Pendergrast will report to commercial director Frank Robinson and had previously worked for more than three years in 2 Sisters’ ‘food-to-go’ and ‘meal solutions’ operations as commercial controller and then head of commercial.
Prior to joining 2 Sisters, the Reading University graduate held senior sales roles with Cranswick, Uniq and Glanbia.
“I’m excited by the new role and looking forward to working with the team at Holburn,” said Pendergrast. “I'm absolutely passionate about doing the right thing and keeping the customer at the heart of everything that we do.”
“Gill will be a great boost to our commercial team,” said Robinson, who joined 2 Sisters earlier this year. “She has the experience to build a winning team and the focus to drive the category forward.”
Five Star Fish
Meanwhile, Five Star Fish, 2 Sisters’ Meal Solutions division at Grimsby, has hired two new members of staff to its fish buying team. Jason Letch and Andrew Nicholson both recently joined the factory that supplies chilled and frozen coated fish.
Letch, an ex-fisherman, joins as the category manager for fish after 20 years’ experience of sourcing seafood from around the world. He has held senior buying roles at British Seafood and Towers Thompson Seafood where he was responsible for purchasing and importing fish.
“My role is to build on our existing relationships so we can supply our customers with the high quality fish that they have come to expect from us,” said Letch.
New seafood sustainability and process manager Nicholson will support Letch in building and developing these long-term relationships. He brings a wealth of experience in developing production standards and sustainable sourcing policies having previously worked at Lyons Seafood as head of supplier assurance and the Co-op as its fish sustainability manager.
“I’m looking forward to working with Jason and our technical team to deliver the continuous improvement in sustainable sourcing and product quality,” said Nicholson. “2 Sisters has demonstrated that we are committed to producing the very best quality retailer own-label products, sourced using only the most sustainable, ethical and environmentally friendly raw materials.”
Bakkavor’s new technical director
Elsewhere, chilled prepared foods specialist Bakkavor Group has appointed Yvette Sowerby as its technical director.
Sowerby, who joins from Sainsbury where she held roles as head of technical for chilled foods and subsequently head of technical for packaged foods, has extensive technical experience with both food manufacturing and retail operators.
Prior to her time at Sainsbury, Sowerby worked in a number of senior technical roles, including two separate appointments at Marks & Spencer spanning a total of 20 years.
In her new role, she will be part of the UK operational team but will also use her expertise to provide technical support to Bakkavor’s US and Asia operations.
Commenting on her appointment, Mike Edwards, chief operating officer for Bakkavor UK, said: “I am delighted to welcome Yvette to Bakkavor. I am confident that her expertise will prove of significant value as we continue to drive the technical standards across our business.”