Gillian Barker

Gillian Barker

The former director general of GroceryAid, Gillian Barker, has taken up a role as a part-time advisor at retail consultancy firm Bridgethorne.

Barker, who has spent her entire career in the grocery industry, including spells in senior management at Sainsbury’s and as fresh foods director at Safeway, will work closely with joint managing directors John Nevens and Andrew Cole on the strategic development of the business.

“I’m really excited to be joining the Bridgethorne team,” said Barker.

“Whether through consultancy, training or through placing outsourced teams into supplier organisations, I can really see the impact Bridgethorne can have in helping businesses succeed. I’m looking forward to working with the team to further raise awareness of those services and their benefits.”

In a joint statement, Nevens and Cole said the “hallmark of our work has always been to give clients access to practitioners with real world industry experience. Nobody embodies that principle more than Gillian. Bridgethorne will benefit from her insight and her guidance and that, in turn, will help us deliver an even more effective and intuitive service to our clients.”