Premier Foods hires chief customer officer as Richard Martin retires

Premier Foods has appointed Matt Roberts as chief customer officer.

Roberts will join the business on 13 April, replacing Richard Martin, who is retiring after almost 20 years with the group.

Roberts has extensive consumer goods experience, having spent 16 years at Johnson & Johnson, culminating as commercial director for northern Europe.

He has also worked for Procter & Gamble and was most recently chief commercial officer at Karo Healthcare.

“Premier Foods is home to some of the most loved and well-known food brands in the UK and has great ambitions for the future, underpinned by a clear and proven strategy to grow the business in the UK and internationally,” said Roberts.

“I am delighted to be joining the business and working with the rest of the leadership team to take Premier Foods on the next stage of its growth, deepening our partnerships with customers, and building on its strong track record in recent years.”

Premier Foods CEO Alex Whitehouse said Roberts’ experience growing consumer brands overseas “aligned with our ambitious growth plans to build our international businesses”.

“I am delighted to welcome him to Premier Foods and to the executive leadership team.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Richard for his significant contribution to Premier Foods over nearly 20 years,” Whitehouse added.

“He has been an integral member of the leadership team that led the company’s turnaround and has built Premier Foods into the leading FTSE 250 business it is today. We all wish him the best in his retirement.”