Marks & Spencer director of food George Wright is to become the next CEO of food redistribution charity FareShare.
Wright, who has 30 years of retail and food experience, having also held senior commercial roles at Tesco, John Lewis and Coles in Australia, will take up the position in July. He will take over from veteran CEO Lindsay Boswell, who is stepping down after 13 years at the helm.
FareShare said Wright would bring with him a “deep understanding” of the food industry, having worked at M&S for almost four years and led its food trading, supply chain and logistics teams through Covid and Brexit.
Boswell has been a key figure in the war on food poverty, with the organiation having seen a huge increase in donations from retailers and suppliers.
Last year, the charity redistributed 128 million meals worth of food to 9,500 charities in communities across the UK.
However, FareShare has also warned the impact of the cost of living crisis has meant it still does not get enough food to meet demand from food banks and other volunteers on the frontline.
It has been campaigning for the government to provide £25m of funding towards the costs of suppliers transporting food surplus.
“I am delighted to welcome George to FareShare,” said its chairman John Bason. “He brings a deep understanding of the food industry along with a wealth of experience of running the logistic networks of food supply.
“He has a great desire to make a difference to people’s lives. FareShare has so much to achieve in the coming years to meet the increasing need by charities for the food to support the most vulnerable in society.”
Wright said: “The outstanding commitment of my colleagues in the FareShare network to delivering surplus food to those who need it most is an inspiration to us all, and I can’t tell you how excited I am that John and the trustees have chosen me to support everyone in that purpose.
“I’m also really looking forward to working with our partners across all parts of the food sector and government alike. By continuing to pull together, we can build on Lindsay’s fantastic legacy and take surplus food redistribution to even greater levels, supporting families for whom the cost of living crisis is exactly that – a crisis. I’m determined to ensure that, as an industry, we can address that head-on.”
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