Questions
1. How long have you been an Interim?
I am a long serving professional interim with 12 years experience.
2.What was your career before you became an Interim?
Technical Manager Sun Valley Poultry.
3. What is your current / most recent assignment?
Uniq Prepared Sandwiches and Deli Dips looking at the effective control of suppliers to reduce customer complaints.
4. What has been your best assignment so far?
Interim Technical Manager and Operations Manager for Hazlewood Breadwinner when the company moved to the new premises in Park Royal and achieving J Sainsbury’s accreditation.
5. If you could choose, what would be your alternative career outside of food?
I would like to be a professional rally driver, as it also involves taking calculated risks, and I love driving but I'm pretty rubbish.
6. What’s the best part of being an Interim?
The variety of people that you meet and friendships that develop, but most importantly of all, the satisfaction of achieving results in a short timescale.
7. And the worst?
When you arrive in Romania, the client has forgotten to meet you at the airport and you are faced with not speaking the language, trying to cross Bucharest by taxi, buy a train ticket, locate the right train, and then hold onto your luggage for 3 hours to prevent it being stolen. Moral of the story always double check the travel arrangements and have a contingency plan.
8. Most memorable assignment?
The most memorable assignment has to be with Hazlewood Greencore, and the move into the brand new Park Royal site, with all the challenges of a new site and also under new ownership. But on lighter note the assignment ended with me accompanying the Raw Materials Manager to Thailand to audit a potential poultry supplier, where on one occasion after dinner it was safer to do the Karaoke ( Cats Choir) than sit it out with the “Lady Men.”
9. What new trends do you see developing in the Food Industry?
An increased use of interim managers to quickly solve problems and to train and develop an existing team, in what has become an increasing more demanding industry, where there are definite skill shortages.
10. Who would you most like to invite to dinner – and why?
Alan Sugar, because of his passion for success both in business and football.
11. GM Foods – Mountain or Molehill?
It does exist and we are challenged by it daily, but asked if we really need GM, my answer is no, we don’t, if we use the right agricultural methods and place a stronger emphasis on quality over profit. Having worked in the food industry for over 30 years I have seen the move from the wholesale use of additives, artificial flavourings and preservatives to the reduction of their use, and the resulting overall improvements in the quality of our prepared foods. For the sake of our health, and in particular our children’s, let’s not take a backward step in producing clean safe foods.
12. What would you most like to change in the Food Industry?
A much wider acceptance of the BRC standard to reduce the number of supplier audits which occur, despite factories having an A Grade accreditation, for which the standard was originally designed.
13. Who do you most admire – and why?
Martin Keown, Arsenal & England Defender, a West Country chap, like me, who worked hard, was solid, dependable, and a leader who made it to the top.
14. Favourite film?
At the moment Cars, because the children love it, but most of all because of the moral message “do it right first time” taken from when he repairs the road quickly and it’s a disaster.
15. If you won the lottery what would be the first thing you’d buy?
An interim management company, so that I could bring together all the people and talents I have met over the years and continue my work in providing solutions to the industry.
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