Hovis Bakeries has named its top team following July’s merger of Hovis and Allied Bakeries.
Led by Allied Bakeries veteran and CEO Sarah Arrowsmith, the ABF-owned group has retained Allied finance director Graeme Burnett in his role for the newly combined business.
Sales director Andy Sellick has likewise taken command of sales for Hovis Bakeries, while Allied’s former HR director Helen Byrne has been given an expanded remit to oversee a new people and culture function through the transition.
Promoted from within ABF, Paul Bird has taken up responsibility for Hovis Bakeries’ supply chain after a decade as supply chain director at AB Sports Nutrition, the company behind High5 and Reflex Nutrition supplement brands.
The sole Hovis director retained on the group’s top team is Mark Brown, who remains chief marketing officer. Appointed in 2024, he was Hovis’ first CMO, and he will lead on a significantly expanded marketing budget as Hovis Bakeries looks to push the brand’s health credentials.
Arrowsmith told The Grocer in July that the company had set aside £10m for marketing, including for TV spots under the tagline ‘Strength Baked In’, that will emphasise the brand’s origins as a health-first baker.
“Hovis is the hero,” she said. “We have a USP here with Hovis’ goodness credentials that we believe it can deliver against.”
The team will now face a major overhaul of the combined Allied-Hovis entity, as both companies had struggled with plummeting volumes and mounting losses.
Between them, the companies took 30.6% of branded plant bread sales last year, compared with Warburtons’ 47.2% [NIQ 52 w/e 21 February 2026]. They manufacture a large proportion of the UK’s own-label bread.
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