Case study
Pilgrim’s
Agriculture Director
Opportunity
Pilgrim’s UK is one of the flagship food businesses in the UK and part of Pilgrim’s Pride which also own Moy Park and Pilgrim’s Food Masters. After a competitive pitch process, Pilgrim’s UK VP HR and CEO selected Eden as a suitable search partner to find their new Agriculture Director, a highly complex role sitting on the executive board and leading the agriculture business unit, which is the largest higher welfare pork production businesses in the UK.
Due to the scale of the complexities of this vertically integrated business, Eden and Pilgrim’s UK worked extensively to define a clear brief and candidate profile for one of the most unique positions in UK fresh food production.
Eden did a great job! They listened to us, worked with us, spent time to get to know us and the Business. They were flexible, very supportive of the candidates throughout the process and acted as part of our Business.
Rachel Baldwin, Vice President Human Resources, Pilgrim’s UK.
Our approach
Having understood the specific nature of this brief, Eden’s Head of Research and Managing Director conducted a detailed mapping and identification process to target and engage with relevant individuals across the food retail, fresh food production and commodity feed industries. This identified 83 individuals across these sectors, finally narrowing down a shortlist of 6 outstanding industry leaders that Pilgrim’s UK were delighted to meet.
The results
Pilgrim’s UK and Eden worked collaboratively to design a confidential, multiple stage interview and assessment process, which led to the successful appointment of Barney Kay, previously of Sainsbury’s where he was the Head of Agriculture, overseeing agriculture, aquaculture, and horticulture.