News
Food industry senior appointments: Greencore and John West
Greencore senior appointment
Greencore has appointed Alastair Murray, former chief financial officer (CFO) and director at Premier Foods, as non-executive director.
Murray served as CFO for Premier Foods until September 2019 and has since gone on to hold senior financial positions within FMCG brands Dairy Crest and The Body Shop.
As well as a background in finance, he has significant experience in corporate strategy, restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. He also is an independent member of the Risk and Audit Committee for the Department for Education and currently sits on the board and chairs the Risk and Audit Committee for McBride.
Commenting on his appointment, Greencore chair Leslie Van de Walle said: "We are delighted to welcome Alastair to the Board. His addition brings significant and valuable experience from customer-focused businesses including Dairy Crest and Premier Foods. This, combined with his strong financial experience makes him an excellent addition to the board.”
Murray’s appointment came into effect from 1 February 2023. He will also chair the Group’s Audit and Risk Committee.
New marketing director to fish firm
Canned fish brand John West has appointed Vikki Babb as its new international marketing director, assuming responsibility for the groups marketing int the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and internationally.
Babb joined John West in 2020 as brand controller for Everyday Fish and has previously served in marketing positions across a number of food and drink brands, including Coca-Cola and Tesco. Prior to joining John West, she was director of marketing for Beck’s and speciality beers at InBev.
Paul Stephenson, managing director at John West, said: “I am delighted to welcome Vikki to the John West executive team. Her infectious passion for delivering heathy, innovative, sustainable nutrition to consumers and her candid, authentic leadership will take John West from strength to strength.”
Babb developed and owned the portfolio strategy of more than 200 John West products and the annual brand plan. She led and implemented the brand repositioning through all of John West’s communications channels, resulting in the company’s Eat Strong Go Strong communication.
Meanwhile, in other appointment news, Pembrokeshire Creamery, Oterra and the International Livestock Research Institute all announced senior appointments at the end of last month.
