“Chris was part of our team from September 2006 through the whole of 2007. As well as commanding great respect and trust with our customers, Chris led an infectious internal charge which has transformed our approach, culture and thinking in all matters technical. From being a gatekeeper function, our technical team are now learning to be ambassadors of quality, safety and innovation within our organisation.
“As an individual, Chris has been approachable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy and a great catalyst for change at all levels.
“Thanks Chris for your input, inspiration and friendship. Good luck with your future ventures. “
- Steve Woolley, Managing Director, Smedleys Salads
“In Jan 2006 we recognised that to support the business going forward we needed to significantly upgrade our Technical Leadership and functional capability. We engaged Chris as an interim while we engaged a search for someone to fill the position permanently. There was a need to make some urgent process in the areas of factory QA/QC systems, supplier quality and technical understanding of product and process performance and Chris has engaged very effectively to kick-start initiatives in these areas.
“He has provided sound thinking to develop a site Technical Strategy which has been shared and bought into by internal and external stakeholders. More importantly, Chris has provided much-needed practical engagement on issues, using data to understand issues and developing and implementing effective action plans to drive progress.
“I have been impressed by Chris's level of personal commitment and energy; he has given full value and has been actively engaging night shifts etc on quality initiatives. He has driven change and implemented some key projects across the site with suppliers and customers.
“I would have been happy to offer Chris the role of Technical Director on a permanent basis but this did not fit with his personal circumstances. I have enjoyed working with Chris and will miss his expertise, humour and energy. I wish him every success and would have no hesitation in recommending him for similar roles.”
- Lochlain Feeley, Managing Director, Uniq Prepared Foods
"Chris joined our organisation in January 2006, initially to help us on some challenging technical improvement projects around our supplier base, complaints performance and the formulation of a 3 year technical strategy. His professionalism, drive and people approach very quickly started to deliver significant improvement in all of these areas.
He has since taken on the role of Interim Technical Director on the site where he has been fundamental improving the profile of the function and the quality performance of our operation. His key strengths have been his positive team based approach, a huge depth of knowledge, and his enthusiasm that makes him feel like one of our own team. He owns solutions and is constantly looking for improvement in a lasting and sustainable way which should deliver medium term benefits to our organisation.
A pleasure to work with and a powerful addition to any manufacturing team."
- Steve Wood, Operatons Manager, Uniq Prepared Foods
"When I took over the top job at Excella (France), I was facing a serious challenge to attack the UK market with a 100 year old loss-making chocolate factory. I needed a thorough audit of our site and brought in Chris for that purpose. His long experience in chocolate was an asset but more importantly he was able to focus on the real threats, avoiding the easy route of depicting an alarming general picture. That alone gave me confidence to run our aggressive development strategy, with very limited investments. Five years later, the company has doubled in size and is the leading chocolate supplier to the British trade's own brands."
- Alain Merceron, Managing Director, Excella France
