Bernard Matthews Farms has appointed a new UK Managing Director, Jeff Halliwell.
With a career spanning more than 30 years in the food and fmcg industries, Halliwell joins Bernard Matthews Farms following a three-year period with the dairy co-operative, First Milk, where he was Managing Director of First Milk Cheese Company, the UK’s largest cheese manufacturing business.
In his new role with Bernard Matthews Farms, Halliwell will be responsible for the leadership of the UK business. He reports to Noel Bartram, who has temporarily held the post of UK Managing Director, alongside his role of Group Chief Executive, for the past 18 months.
"Jeff’s appointment aligns the group structure with Managing Directors in each country and gives us clarity of leadership here in the UK", says Bartram. "He has significant understanding of the food industry, with extensive experience both of brands and private-label, and of agricultural business. He is commercially driven, with a clear understanding of marketing and communications. He is strong at managing change and we are confident he will help take our business forward."
Halliwell began his career with Colgate-Palmolive, gaining classic marketing grounding on brands including Colgate toothpaste and Ajax household cleaners. From there he moved to Mars, working his way up over 13 years from Marketing Manager to External Relations Director. Other senior positions include Global Marketing Director for infant nutrition brands Cow & Gate and Milupa. He was then with Northern Foods for four years, initially as Managing Director of Fox’s Biscuits and moving up to Divisional Director for Bakery, before joining First Milk in 2006.
Says Jeff Halliwell: "Bernard Matthews Farms has a really strong brand heritage and it’s unique in that it is a totally integrated food chain business. The company has been through some tough times but it’s taken some major steps to re-establish the brand. I relish a challenge and I look forward to being part of the team that takes the business forward."
