Jon Marlow, formerly Sales Director and interim Managing Director at Divine Chocolate, has joined the Suffolk-based independent foodservice company as Managing Director. Jon joins Thomas Ridley, which was recently a finalist for Suffolk’s Large Business of the Year, at a very exciting time for growth and new opportunities, one year after the company was acquired by the Caterfood Buying Group.
With an extensive background in sales, commercial and marketing, Jon Marlow is a great fit for Thomas Ridley (one of the largest companies within the Caterfood Group) as it is set to grow and develop significantly alongside the Caterfood Buying Group vision, strategy and network.
Upon starting in his new role, Jon said: “Thomas Ridley is a fantastic company to be joining and I’m really looking forward to bringing my knowledge and experience to the business and helping to guide the Thomas Ridley team through this next part of the company’s chapter.
“One week in, and I can already see that Thomas Ridley is a great place to work, with lots of excellent, dedicated people, a really special culture, and a lot of great opportunities around the corner. I’m joining a large, established company in a great part of the world and can’t wait to work with all of these fantastic people on our future within foodservice.”
Jon has spent a lot of his career in the FMCG food manufacturing and supplier sector and is highly focused on developing great people, great customer relationships, sustainable growth and new commercial opportunities. Jon was most recently at Divine Chocolate, the pioneering fairtrade chocolate brand, which has offices in the UK and US and is distributed across Europe, North America, Canada, Australia, South Korea and Japan. Prior to Divine, Jon held a number of sales, marketing and leadership roles in businesses such as Carlsberg, Twinings, Cafédirect, Jordans Dorset Ryvita, and Suntory.
Phil Atyeo, Managing Director of Caterfood Buying Group, commented: “Following an extensive recruitment process, I was delighted to meet Jon Marlow and invite him to take up this position of Managing Director at the largest company within the Caterfood Buying Group.
“Jon brings a lot of really valuable commercial experience to the table and great down-to-earth people-focused approach, which makes him the perfect person to join Caterfood Buying Group and Thomas Ridley Foodservice as both continue to grow and prosper. I am really looking forward to having Jon in this post.”
Thomas Ridley Foodservice is BRCS certified and supplies more than 2,000 foodservice customers across East Anglia, London, Kent and the Southeast, ranging across education, healthcare, leisure and hospitality. Thomas Ridley also has a large ecommerce business, shipping bulk food and drink items all over the UK, and a strong Click and Collect offering for its Suffolk-based customers and businesses, who can both benefit from this local service.
For more information about Thomas Ridley Foodservice, visit: www.thomasridley.co.uk
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