Alan Mayor, AF Blakemore

Alan takes the time to understand customers needs and then marries them to Blakemore’s offer. He is always praised for his open, honest and supportive leadership, and the role he plays in developing his team members. With this balance of knowledge and personality he has exceeded his sales target by 50%.

Shortlisted: Hannah Malone, Dunsters Farm, Grace Mullins, Harvest Fine Foods.

Ryan Hunt, Bidfood

Ryan is described as the perfect advert for Bidfood’s Slough depot, having become a senior driver and recently doubling up as Transport Supervisor. During Covid he put his own health on the line to make sure Hospitals, Care Homes, Prisons and Schools were stocked. Nothing is ever too much trouble for Ryan who is always cool, collected, and dedicated to the business.

Shortlisted: Mark Fletcher, Creed Foodservice, Colin Woods, Booker Scotland.

Tabitha Hunter-Smale, Sugro UK

Described as “relentlessly positive”, Head of Business Development Tabitha supported over 80 members through covid, keeping in touch through lockdowns with regular video calls, and two online conferences. Her efforts contributed to 12% sales growth and the recruitment of 13 new members. Tabitha is part of an Alzheimer’s Society initiative and thanks to her 75% of staff are now being trained as Dementia Friends.

Shortlisted: Kelly Pye, Millennium Group, Louise Lyle, Bidfood

Kelly Burrows, AF Blakemore

Our judges were amazed at Kelly’s understanding of supply chain and logistics management and her staggering results in a complex industry, including 700,000 food miles saved annually. She has led negotiations with more than 150 suppliers in the last two years and improved supply chain efficiencies with new Backhaul and Centralisation initiatives.

Shortlisted: Natalie Bance, Bidfood, Ryan Neale, Bidfood

Ian Cawley, AF Blakemore

National Account Manager Ian impressed the judges by going over and above during the pandemic when he actually did better than his own buying team in securing stock and availability. He is described as a focussed manager, a team player within the business, and crucially a great communicator. His company say he’s an unsung hero who is a credit to the wholesale industry.

Shortlisted: Gary Wright, Booker, Shane Kendrick, Harvest Fine Foods

Mazhar Akram, United Wholesale Grocers

Mazhar impressed the judges with his initiatives, his focus, his passion and his commitment to the business, which has led to a near 60% increase in depot sales. He also introduced Wellness training for both staff and customers. Mazhar foresaw the HGV driver shortage and convinced the company to change their fleet to vans, and he worked on a brilliant staff sharing scheme for United’s retail customers.

Shortlisted: Patrick Naylor, Creed Foodservice, Ryan Mogg, Booker