Former Sainsbury’s buyer David Guest is finding life very different on the supplier side of the fence in his new role as marketing and commercial manager for Walkers Shortbread.
Having joined Walkers Shortbread in April this year after 26 years at Sainsbury, in numerous roles, latterly as trading manager for household and petcare, Guest says he is enjoying the flexibility his new position brings.
“At Sainsbury there was more structure and a lot of management, team and individual meetings. But now there is less monitoring and justification as it is a small business with fewer management layers.
“Previously, on Mondays I would have been in a meeting but now I can have meetings when I want or simply liaise with colleagues,” he explains.
Guest also says that his experience of managing Sainsbury’s biscuit, cereal and cake sector for more than five years has really helped him in his new role. At Walkers, he is responsible for ensuring profitability and continued sales growth within the WeightWatchers range of cookies and biscuits, including managing new product development and marketing activity. “I worked closely with Walkers Shortbread while I was at Sainsbury so it provides the ideal background for my new role,” he says.
Guest has also found that working on the WeightWatchers brand has opened his eyes to the importance of diet and lifestyle. He explains that when he left Sainsbury he swapped a four-mile walk to and from the head office in Holborn, London, for a 30-mile commute around the M25. However, Guest now fits in a 15-mile bike ride or five-mile run before work every morning. “My motivation was learning about WeightWatchers and how the whole project works,” explains Guest. “It made me realise WeightWatchers is not just a diet. It’s also a lifestyle as well.”
Having joined Walkers Shortbread in April this year after 26 years at Sainsbury, in numerous roles, latterly as trading manager for household and petcare, Guest says he is enjoying the flexibility his new position brings.
“At Sainsbury there was more structure and a lot of management, team and individual meetings. But now there is less monitoring and justification as it is a small business with fewer management layers.
“Previously, on Mondays I would have been in a meeting but now I can have meetings when I want or simply liaise with colleagues,” he explains.
Guest also says that his experience of managing Sainsbury’s biscuit, cereal and cake sector for more than five years has really helped him in his new role. At Walkers, he is responsible for ensuring profitability and continued sales growth within the WeightWatchers range of cookies and biscuits, including managing new product development and marketing activity. “I worked closely with Walkers Shortbread while I was at Sainsbury so it provides the ideal background for my new role,” he says.
Guest has also found that working on the WeightWatchers brand has opened his eyes to the importance of diet and lifestyle. He explains that when he left Sainsbury he swapped a four-mile walk to and from the head office in Holborn, London, for a 30-mile commute around the M25. However, Guest now fits in a 15-mile bike ride or five-mile run before work every morning. “My motivation was learning about WeightWatchers and how the whole project works,” explains Guest. “It made me realise WeightWatchers is not just a diet. It’s also a lifestyle as well.”
No comments yet