Food giant Heinz has appointed Lee Rolston to the role of director for its Explore UK & Ireland division.
Rolston, who joins Heinz from Muller Dairy where he was marketing director, will head up the firm's Explore team, created earlier this year to drive innovation.
He succeeds Giles Jepson who was promoted to chief marketing officer for Heinz UK & Ireland in April this year.
Prior to joining Muller, Rolston worked for Cadbury in various senior marketing roles and latterly as global brand director.
He joins Heinz on 3 December.
Speaking at last week's IGD Conference in London, Matt Hill, president of the US food group's businesses in the UK and Ireland, called on the grocery sector to invest in innovation to drive growth amid the tough trading conditions facing the industry.
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Heinz Appoints Lee Rolston to Lead Heinz Explore Team Heinz has announced the appointment of Lee Rolston, former Marketing Director at Muller Dairy, as Director, Explore for Heinz UK & Ireland.
The Heinz Explore team, created to drive break-through innovations and credited with the launch earlier this year of LOL, the fruit-based soft drink for teens, was led by Giles Jepson until April this year when he was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer for Heinz UK & Ireland.
Prior to joining Muller Dairy in 2010, where he was credited with a complete overhaul of the brand, including the highly impactful advertising campaign "Wunderful Stuff", Rolston worked for Cadbury in various senior marketing roles and latterly as Global Brand Director. Whilst at Cadbury Rolston developed the famous Cadbury Dairy Milk communication campaign - 'Glass and a Half Full Productions' including the award winning 'gorilla' and 'eyebrows' executions.
Rolston started his career at Whitbread/Interbrew/InBev and for 10 years worked across sales, innovation and marketing. He held various senior marketing roles for Stella Artois and managed several of the successful Stella Artois 'Reassuringly Expensive' campaigns.
Matt Hill, Heinz UK & Ireland President, said, "This important appointment will further strengthen our focus on innovation and new business. Lee brings a strong track record on creativity, and I'm looking forward to him driving some bold new initiatives for Heinz"
Rolston joins Heinz on 3 December.
