Country Range Group strengthens its central office team

The Country Range Group has strengthened its central office team with a trio of new appointments.

Left to right: Tom Holdsworth, Rachel Porter and Graham Caldwell.

Rachel Porter and Graham Caldwell have joined the group as marketing managers, while Tom Holdsworth has become a category buyer.

Porter has 17 years’ experience in brand management, product development and marketing, latterly in the education sector. In her new role, her focus is on driving the group’s marketing strategy and engaging with key stakeholders within the central team and the membership. She will also oversee the Country Range own-brand range.

Caldwell has spent the last nine years working at a digital marketing agency. In his new role, he is tasked with creating, developing and executing the group’s digital marketing strategy and ensuring that the marketing assets offered to members are relevant and efficient. He is also working on developing the group’s communication tools that key brands can utilise to reach catering customers across the membership.

The CRG trading team has been increased to five with the addition of Holdsworth. For over 10 years, he has been working in commercial roles, largely in food, and has been a buyer for most categories. In his new role, he is supporting the trading team as well as being involved with key commodity areas, including Country Range brand product development.

Commenting on the appointments, chief executive Martin Ward said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Rachel, Graham and Tom to the central office team and I look forward to working with them more closely as the group transitions and we look to achieve our ambitious targets over the coming years.

“All three of them bring energy and enthusiasm, as well as having the right skills and experience in their own areas, and I have no doubt they will be huge assets to the business going forward. We’re always looking to recruit the best and invest in our central office team, and our latest arrivals are the perfect example of that.”