Richard is the National Sales Manager for Zeelandia Ltd and is responsible for commercial activities in the UK and Ireland.
He started his career in the baking industry with Associated British Foods over 30 years ago. Since then he has held a number of senior manufacturing and commercial roles in various areas of the bakery industry, including bread, biscuits, snacks and latterly ingredients.
Richard holds an MBA and is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management. He is married with two children and lives in the North West on the Fylde Coast.
Paul Turner is a Group Sales Manager for Dupont’s Nutrition & Health business having direct responsibility for sales into the Food industry UK, Ireland, Benelux and Nordic areas with particular focus on Bakery.
Prior to joining Dupont’s Nutrition & Health business ten years ago, Paul worked in senior positions for several companies including Danisco, CSM, British Arkady and ASDA.
Notable is the time Paul spent with CSM/British Arkady where he was able to build upon his technical application experience and develop his commercial skills working within the Baking industry serving the industrial, retail and artisanal sectors. When not working, Paul enjoys marathon running and participating in Track day events both in the UK and Europe.
Jane Tyler, Managing Director of RedBlack Software Ltd is the most recent member of the British Society of Baking executive committee. Established in 1999, RedBlack’s principle market is independent craft bakeries, for which Jane has been designing solutions for over 20 years.
Although bakery is seen as a very traditional industry, the actual fact is that many of the country’s big pan-generational bakeries were very early adopters of computer technology. As I.T. now plays such an integral role for bakers, Jane’s industry expertise, creativity and enthusiasm are welcomed by the BSB.
Jane’s first passion was modern languages and she studied French and Hindi before moving onto a Master’s degree in Computer Science. Jane is both a home-bird and a party animal. She loves spending time with family, cooking, gardening and dancing to punk rock.
Mark is Sales Director of his family business, Ingram Brothers, and has worked in the Baking Industry for 40 years.
He has recently retired from the Scottish Bakers (SAMB) Conference Technical Sessions Committee after over 30 years.
Mark is involved with the Incorporation of Bakers of Glasgow, following his father as Deacon in 1991/92.
Mark says, being a member of the BSB has been a real pleasure, meeting so many great people, with a tremendous passion for our industry.
Prior to his r etirement in 2008, Jim spent over 50 years working in the baking industry. This included: a bakery apprenticeship followed by production management; working on research with the Flour Milling & Baking Research Association, Chorleywood; Product Manager with BFP Wholesale; Bakery Division Manager with Scobie McIntosh Bakery Equipment; and NPD Manager and ultimately Purchasing Manager, with James Fleming & Co Ltd. He also wrote technical articles for trade magazines for some years. He was also Technical Editor and an author for the Master Bakers Book of Breadmaking in 1982 and for the updated Craft Bakers Association Book of Breadmaking in 2015. Jim has been a member of the BSB since 1974 and was Chairman in 1988/89. He is currently the BSB Treasurer and Conference Coordinator. He enjoys being involved in all aspects of the BSB and updates the BSB website when required. Jim has also been involved with Scottish Bakers (formerly SAMB) for many years, helping to organise their annual conference and serving on some of their committees. He was made an Honorary Life Member of Scottish Bakers in 2003. He is currently on their Conference and Scottish Baker of the year Committee and acts as a judge at their bakery competitions. He was made a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Bakers in 2016 for services to the Baking Industry.
Sarah has always wanted to be a baker and considers herself extremely fortunate to be able to work in an industry where passion, energy and creative talent are in abundant supply.
Sarah’s own career has taken her into all parts of the industry given her the opportunity to meet some amazing people and to broaden her own experience. She loves constantly learning new things about ingredients, products and processes and hopes to so do for many years to come. Her involvement with the BSB has been indispensable to the society, particularly in spearheading measures we are taking to further our support of bakery students throughout the country in order to secure a dynamic and innovative workforce for our industry’s future.
Sarah particularly admires that bakers through the ages have always risen to the challenges thrown at them by consumer trends, commercial requirements and technical necessity to provide a continuous supply of wholesome products; not forgetting indulgent treats for special occasions!
Brian Clarke is a consulting Director of European Food Consultants Ltd, with over 40 years retail and food manufacturing experience. He is a former operations, technical and environmental director of a global blue chip food manufacturer.
Brian has worked closely as a consultant with some of the major food manufacturing companies in the UK, Germany, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Australia on business turn around projects.
He is currently retained as a consultant on R&D Research, identifying innovation and novel Food products and processes. He is a consultant member of GLG, where he regularly consults on food issues and projects globally. In addition, he is a co-Founder and Director of TAKESTOCK Ltd.
