MEET THE TEAM
Rivermill has an extensive team with years of successful management and practical experience in the food industry.
To be in the team our pre-requisites are :
- Demonstrable success within a branded and OL FMCG environment
- In excess of 10 years operational experience in sales, marketing or supply based disciplines (production, distribution, retailing)
- A background with at least 2 major companies
- A major exposure to New Product Development and / or brand selling
This unwavering dedication to finding the best people means that we are 100% confident in our ability to offer the most strategically effective NPD programme for your brand.
Andrew Chesters
Andrew has worked for leading FMCG companies and has a classical mix of marketing and sales experience. Andrew has worked with all retail customers and has managed and overseen the management of brands such as St Ivel, Del Monte, Hovis and Sharwoods. He has worked within chilled, ambient, short and long life products. Andrew oversees business development and licensor relationships.
Russell White
Russell oversees Rivermill’s distribution and production outsourcing operations. Russell joined the food industry in retail, working for both Sainsbury and Safeway. Russell has worked in the most senior buying roles and is able to adopt an experience led practical approach to NPD, sourcing and business relationships.
Mel Hoare
Mel has 20 years experience working in strategic design, NPD marketing and brand development agencies. She brings a wealth of experience to Rivermill and heads up the creative and practical design process, and our in-house creative resource. Her project management skills are also deployed to good use in our client relationships that demand higher levels of NPD management.
Alison Gillott
Alison focuses on NPD. With a technical and buying background in large manufacturing and retail companies she is ideally placed to ensure that the brief we place with supply partners for NPD is managed from concept to launch. She applies her technical, project management and buying skills to create a product that is ‘to brief’, manufactured in a sustainable manner by a supplier who conforms to all food standards and required proceedures.
The Rest of our Team
In addition to the above, we also have a pivotal sales division who actively gain and maintain listings for each and every product we develop across all retailers.
Lastly – but by no means least – we have a team of people who liaise with suppliers and retailers alike ensuring that all EDI orders are fulfilled, retailer procedures met, tracking and monitoring of sales and wastage, and that the central hub of the company works smoothly and efficiently.