>>Tesco buying manager for butter and fats
Seymour has been with Tesco for eight years and has been in his current role, responsible for buying butter and fats, for 10 months. He previously worked as a cheese product development and technical manager. Seymour was able to indulge in his passion for cheese in his first buying role. He was a buyer for Continental cheese and travelled Europe tasting new products.
“Working in the dairy department brings many challenges, but also many opportunities,” he says. “A current challenge is to grow market share of butters and fats, in particular looking at spreadable butters.”
He adds: “We have a wealth of talent in the UK food business and we can compete with the best producers in the world.”
Brigid Davidson
Iceland, senior buyer, chilled
Davidson started with Makro in 1987, moving to CRS in 1990 as chilled buyer and to Safeway in 1995 as ice cream and frozen desserts buyer. In 1996, she joined Iceland in the same capacity, moving to chilled in 2000. She buys cheese, yoghurts, fresh desserts, milk and cream.
Paul Dumbrell
The Co-operative Group, category manager, dairy
Dumbrell started out at Safeway in 1972 as buyer’s clerk and was promoted to chilled buyer. He has also worked with Locost Food Stores in Deeside and Nisa. He joined CRS in 1996 as chilled food buyer and moved to The Co-operative Group in 2000 after the merger with CRS and CWS.
Nicola Lees
Asda, dairy buyer, yoghurts and active health drinks
Lees has worked for Asda for nearly five years and joined the dairy team as chilled buyer for yoghurts and active health drinks in April. She has also worked on Asda’s meal solutions team and on the health and beauty team as trading assistant and trainee buyer for cosmetics and skincare. Della Myers
Team leader, dairy trading team
Myers joined Asda in 1995. She joined the dairy team in 2003, buying milk, cream and eggs, and became team leader last October. She is responsible for buying cheese, butters and fats, cream and eggs and liquid milk. She has held a variety of other buying and management roles.
Michael Luck
Chilled drinks buyer, dairy, Sainsbury
Luck joined Sainsbury in 2002 as a buyer for baby food and accessories. He became chilled drinks buyer for dairy in October 2003 and manages the buying for own-label and branded chilled drinks. Luck was previously an in-store commercial manager for M&S.