Keith’s interest in the baking industry started at the age of 13 years when he worked part-time as a schoolboy in a local craft bakery in his native Edinburgh. After he left school, he joined Scottish Bakels in Broxburn, which covered the requirements of Scottish bakers for Bakels’ products. He then moved to British Bakels in 1988, relocating with his family to Yorkshire, and working his way up through the ranks over the years to his present position of Sales Director, Craft Sector/ Food Service. Overall Keith has been with Bakels for over 34 years.
Keith is a Past Chairman of the British Society of Baking and is the Immediate Past Chairman of the CBA’s Craft Bakers Week Committee. He has run the BSB Golf day for the last 18 years, taking it to the high standard it is today.
Gordon took over as Director of the Federation of Bakers on 30 August 2005 following over 25 years’ experience of managing trade associations from the insurance broking sector to the steel stockholding sector.
Gordon is an honours graduate, holds an MBA and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries. He is married with two children and lives in North Oxfordshire.
Mike is a highly experienced and passionate food ingredients specialist who has held a number of senior positions in the food industry in a career spanning almost 20 years. He is the founder of ITS (International Taste Solutions Ltd) which is recognised as one of the fastest growing taste and texture companies in the world. He is a co-founder of TAKESTOCK Ltd an e-commerce platform for the food industry along with other food-based investments.
Mike is the Immediate Past Chairman of the British Society of Baking, which focuses on bringing the bakery industry together and helping students to realise careers in the industry. Mike has numerous food & business qualifications along with being an advocate of the University of Life. He believes that you never ever stop learning in the fast-paced, ever-changing world we live in, so enjoy the ride! Mike has 3 children and his hobbies include rugby, boxing and brewing beer as a craft brewer. Cheers!!
Sylvia trained as a journalist and after gaining experience in marketing and journalism, joined British Baker magazine in 1991 because she loved food and the world of business. During her years as editor, she interviewed many talented craft bakers, entrepreneurial ingredient suppliers and forward-thinking equipment providers. Other interviewees included ABF’s George Weston, Justin King of Sainsbury’s, Sir Mike Darrington of Greggs, and David Cameron. Sylvia was highly respected for the quality of her BB editorials and her enthusiasm for the industry. While editor of the BB she won the prize for Scoop of the Year, beating many other magazines, including The Grocer.
Having moved on from the position of Editor of the British Baker in 2011, Sylvia still takes a keen interest in the baking industry and has served on the BSB Executive committee for 7 years. She continues to work for British Baker, focusing on writing and judging for the Baking Industry Awards. She also serves on the Court of the Worshipful Company of Bakers and undertakes freelance work.
Having left school wanting to be a baker and confectioner, 40 years later the industry has served Paul well, moving from old-fashioned day release to bakery school, to building a career in the industry, through to the supply base of ingredients and premixes for bakeries and food manufacturers. Paul believes there are great opportunities in the food and baking industries for individuals to fulfil their dreams and become successful, as many members of the BSB have done. He feels that there is something for everyone in the food industry and is happy that his current role with Romix Foods allows him to meet like-minded people who have a passion for our industry and want to pass on their experience. This also gives him an opportunity to give something back to the next generation of bakers, technical staff and commercial people.
David Hall is passionate about all things BAKING.
He commenced his career as an industrial chemist for Pura Foods Ltd (the oils & fats refinery company) and throughout his 10-year career was General Manager and Manager o f hydrogenation, bottling and canning, and planning. He was subsequently Managing Director of the bakery division of Northern Foods Plc, comprising Panificio Italiano, La Baguette Doree, and Continental Bakery.
For the past 25 years, David has been the Managing Director of The London Bread & Cake Co Ltd, which is London’s largest independent wholesale bakery, manufacturing a range of 400 products on 365 days a year, and supplying them to nearly 1,000 customers within the South East of England.
Georgie is Deputy Director, Sales and Marketing, Greenhalgh’s Craft Bakery, a long-established family business which has grown successfully over the last sixty years. Their products are more than just made, they are individually crafted for perfection. Allan Smart (Grandad) loved to bake and established Greenhalgh’s in 1957. David Smart (Dad) took the helm in 2003. Georgie’s passion is sales and to promoting and marketing quality foods. She studied at Liverpool John Moores University and at the University of Bolton. Georgie is looking forward to being a member of the BSB Executive Committee and is excited about how she can contribute to the success of the BSB. She is also thrilled to be networking with other likeminded and passionate people in the baking industry.
Devon went from Graduate to Lecturer at the National Bakery School, South Bank University. He gained a 1st Class BSc Honours Degree in Bakery Technology and Management at the National Bakery School, winning the top student award. He is also a Ph.D. Graduate and is now a Lecturer at the NBS.