Unitas

Robert Eastwood and Qaiser Aziz have been elected to the Unitas board following the buying group’s AGM.

Eastwood will join as the group’s retail representative, replacing Wilds Premier Drinks MD Andrew Wild, who has retired.

Unitas said Eastwood would bring a wealth of experience to the board, having held the position of MD at Small Beer and Trentans Vintners for the past 10 years.

Additionally, sales director of Cardiff-based Global Foods Aziz brings significant expertise from the retail sector and will replace Blakemore MD James Russell, who is also retiring from the board.

The move follows the buying group’s decision in 2020 to streamline its board from 16 to 12 members.

Under the new structure, each board member is elected to represent the interests of a particular catagory within the membership, including the retail, foodservice, on-trade and specialist sectors.

“I am pleased that Rob and Qaiser have joined the already strong board of Unitas,” said Unitas chairman Mark Aylwin. “They both run excellent businesses and will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge. I look forward to working with them both.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew and James for the tremendous support they have provided since joining the board and wish them every success for the future”.

Unitas MD John Kinney said: “We are very grateful to both Andrew and James for their expertise, support and knowledge of their respective channels during their time as board members and wish them all the very best for the future and I look forward to working with Rob and Qaiser during the coming months.”