How did you get where you are today? I initially trained as a chef and travelled extensively on board the QE2. At 26, I moved from being a chef into sales and marketing for food manufacturers. From there I moved into high-performance packaging and processing, then on to bakery desserts, and then into ethnic food and supply channels. Now I am working with speciality Continental cheeses, having joined EuriLait, the UK subsidiary of two French dairy co-operative groups, Laita and Eurial Poitouraine, as its business development manager in May this year, and I am really loving this new role and different climate.

What was the best decision you have made in your career and why? Well it was that move at the age of 26. I think that this move really developed my set of skills and gave them a much broader application.

Whom do you most admire in the grocery industry? The food industry is the most innovative and dynamic of all industries. It constantly stretches and develops your knowledge and skills and I find this immensely satisfying.

Do you have a mentor and how has he or she helped you in your career? Yes I do have a mentor because I think that this is one of the most important ways that you can develop your career. I still have a mentor, although I have to say that the mentor in question has since also become one of my closest friends.

If you could change one thing in the grocery industry what would it be? I have to say that it would be to provide clear and proper contact information and organisational structures for the various diverse roles within a company. I think that this would save everyone a great deal of wasted time.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? The success. Winning still gives me a great high.

What is the one thing that you could not do your job without? My laptops. Looking back, I do not know how we ever managed without them and mobile phones.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry today? My advice is to mix a little fun into the work and the people. If you do not love your job, then perhaps you should wonder why you are doing it.

What do you like doing when you are not working? I am a rugby fanatic. I used to play, coach and referee. However, now I am too old, so I have started trekking. I am currently in training and planning for base camp K2, the Annapurnas, in the Himalayas for October 2007.

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