Kitwave Group appoints new Chief Operating Officer

Ben Maxted, Group Operations Director and Head of the Frozen and Chilled division, is appointed to the Board

Delivered wholesale business Kitwave Group has appointed Ben Maxted, Group Operations Director, Head of the Frozen and Chilled division, to the Board as Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect.

Ben (pictured) joined the Group in 2011 as the divisional Finance Director of the Automatic Retailing operation, a role which he held for three years before his appointment as Managing Director of Eden Farm, following its acquisition by the Group in 2014. Ben is a Chartered Accountant, having trained at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he spent three years in their Corporate Finance division. 

Paul Young, CEO of Kitwave (pictured right, above), commented,“On behalf of the Directors, I would also like to welcome Ben to the Board. Ben has made a valuable contribution to the Group since joining in 2011 and we look forward to having the benefit of his strong operational and commercial expertise on the Board as Kitwave pursues the next phase of its growth.”

News of the appointment comes as Kitwave announced trading ahead of revenue expectations in the second half of  the year ending 31 October 2021, with volumes in most business segments returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Kitwave’s in-house established fleet of c. 400 delivery vehicles and drivers means the Group is not dependent on third-party logistics providers and enabled operations to continue as normal. The strong relationships with the Group’s large network of brand suppliers ensured supply chain issues were kept to a minimum with substitute products available and high customer service levels maintained.

Paul Young, Kitwave CEO, added, “As we enter the new financial year, the outlook for the Group remains positive. Assuming no further national lockdowns or disruptions to the leisure and hospitality sectors, trading in the foodservice division should continue to recover and we expect will return to or exceed pre-pandemic levels. Initiatives are in the process of being implemented to drive organic growth throughout the Group, while the Board continues to review opportunities for acquisition that fit with its search criteria. “

Ben Maxted Kitwave Paul Young