Name: Sophia Cooke
Job title: CEO
Company & location: Dell’ Ugo
What was your first job: After studying Physics at the University of Surrey, my first full-time job was a graduate fmcg buyer for the Pelican Buying Company.
What’s been your worst job interview? I had an interview once a number of years ago with a startup food manufacturer and brand. The people interviewing me were very interested in what I was saying, the questions kept coming and I thought it was going really well. They kept me there for hours and when I left, I really thought it was in the bag.
When I eventually got the feedback, they apparently went with someone else, much more junior, and I realised that they had just drained me of information and ended up with their company strategy written!
What was the first music single you bought? It was mostly albums when I was young and my first was Off the Wall by Michael Jackson. It still is an absolute classic.
How do you describe your job to your friends? As my dream job… whilst being relentless! It goes from eating mountains of pasta, discussing contracts with lawyers, looking at new machinery, being interviewed on live TV, meeting and working with amazing people and climbing mountains in Italy looking for Marsican brown bears that we sponsor.
“There is not time to rest, every day is different and the world is your oyster!”
What is the most rewarding part of your job? Making people happy. This ranges from consumers loving the food we create and sending us lovely messages, customers working with us and seeing the growth we can achieve together.
But the most rewarding part is the team, seeing them learn, progress, develop and achieve. Helping to give them the opportunity to try things, fail and the resilience to get back up and be better. We are one big family and it is amazing what can be achieved with support and guidance.
What is the least rewarding part? Dealing with inflation at both ends of the chain, whilst trying to minimise the impact on our business and staying true to our values. Maintaining our quality standards and putting our customer first isn’t always easy when things around you are volatile.
What is your motto in life? What you choose to focus on becomes your reality and always find a reason to laugh, because life is too short.
If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? Time. There aren’t enough hours in the day so if I could have an extra hour purely for exercise – running, walking or yoga – that would be bliss!
Do you have any phobias? Nothing I would call a phobia, but I have an absolute aversion to bad fonts… particularly Comic Sans.
If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? Government policies. Currently there are too many loopholes in the mission to be more sustainable and we need to hold people to account. Businesses aren’t going far enough, quickly enough, to help create a better planet.
What luxury would you have on a desert island? A Brita water filter… so I survive?
What animal most reflects your personality? Definitely a monkey. I was born in the year of the cheeky monkey and anyone that knows me, knows how appropriate this is.
What’s your favourite film and why? I went to stage school and grew up with music and musicals. What film I love, depends on what mood I am in, but my go to in any mood has got to be Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, everything from Cats to Jesus Christ Superstar. Yes, my guilty pleasure is that I have to sing along.
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What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? Less embarrassing but the experience has been a great lesson in what not to do.
When I was the watch buyer for World Duty Free, they were building Heathrow Terminal 5 at the time. We (the buyers) spent months looking for exclusive products to launch with as it was a big deal, Heathrow was one of the busiest airports in the world. In my infinite wisdom, I sourced 500 exclusive limited edition T5 watches. They had airplane wings as hands, the bezel was titanium and the boxes were made of beautiful varnished mahogony, shaped as the actual Terminal 5 building.
I committed to 500 units of these individually numbered watches and six months after we had opened, I had only managed to shift 50! We ended up having to give them away to staff as gifts, who probably never wore them. I still have one!
Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? Romesh Ranganathan. I love his sense of humour, he makes me cry and not many people do! Working with him on anything would be an absolute riot.
What would your death row meal be? Growing up in Bangkok, I had such wonderful memories of the street food markets and amazing aromas. Som tum, khao niao and grilled chicken has got to be my absolute favourite meal. Has a bit of everything, spicy papaya salad, sticky rice and the charcoal flavour on the chicken is always a winner.
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