Ashley Clemence, Total Produce
Our in-house apprentice scheme is designed to bring in the fresh blood our industry so desperately needs. After nearly four years Ashley Clemence has risen through the ranks from apprentice to assistant buyer at our Bristol Foodservice depot. Along with our head buyer Jason Burton, he is responsible for buying all the produce that make up an annual turnover of some £8-9 million. Ashley also looks after several key foodservice accounts, ensuring they get the produce and service they need.
Ashley spent his first year working at our Bodmin, Cardiff wholesale, Bristol foodservice and Bristol wholesale branches. At each depot he worked in a variety of roles, usually shadowing department heads. This has given him the widest possible experience of our industry, thus developing a skillset and overview that make him a huge asset to any fresh business.
The future of our industry depends on bringing in new people and training them to the highest possible standards by giving them the widest possible experience at all levels. Our in-house apprentice scheme does exactly that. We are investing in all our futures.
Ashley Clemence is a shining example of how our apprentice scheme can enable raw talent to be honed with appropriate training and on-the-job experience. We are very proud of his exceptional progress in such a short time and feel that he is a fine example of our industry’s future.
Chris Page, Vitacress
Chris Page joined Vitacress, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of fresh produce specialising in watercress salads and fresh herbs, in September 2007. He started as a manufacturing apprentice and has worked his way up to become a ‘Multi-Skilled Maintenance Engineer’, qualifying to level 3 Mechanical and is working towards gaining his Level 3 Electrical qualification. His role is pivotal to the smooth running of the business and in ensuring that Vitacress salads are packed and washed efficiently and to the highest standards.
His day-to-day role includes adherence to, and ensuring work practices comply with; health and safety legislation, policies and procedures and ongoing improvement of equipment efficiency. He works extremely hard across teams to identify and systematically solve problems, share knowledge and build on the Vitacress values and engineering/manufacturing strategic plan.
Outside of his day job, Chris helps at school CSR events, running mini challenges for school visits incorporating team work and engineering skills.
He plays a key role in sharing best practice across the business. He helps train up new apprentices and has become a mentor for apprentices joining Vitacress.
Tanya Mew, operations training manager at Vitacress, said: “Chris has shown hard work and motivation to get to where he is today. It is not easy to work full time and study at the same time, but his determination and drive has seen him shine. He has become an integral part of our engineering team and is now a mentor to new apprentices coming into the business.”
Daniel Gunner, ISS
Daniel Gunner joined Integrated Service Solutions at its inception as finance manager in a finance team of one. At the ripe age of 23 he has set up all financial processes and reporting in the then start-upbusiness and has been a key part of the company’s successful growth.Dan has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and has applied himself to all aspects of finance from both a statutory and commercial perspective and continues to be a cornerstone to its success.
Dan prides himself on providing accurate, timely and meaningful management information that has enabled the board to make business-critical decisions and drive growth at an accelerated rate. All of this in a context of a small and fluid management team striving to deliver excellent operational service to the customer in a start-up environment.
He has recently recruited and trained a small team of accounts assistants to help with some of the day-to-day tasks at the same time as completing his professional studies in his own time, even taking some exams on Saturdays.
Dan has demonstrated an exceptional learning curve, hard work and commitment over the past 2.5 years and taken all of the pressures associated with a start-up company including being accountable to the board in his stride. He is proof that age is but a number if you have the right drive and determination to succeed. It is without doubt that Dan has a long, successful career ahead of him.
Maxime Delacour, Coregeo
Maxime Delacour, 28, is assistant marketing manager at Coregeo, master licensor for Pink Lady apples and Tenderstem. Maxime joined in 2015 after completing a degree in agriculture and marketing, and managing trade marketing for Pink Lady Europe across the UK and Scandinavia. Maxime’s key responsibilities at Coregeo include developing in-store displays, making progress with branded packaging and securing in-store promotions.
Maxime has worked tirelessly to secure branded packaging for Tenderstem, which saw Morrisons adopt new branded packaging in October. As one of the few brands in the category, working towards consistent packaging across major retailers is a key priority for Coregeo, and getting one of the big four on board was a huge coup for the brand.
Maxime has also been instrumental in securing branded Pink Lady packaging across three retailers.
This year has seen Maxime work alongside Morrisons’ marketing team to offer added value for consumers with an integrated Christmas campaign, which will see a brand new Christmas recipe appear on stickered packs, bolstered by online adverts. In order to raise awareness of Tenderstem and to educate and inspire consumers, Maxime has also facilitated activity with the likes of Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, spanning print advertorials and online video generation to get consumers thinking of Tenderstem around Christmas.
Maxime was also instrumental in achieving listings for PinKids, Pink Lady’s range of smaller apples aimed at children launched in 2015. The range is now listed in Asda, Lidl and Iceland.
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