GS1 UK strengthens food and retail expertise with the appointment of two new non-executive directors
London, 10 November 2022 – GS1 UK has announced that Ian Keilty, Chief Operating Officer of Wincanton plc, and Ursula Lavery, Technical and R&D Director Europe at Moy Park, have been appointed to the supervisory board.
Bringing a wealth of supply chain and food production experience, the appointments will ensure that GS1 UK maintains and builds on industry expertise that reflects the needs and profiles of their 59,000 strong membership.
As major disruption to global supply chains continues to impact both the cost of living and the cost of doing business, GS1 UK members across many sectors are facing unprecedented supply issues. There has also been a growing need to address legislative and regulatory change, especially on the topics of sustainability, food safety and nutrition.
With logistics to replan, raw material shortages to overcome and new regulatory demands to be met, businesses across the four nations need access to trusted data now more than ever. With decades of experience and expertise, Ian and Ursula will be of great support to GS1 UK and its members as they drive the adoption of standards to power new ways of working and transform the way people consume, work and live.
Ian joined Wincanton, a leading supply chain partner for British business, as managing director of retail and consumer in November 2018 and was appointed COO in April 2020. He was previously vice president of European supply chain at Sysco and chief operating officer at Brakes, the UK’s leading food service supplier. He has held various positions on the operating boards and executive committees at Booker Group plc and Iceland Stores. Prior to this Ian worked in engineering and supply chain roles for Mars, British Gas and Nissan, and holds an MBA from London Business School.
Since joining Moy Park in 1987, Ursula has played a defining role in building the organisation’s absolute commitment to food safety and quality. She was appointed to the Executive Board in 2013 and currently serves as Technical and R&D Director for Europe. Recognised as a leading authority on food safety, Ursula sits on several advisory bodies including IGD Technical Leadership Forum, the Food Industry Initiative on Antimicrobials (FIIA) and Agri Food Quest. She is a board member and Vice Chair of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA), the Industrial Advisory Board of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast and is a non-executive Director of Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL).
Ian and Ursula join a supervisory board comprising some of the biggest names in retail and healthcare including eBay, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Amazon, and NHS supply chain, all of whom provide governance in the delivery of GS1 UK’s strategy.
Welcoming Ian and Ursula to the board, Chris Tyas OBE, chair of GS1 UK, said: “the insights and guidance provided by the supervisory board are at the very heart of our strategy. They allow us to keep a finger on the pulse of industry, ensuring that the trends and issues shaping the future of UK plc inform the many ways in which we harness to power of standards to keep people informed and protected.
“With their in-depth knowledge, our new non-executive directors are perfectly placed to help us engage with industry to find shared solutions – enabled by the interoperability of GS1 standards - to address the issues that businesses struggle to solve alone. Their backgrounds and skills will be particularly beneficial to our retail and grocery members as they adapt to shifting industry dynamics such as the implementation of deposit return schemes and the Food Data Transparency Partnership.”
Ian Keilty, chief operating officer of Wincanton, said: “I look forward to collaborating with the team and my fellow board members as we develop standards-based solutions for powering progress in industry. As one of the UK’s leading logistics providers, Wincanton understand the power of standards and the importance of ensuring interoperability and traceability across supply chains. Businesses across the UK are currently facing unprecedented challenges, so I am excited and eager to play a part in helping them succeed.”
Ursula Lavery, technical and R&D director Europe at Moy Park, said: “I am proud to be joining the GS1 UK supervisory board and to offer my support to the organisation’s diverse membership, many of whom are working incredibly hard to provide better and safer products and services to their consumers. This is an uncertain time for businesses across the board but, through collaboration, transparency and decisions based on trusted data, I am confident they will prevail. The role GS1 UK plays in helping industry improve and adapt is an inspiring one and I am thrilled to be involved."
Notes to editors
For further information or to request an interview, please contact Alex Cox: 07464946769; alexander.cox@gs1.org
About GS1 UK
Whether online, in store or in a hospital, the common language of GS1 global standards is helping our community of more than 58,000 organisations across the UK to uniquely identify, describe and track anything, creating greater trust in data for everyone.
From product barcodes to patient wristbands, GS1 standards have been transforming the way people work and live for nearly 50 years.
GS1 UK is one of 116 neutral and independent GS1 organisations operating worldwide.
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