The Billington Group would not be where it is without its amazing teams. In this ‘Our People’ series, we share a bit more about the diverse roles across our businesses and provide some insight into what makes Billington employees tick!
- CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR NEW JOB ROLE?
I’ve joined Billington Foods as Head of Supply Chain, looking across planning, customer services, logistics and warehousing. I’ve joined at a challenging time, particularly for the Supply Chain team, but one that the whole industry is experiencing; we are not alone. What’s important is to work together through these current challenges and remember to keep looking forward. I’ll be looking to discover new ways of working effectively as we emerge from this difficult period, helping us to become a partner of choice for the future.
- WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO COME AND WORK FOR THE BILLINGTON GROUP?
When I researched The Billington Group, I read that it was a company with “ambitious growth plans, looking for people who inspire and deliver change all around them”, and that statement really appealed to me. The company’s values are ones that I found I could relate to, and the family business mentality suits my style. The new Billington Foods organisation was created just as I arrived, and it seemed like a great chance to start at a newly formed organisation.
- CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR CAREER BEFORE THE BILLINGTON GROUP?
Most of my career has been spent in the food industry, in a range of Supply Chain and Procurement roles. Prior to joining Billington Foods I worked at Cargill within the European protein business. Here we produced poultry products for a major QSR customer, and also operated an import business for cooked chicken products, selling into retail, foodservice and B2B. Prior to that I worked at Tyrrells Crisps which was a mix of production for the brand along with private label for many of the major retailers.
- WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT OUTSIDE OF WORK?
I spend most of my time with friends and family: eating out, going to music festivals, weekend trips, travelling, etc. A lot of these activities were on hold over the past 18 months! I live in Hereford near the Welsh border so have seen a bit more of the local countryside more recently and actually have a new-found appreciation for it. I love to travel and have been lucky enough to have visited some fantastic destinations over the years. My last big trip was to Bali in Indonesia and I’m itching to be able to travel again now that restrictions are beginning to ease.
- WHERE IS THE MOST INTERESTING PLACE YOU HAVE TRAVELLED TO?
The most interesting place for me was probably China. A friend of mine moved to Shanghai which provided some friends and I the opportunity to go out and visit somewhere new.
Shanghai is a fantastic city with a population of over 28 million, which took some getting used to! Our friends’ wife is originally from China and acted as our tour guide – we’d have been pretty lost without her! The food is also amazing there, it was definitely a highlight of the trip.
We also spent time in Beijing, Macau and Hong Kong. I’ve been over twice now and hopefully get to travel there again in the future as there’s still so much more to explore.
Stay tuned to meet some more of our teams from across the business.