The Grocer – 24 August 2019

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk 24 August 2019 | The Grocer | 43

Andrew Don
Online marketplace
Notonthehighstreet
has appointed former
HelloFresh boss Claire
Davenport as CEO.
Davenport replaces
Barrie Seidenberg, who is
stepping down for health
reasons aft er she was
diagnosed with brain
cancer earlier this year.
Davenport has been
briefed to build on the
management team’s
plans to modernise the
technology platform
and make the business
stronger.
She was CEO of
HelloFresh UK from June
2017 until last December,
when she left to advise
tech-enabled “disrup-
tive” businesses.
Previous roles have

Claire Davenport to

take over role of CEO

at Notonthehighstreet

included general man-

ager at VoucherCodes,

chief commercial offi cer

at Bigpoint, chief of

staff at Skype and dep-

uty head of strategy at

Ofcom.

Notonthehighstreet

chairman Darren

Shapland said

Seidenberg had trans-

formed the company over

a period of 15 months

and had signifi cantly

increased momentum.

The business had a

strong foundation for

growth, supported by

a skilled leadership

team, he said. “Barrie

has worked closely with

the Notonthehighstreet

team to ensure that there

is a smooth transition

and we are pleased to

have appointed Claire

Davenport to take the

business on to the next

stage of its growth.

“The board would like

to thank Barrie for her

expert leadership and

we wish her our heartfelt

best as she focuses on her

health.”

Davenport will join the

company on 27 August.

Seidenberg will remain

with the business until

the end of the month.

Davenport was previously

CEO of HelloFresh UK

my food & drink job

Cameron Rigg

“Don’t be afraid to

push yourself outside

your comfort zone”

Age: 25

Job title: Product developer

Company & location: Co-op Food, Manchester

Education: BSc (Hons) food & nutrition at Sheffi eld

Hallam University

Why did you decide to go for a career in food? I’ve

loved food from a young age. I have vivid memo-

ries of baking up a storm with my grandma. Going

into secondary school , I was really inspired by my

food tech teacher, and the more she talked about

the food industry and the breadth of opportuni-

ties, the more I felt this was the perfect job for me.

Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two):

I take food products from an initial concept to

a physical product available to buy on Co-op

shelves around the country.

What does a typical day look like for you? No

two days are the same for me at Co-op. One day I

might be in our kitchens at Co-op HQ, sampling

new products, benchmarking ranges or carry-

ing out quality panels. The next I might be on the

road visiting my suppliers, digesting the latest

market insights or developing new concepts.

Tell us about how you went about applying for

your job. I fi lled in the online application form

alongside uploading my CV. I was then invited for

an interview, for which I had to present my three-

year strategy for the pizza category. The next day,

I was invited back for an informal chat with the

head of product development.

What’s the best part about working for a food

company? Spending nine months developing

a product from concept to launch, there is no

greater feeling than going out to our stores and

seeing customers picking up my products.

And what’s the biggest misconception people

have about working in food & drink? That it’s dif-

fi cult to ensure the highest quality and prove-

nance when producing food on a large scale.

What advice would you give to other young peo-

ple looking to get into the food & drink indus-

try? Take every opportunity off ered to you, build

your CV as early as possible and don’t be afraid to

push yourself outside of your comfort zone. I took

a 12-month technical placement despite the fact I

had my heart set on working in product develop-

ment. Those 12 months allowed me to see a com-

pletely diff erent side to food manufacturing and

have been really benefi cial when moving into

another area of the industry.

What’s your ultimate career dream? I’d love to see

myself progressing to a head of food role.

Greg Deacon will join the

organisation in September

The Federation of
Independent Retailers
(NFRN) has named a new
appointee to fi ll the posi-
tion vacated by CEO Paul
Baxter, who left nearly
two years ago.
Greg Deacon will be
given the title of chief
operating offi cer when he
joins the organisation on
9 September.
National president
Stuart Reddish said
Deacon had worked
closely with the NFRN for
many years. The fi rst time
was when he worked for
The Daily Telegraph and
News UK as head of retail

Federation of Independent

Retailers names Deacon as COO

trade marketing.

He currently works for

National Lottery opera-

tor Camelot, where he

heads the fi eld sales force

“so he understands the

challenges facing inde-

pendent retailers”, said

Reddish.

“Greg joins at an excit-

ing time for the NFRN as

we come out of our cen-

tenary year and shape

the next stage of our

development.”

Reddish said Deacon

had “a wealth of expe-

rience of the industry,

huge enthusiasm and

a proven track record

of achievement” that

equipped him well to

represent the interests of

independent retailers.

Deacon said he looked

forward to representing

members and working

with the NFRN’s trade

partners.