Paul Bennell has been elected as the new president of the Cold Chain Federation.
The current Samworth Brothers supply chain MD has taken over the baton from Tim Moran, who stepped down last week after seven years at the helm.
Bennell, who was named as CCF vice president last year, has been a member of the group’s board since 2019.
He will now be responsible for addressing the challenges facing the chilled storage and distribution sector, including helping members navigate the forthcoming changes to trade and logistics as part of post-Brexit deals such as the Border Target Operating Model and the Windsor Framework.
“The Cold Chain Federation has really come to the fore over the past few years, delivering a powerful and constructive voice for our industry when we have needed it the most,” said Bennell.
“It has also built a more diverse membership base with companies joining from across the main product and temperature regime supply chains that make up UK cold chain.
“Our industry is facing into a challenging time, and my priorities for the Cold Chain Federation as its president include supporting our industry in navigating inflationary pressures while also ensuring the cold chain voice is heard by politicians and policymakers on the issues that affect our operations.”
Agenda
The CCF’s new president said supporting members on their journey towards net zero was also “high” on his agenda.
Bennell is best known as Samworth Brothers MD, a role he has held for about nine years, but he has also held other senior roles in European supply chain for over 30 years, including at the Co-op, Brakes Group, DHL and Asda.
The federation’s CEO Shane Brennan said he was “very much looking forward to working with him as he leads the Cold Chain Federation into the future”.
“Paul embodies the forward-thinking, knowledgeable and skilful approach that makes the UK’s cold chain so impressive,” Brennan added.
“Paul and I will be taking the cold chain message to ministers and MPs with federation members from across the UK at our House of Commons reception later this month, as we continue to show them what the cold chain contributes to our nation and how their decisions can support a strong and resilient temperature-controlled supply chain.”
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