Gash has been with Waitrose for two years, joining from Safeway, where he spent six years, covering pharmaceuticals and healthcare, bread and then crisps. His earlier career included three years with Unichem and spells with ­Peter Black cosmetics and the Burton Group. Gash believes the buying section is the engine room of the supermarket. "If we don't source the right goods, at the right price at the right time," he says, "nothing else works."

?Spencer Playle Crisps, nuts and snacks buyer, Sainsbury



Playle has been buying crisps, nuts and snacks for Sainsbury since November last year, after two years as a soft drinks buyer. His career kicked off at the chain in 1997, with five years at in-store level, before a role as grocery buying assistant, passing the graduate training programme and becoming a frozen foods buyer.



?Dudley Cooper Crisps and snacks buyer, Morrisons



Cooper became Morrisons' crisps and snacks buyer four years ago, after being trainee buyer for a year. His retail career kicked off with a stint as a merchandiser for Costcutter, where he rose to the role of area manager and finally category manager. He has developed ranges and was involved in cutting salt in own label crisps by 25%.



?Rowan Winter Trading manager, crisps and snacks, MBL



Winter joined Budgens buying department a year ago after a stint at Spar, where she was non food buyer for six months. But she had previously been at MBL partner company Londis for eight years, where she started her career, learning the ropes as a trading assistant before moving on to the role of grocery buyer.



?Lewis Kingsland, Category manager, Booker



Kingsland has been with Booker since February 2005, when he became category manager for some confectionery sections. He added crisps, nuts and snacks to the role three months ago. His buying career has also covered tobacco, phone cards, ambient grocery and fresh foods and roles with Makro and The Co-operative Group. He joined the latter at the age of 16 and worked his way up from the shop floor.



?Emma Greatorex Senior buying manager, Thresher Group



Greatorex arrived at Thresher 18 months ago, following a two-year stint as trading manager for Costcutter. When she first arrived at Thresher, she looked after the convenience arena, adding impulse lines to her role last year. Greatorex started her career on Safeway's graduate training scheme in trading and marketing, and also spent two years with a buying group in Amsterdam.

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