Winner: Roisin Currie - Greggs CEO
There have been few high street success stories to match Greggs’ pivot from take-home bakery to takeaway behemoth. In the past decade it’s opened almost 1,000 outlets. Last year it posted pre-tax profits of £188.3m on sales of £1.8bn. And Roisin Currie has had a huge hand in that success.
Only the second female winner of The Grocer Cup, Currie joined Greggs in 2010 after 19 years with Asda. She initially entered the industry via the HR route, but it wasn’t long before her ability to connect with people from all walks of life – doubtless helped by her upbringing in what she describes as “the rough part of Glasgow” – along with her clear business nous, saw her move over to the retail and operational side of things.
Currie’s humility and affable nature are a perfect match for the unpretentious high street eatery, which trades on providing efficient service, great value, and not taking itself too seriously.
During her 14 years in the business (she was named CEO in 2022) Greggs has gone from strength to strength. It’s now the UK’s biggest fast food chain, with over 2,500 stores, but Currie has even bigger plans – she’s eyeing petrol forecourts and a raft of new openings, particularly in the south of England. After all, recent investments in logistics under Currie will allow the company to expand to approximately 3,500 outlets.
Currie has also overseen, along with Greggs head of food and drink Joanne Elsdon, a shift away from HFSS heavyweights, such as the brand’s signature sausage rolls, towards pasta pots and vegetarian flatbreads.
And her positive impact doesn’t end there, with Timpson CEO James Timpson noting: “Roisin was one of the first pioneers who really worked out how to recruit fantastic people from prison. She runs more than a business. She runs a wonderful, ethical retailer – a real point of pride for Britain. Every high street I go on, I see a Greggs, and I see amazing standards and busy shops.”
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Mary Macleod, CEO of Business in the Community, echoes the view that Currie’s impact goes beyond Greggs’ impressive numbers in recent years.
“She’s a champion for business being done the right way, so that it positively impacts colleagues, customers and communities,” she says.
“She’s a great business leader and has always been a passionate advocate for Business in the Community, from Greggs’ school breakfast clubs to championing our programmes out in communities to those facing disadvantage.”
For Ian Gregg, former MD of Greggs and the son of its founder, Currie is “a great team player” who always “makes sure that everyone has the best possible experience working at Greggs. I love her for that.”
Over the past 14 years, he adds, Currie has “worked tirelessly to make Greggs a nationally recognised retailer”. And as anyone who has worked alongside Currie knows, there’s much more to come.
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