Jim Shearer v2 - Birds Eye Marketing Director 2022

Jim Shearer will join Birds Eye at the end of February. He spent 17 years at Molson Coors

Birds Eye has appointed ex-Molson Coors strategy leader Jim Shearer as its new marketing director for UK & Ireland.

Shearer will join the frozen food giant on 28 February and will also become a member of Birds Eye’s UK & Ireland board, leading the marketing agenda for Birds Eye, Goodfella’s and Aunt Bessie’s.

Reporting directly to UK & Ireland general manager Steve Challouma, he replaces former marketing director Sarah Koppens in the role.

Prior to joining Birds Eye, he worked for Molson Coors for 17 years, most recently leading the business’s Strategy, Insight and Innovation team for EMEA & APAC.

Within Molson Coors, Shearer was also marketing director UK & Ireland for several local and global brands, including Carling, Coors Light and Aspall’s Cider.

Birds Eye said his work and marketing influence had also been recognised within the industry, having appeared in Campaign Magazine’s Power 100 list for three consecutive years from 2018, “reflecting his prowess in the field”.

Shearer brought with him a “breadth of multi-functional expertise to his new role, giving him a broad understanding of how businesses such as Birds Eye operate”, said Challouma.

“Jim has joined at an exciting time for Birds Eye as we continue to turn the dial on our distinctive frozen food campaigns and launches in the UK to maintain category leadership. Frozen food has never been more relevant for modern day consumers and their lifestyles, and as we continue to grow our business, Jim will play a key role in taking our brands forward with the exciting initiatives and products we have coming up.”

“I know I am joining a business that, as category leader in the UK & Ireland, rightfully has high expectations to meet from its customers and consumers alike,” Shearer said.

“I have an incredible amount of energy to rise to that challenge and continue to push the category leadership standards that the business has been at the forefront of for many, many decades.”