Kingsland appoints new ops director

Kingsland Drinks has appointed Andy Henderson in the new role of Operations Director, following the company transitioning into being employee-owned.

Henderson joins from start-up Ineos Hygienics, but he started his careers at Diageo and has worked for a range of SME and larger companies, including Domino’s Pizza, Coca-Cola European Partners, and HJ Heinz, where he spent 15 years in a variety of logistics and supply chain roles.

The new role will see Henderson head up Kingsland Drinks’ factory operations, technical and supply chain functions, a pivotal role in building on the business offering a full end-to-end category service, the company said.

Last year the company announced a restructure as it moved to an employee ownership trust (EOT) model, a model it said would help it achieve greater sales growth, profitability and productivity compared to traditional business models, as well as being more sustainable and resilient to external challenges.

Its four shareholders – Andy Sagar, Karen Wilson, Michael Forde, and Mark Dixon – retained a minority holding (49%), with the remainder moving into the EOT, to give  employees indirect ownership status.

A board was also created to oversee the company,  comprising Ian Hiscock as the independent chairman, John Lumb and Charlie Goodwin as employee trustees and Andy Sagar and Karen Wilson as shareholder trustees.

Shareholders Michael Forde and Mark Dixon are now transferring their responsibilities before transitioning into advisory roles.

Managing director Ed Baker said the business had transformed in recent years to one that supports all aspects of the wine, spirits and low/no sector and he welcomed Henderson to the team, noting that “his combination of start-up and big firm operations experience will play a crucial part in our journey to the next level.”

“Combined with our newly established status as employee owned, this role will ensure the best co-ordinated service delivery to our customers,” he said.