UK baker Warburtons has appointed Nestle UK's head of chocolate, Mark Simester, to the post of marketing director.
Simester will join Warburtons in October, replacing Richard Hayes who left in January.
Simester is well-placed to continue to develop the Warburtons brand, having overseen Nestle UK's chocolate business for the past two years. Prior to this, Simester was responsible for Nestle's marketing of brands including Kit Kat and Aero as well as the Polo mints range.
Mark Simester joins the Warburtons family
Leading bakery brand appoints new Marketing Director
Warburtons, the UK's leading bakery brand and second biggest grocery brand, has appointed Mark Simester to the role of Marketing Director, to join the company from early October 2012.
Mark will oversee the Marketing and Product Innovations teams to help maintain the company's position as category leader and continue to drive forward the business's continued commitment to long-term growth.
His role will focus on the further development of the brand's proposition to ensure continued relevance for the British consumer, as well as continue to drive best-in-class innovation and new product development.
Mark says: "I'm delighted to be joining the Warburtons family at such an exciting time. Warburtons is an iconic household brand, famous for its high quality products and customer service. My priority will be to continue to drive the Warburtons brand forward, increase its relevance with consumers and further develop its offering."
Prior to taking up his new role, Mark worked for Nestlé where he was Head of The Chocolate Business in the UK & Ireland. Since joining Nestlé in 1994, Mark has worked in a variety of management roles across Consumer Marketing, Sales, and Category Marketing, and has managed brands such as Kit Kat, Aero, Yorkie, Smarties, Milkybar, Rolo, Toffee Crisp and Polo. Most recently he has been leading a 16 strong multi-functional Chocolate Business Unit team at Nestlé where he has responsibility for the company's chocolate portfolio worth £400m sales per annum.
Jonathan Warburton, Warburtons Chairman and Chief Executive says: "This is a fantastic time to be joining Warburtons as we strive to become one of the world's best family food businesses and we're delighted to welcome Mark into our team.
Mark has a solid track record working with top brands, so the wealth of experience Mark has to offer will be a great asset to the business as we continue to strengthen our consumer offering."
Warburtons is the UK's leading bakery brand and second biggest grocery brand in the country. Its product range includes the best-selling Warburtons 800g Toastie, the 800g Soft Farmhouse and 800g Wholemeal. As the company continues to grow its core UK Bakery repertoire by expanding its Sandwich Alternative offering with the launch of its brown and seeded varieties of Square-ish Wraps, Sandwich Thins and Pittas, it has also successfully entered into new markets with its range of Baked Pitta Chip snacks, Gluten-Free and Wheat Free bread, rolls and sweet muffins and has also started exporting to France and Central Europe.
