Food manufacturer The Compleat Food Group has strengthened its leadership team with two senior appointments.
Steve Challouma has started in his new role as the group’s first chief growth officer, while Jo Smith will become its chief product officer later this month. The business has a portfolio that includes bakery brands such as Wall’s Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, and The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co, and also supplies major retailers and foodservice customers with sweet and savoury products.
Challouma is tasked with driving Compleat’s category-led growth agenda, helping deliver long-term value for customers by bringing together group strategy and execution, category vision, and consumer insights.
Most recently, he served as chief marketing officer at Nomad Foods, where he was responsible for commercial strategy and category performance, alongside leading its well-known brands including Birds Eye, Goodfella’s, Aunt Bessie’s, and Findus.
Working across 22 international markets, Challouma is said to have played a key role in developing a unified commercial approach to support customer value and growth. Prior to this, he was general manager of Birds Eye UK & Ireland, leading the business through a period of significant transformation and growth.
“From plant-based foods and Mediterranean-Deli products to savoury pastry, dips, soups and sauces, the business has built an impressive combination of category-leading own label capabilities and leading brands,” commented Challouma. “I’m excited to build on that momentum and help shape the next phase of the Group’s journey.”
Smith, meanwhile, is to lead product development and innovation across the group having joined from Hilton Foods Group, where she was NPD and innovation director. To her latest role, she brings extensive experience across chilled private label food manufacturing, alongside a strong track record of building customer partnerships and category development. She previously led NPD for Greencore’s Food To Go business.
“The Compleat Food Group has established a strong reputation for quality, innovation and customer partnership across a diverse range of categories,” said Smith. “I’m looking forward to joining at such an important stage and working with teams across the business to continue developing outstanding products that deliver for customers and consumers.”
The appointments follow several senior hires announced this year by Compleat, including Judith Batchelar OBE as strategic advisor to the board, Sue Bell as chief technical officer, and Nick Reade as UK managing director.
Formed in 2021, Compleat has grown to employ more than 6,800 colleagues across 20 sites, generating annual revenues of almost £1.5bn. It is backed by European private equity firm PAI Partners.
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