loving it so far!
What does a typical day look like in your role?
My main responsibilities are helping to run strategic projects across the group, monitoring our key competitors and assisting the Group Development Team with any new strategic initiatives, including M&A – it is a very exciting role to be in.
What do you enjoy most about working for The Billington Group?
My favourite part about working for Group is the people and the opportunities – I am very lucky to have worked with brilliant people across the entire business. There are also so many opportunities to learn and develop, and the support that comes alongside those opportunities really makes this a great place to work.
What are you hoping to gain from your EMERGE journey?
Lots of things! But I suppose specifically I’m hoping to build my confidence, develop my leadership skills and get to know more people from across the Group. It’s a really great opportunity to learn from others, hear about their experiences and keep pushing myself to grow.
How did it feel to be selected for EMERGE?
Looking back, I was probably a little shocked, but incredibly proud. To be recognised as someone with the potential to become a future leader is both humbling and motivating. While being selected is a personal achievement, it’s also a reflection of the support I’ve received throughout my career. In particular, I’d like to thank Nicola Mills, Dann Matheson, who have always championed me and my development. Their belief in me has played a huge part in getting me to where I am today, and I’m very grateful for their support.
One of the highlights of EMERGE is being paired with a mentor. You’re working with Katherine Turner, CFO at Carr’s Billington. What excites you most about having Katherine as your mentor?
Having Katherine as my mentor is brilliant – I worked with her during our time at Billington Foods, and I really respect the way she leads her team and operates. I definitely have so much to learn from her, and great that she can offer an outside perspective from my time at Billington Foods. Not sure if she is going to convince me to start running though!
What are your first impressions of the programme so far?
I am loving the programme – one of the highlights has been meeting the other members of EMERGE from across the Group. It’s so interesting to learn more about the variety of roles people do, which I potentially may have never seen had I not been a part of the programme.
The programme itself has been quite introspective so far, encouraging self-reflection and helping us to understand ourselves as people and therefore as leaders. It really helps you understand what your strengths are, and how to lean into them to put your best foot forward.
Tell us something your colleagues might not know about you.
Oooo where to start – I have a black belt in Taekwondo (although I haven’t done it in years!), I was driving tractors way before I was driving a car and I love any and all savoury foods – not a sweet tooth to be found here.
Looking ahead, where would you like your career to take you?
I would like my career to be fulfilling, so I’m less focused on a specific job title and more focused on continuing to do work that challenges and motivates me. I can see my future in either a commercial and/or a project-based role – luckily, the two work very well together, so I’m excited to see where the journey takes me.
“The Emerge programme is a fantastic opportunity for our future leaders to get a broader business perspective and start to develop their leadership skills and I’m delighted to be working with Rosanna in a mentoring relationship.
Mentoring is a two-way process which benefits both parties; Rosanna might not know the impact she is having on me, I’m learning about new ways of thinking and getting a different perspective on things, it’s a win-win for both of us!“, Katherine Turner, CBAL Chief Financial Officer