Following Mark Doherty’s promotion to Managing Director of John West in March this year, UK tinned seafood brand John West has announced the promotion of Kate Willoughby to Commercial Director, the position previously held by Doherty.
“Kate’s promotion to Commercial Director John West is a testament to her dedication and commitment to our business,” Doherty said. “It is also a reflection on the good talent management work done by John West and our parent company Thai Union to realise the full potential of our people. Kate’s commercial leadership will be vital in introducing the biggest packaging innovation our category has seen in the last 15 years. I am delighted to have her on our team and wish her all the best in her new role.”
Willoughby said that as well as some “major innovation projects hitting the market later this year”, she’s looking forward to working with retailers to fully leverage John West’s partnership with ParalympicsGB and “supporting them on their road to Paris as their official protein partner”.
She has been a grocery professional for over 20 years with experience in both marketing and sales managing key retail customers.
For the last 10 years, she has worked in John West holding a variety of marketing and brand controller positions where she delivered key innovation projects. She then moved into the role as Commercial Controller, managing a range of key accounts with her team.
Prior to joining John West, Willoughby held marketing and category manager roles with a variety of FMCG companies including Weetabix and Typhoo.
