My Alternative CV: Saputo’s Christopher Owen on Sheese, kisses and compulsory pilates

Name: Christopher Owen

Job title: Head of marketing: plant-based

Company: Saputo Dairy UK

What was your first job? A Saturday job as a teenager working in a greengrocers, so my grocery journey started very early on!

After this, my first proper job was at Tate & Lyle on the graduate trainee scheme. In this role, I started as a planner (planning production on the icing sugar and sugar cube lines) before rotating into the sales department, then on to the customer services department and then into marketing. This role confirmed my interest in pursuing a lifelong career in marketing.

What’s been your worst job interview? I’ve been lucky to not have any terrible interviews, but there is a certain question I was asked once that has stuck in my mind.

I was asked to imagine I was the captain of a hockey team, and I needed to choose who on my team would take the winning penalty. I picked my star striker first but was told they’d missed, after a few more misses I volunteered myself to step up and take the penalty, but we missed again. This went on for a couple more rounds until we scored. At the time I didn’t understand the question at all, but I must have done something right because I got the job!

I later asked my boss why he asked that question and it was to test my resilience, so I’m glad I didn’t accept defeat after we missed the first few penalties! I must say I have not asked any of my own interviewees that question since, but maybe I should.

What was the first music single you bought? I always get a hard time for this answer, but I have never purchased any albums or singles – which people always find odd! I have never been into music; it is just not my thing.

“If Taylor Swift suggested everyone should try Bute Island Sheese then my job of increasing sales is done in an instant!”

How do you describe your job to your friends? I tell people I sell vegan cheese because no one really knows what marketing is. My children (aged 13, 11 and nine) tell people I make cheese!

What is the most rewarding part of your job? For me, my favourite part of my role is the people – the people I work with and the people we make products for.

I really enjoy helping my colleagues achieve in their roles and, as just as importantly, to have fun in their working environment. What brought me into marketing was a curiosity of seeing and understanding what consumers want, the who, what, where, when, why and why not. I find consumers fascinating and you can never take them for granted.

What is the least rewarding part? Anything admin-related! Mundane admin work isn’t for me. I am currently setting up new suppliers on the PO system and the number of forms required for approvals is rather soul-destroying.

What is your motto in life? “Nothing is impossible.” I have always believed this and when I saw it on the steps of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, it cemented it in my mind. It really resonates with me and I use it as a mantra every day.

If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? Compulsory pilates, yoga or stretching classes every day. I feel so cramped up at my desk all day and I think we all should be moving and stretching more to make us healthier at work. I try to do it weekly but I never get around to it. The ambition is there but it falls off the priority list. If it was scheduled into my day I would 100% do it and would feel better for it.

Do you have any phobias? I’m not a fan of heights, although I would happily go rock climbing or abseiling because I know I am strapped in and logically can’t fall. But I can’t look over the side of a tall building or bridge knowing I am not attached to it.

If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? I would love it if supermarkets made it easier to be inspired to create a different meal of the week, ideally with vegan cheese such as our Bute Island Sheese featured in it. I remember reading that people only have a repertoire of five meals and think it would be brilliant to have a place in the store to inspire you to try and make a different meal weekly.

It would be a one-stop location; with all the ingredients you need for a new meal recipe in one physical location in stores.

What luxury would you have on a desert island? Ice cream! It has to be a Mighty Salted Caramel & Brownie ice cream, which is delicious and plant-based.

What animal most reflects your personality? A chimpanzee, because they are curious, social and occasionally mischievous.

What’s your favourite film and why? I love film, but when you have kids, you stop going to the cinema! My favourites are the classics of the 1980s and 1990s, which fill me with nostalgia.

My absolute favourite is The Goonies. I just love the sense of adventure, not everything being as it seems, and you might even find some treasure along the way.

Read more on Saputo Dairy UK:

• Tom Atherton to leave Cathedral City owner Saputo Dairy UK

• Who holds the power in UK dairy?

• Cathedral City expands chilled offer with Summit Foods partnership

• Saputo ditches cover papers on spreads in move to slash packaging

What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? I’ve been fortunate to get away without doing anything too silly. Although I used to regularly go to the Netherlands to visit one of our sites where I was introduced to the custom of greeting female colleagues with three kisses on the cheek.

On one occasion when I returned home, I happened to go to a family party and meet my sister’s mother-in-law for the very first time. Still in Netherlands mode, I kissed her on the cheek three times, which is not the done thing in Stoke on Trent, and I have never lived it down since.

Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? An obvious one for me would be Taylor Swift because if she suggested everyone should try Bute Island Sheese then my job of increasing sales is done in an instant!

I would also love to work with someone such as Richard Osman because he is a great wordsmith and would be authentic to work with. Imagine how well he would describe Cathedral City Plant Based cheese!

What would your death row meal be? I am a big breakfast person, and I eat a tonne of granola with loads of fruit and nuts thrown in so that would be my starting meal. This would be followed by a fresh fish meze with a nice cold pale ale on the side.

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