Food and Drink
The food and drink industry is one of the toughest commercial markets in the world. For producers and retailers alike, competition is fierce and success relies upon employing the very best people. In food and drink manufacturing, huge opportunities exist for companies that can scale up quickly and capitalize on interest in their consumables, at home and overseas. The key is building talented teams from the top-down, individuals who, collectively, will produce innovative, on-trend products, and secure highly sought-after retail listings. Separately, retailers face their own challenges. New mergers and alliances are intensifying pressure on margins and supply chain systems; while the battle to balance bricks and mortar versus online sales continues.
At the very top of this dynamic sector, you’ll find our executive search team supporting a diverse range of organisations through the challenges they face – building teams of inspiring, tenacious professionals, who can lead, manage and motivate. Working across all aspects of operations, and along the length of the food and drink supply chain, our clients include private equity-backed, big brand, household names and leading retailers as well as smaller craft businesses, which are growing fast and taking over pockets of the food and drinks industry, at home and abroad.
If you’re looking to appoint a new person to your leadership or management team, get in touch with one our food and drink executive search consultants.
David Macaulay
As Founder and Managing Director of Eden Search & Select, David has spent his career working with a diverse range of businesses in the food and farming sectors.
George Christoudias
George has worked at a senior board level for fresh food and FMCG giants such as Bakkavor, Mars Inc. and Branston Ltd. George is utilising his deep sector insight and knowledge, to deliver talent solutions for the food and drink sector.
David Macaulay
As Founder and Managing Director of Eden Search & Select, David has spent his career working with a diverse range of businesses in the food and farming sectors – supporting their strategy and helping them recruit and retain Directors and Senior Managers. During this time, he has developed a deep understanding of the industry and the skills and attributes required by businesses to deliver high performing board and executive teams. This experience and track record has made him a credible sounding board on succession planning for both his clients and industry peers. Results-driven, David’s personal values of industry insight and integrity have delivered numerous successful projects and established Eden Search & Select as the executive search partner of choice for leading companies in the fresh food, food and drink, food manufacturing and farming sectors. David’s industry experience is deep rooted, having grown up on the family farm in Essex, which he remains actively involved in.
George Christoudias
George has worked his entire career in the food industry, covering areas of chilled convenience, fresh produce and also branded pet food, working at a senior board level for fresh food and FMCG giants such as Bakkavor, Mars Inc. and Branston Ltd. A Marketing graduate, George progressed rapidly upon entering the industry through category and commercial roles, taking responsibility of large, strategic retail accounts early in his career and at 30 years of age, was appointed Sales Director, displaying his people development and leadership ability, alongside his strategic agility and commercial acumen
Across the Food sector, George has been central to delivering industry benchmark category and customer first approaches to retail relationships, bringing insight led, innovative food concepts and store experiences to market, delivering mutual sales and profit growth plans with key customers, including profit and category turnaround plans, whilst leading and developing high performing, cross functional teams. Within the Produce Sector George has championed the sustainability agenda, uniting agricultural and buying teams to evolve long term retail and supplier buying models and more recently establishing a new business division, now the largest in the UK of its kind, to utilise waste streams within the retail manufacturing supply chain.
At Eden, George is utilising his deep sector insight and knowledge, alongside our unique approach, to successfully deliver executive search assignments and talent solutions for a diverse range of Food and Drink businesses.
Case studies
Innocent Drinks
Innocent Drinks is one of the most famous success stories within the UK consumer sector in the last 20 years with an iconic brand and culture that has allowed the business to grow year on year.
Ramsden International
Ramsden International is a leading exporter of British food and drink from the UK and sells products to retailers, wholesalers and distributors in 133 countries across the world.
Green Gourmet
Green Gourmet creates dynamic and healthy eating food brands and supplies a large range of high welfare meal solutions for UK food service markets driven with a constant focus on delivering creative, trusted and responsive innovation to its customers. This is recognised globally as they won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2017 – the UK’s highest accolade for business success.