Community Connect: Stamford

Ruth Edge

Head of Sustainability , KFC, UK & Ireland

Ruth Edge recently been appointed as  Head of Sustainability at KFC. Ruth Edge has over 15 years experience with a wealth of experience spanning the food and agricultural industry. Over this time Ruth has held pivotal roles in organizations such as Tesco, ABP and the National Farmers Union, honing her expertise and commitment to driving positive change.

Throughout her career, Ruth has demonstrated a steadfast dedication to bringing together diverse stakeholders across the supply chain to effect meaningful improvements in welfare, environmental sustainability, and producer livelihoods.

Emma Hallam

Commercial Director, Pilgrims Europe

Emma joined Moy Park in 2014, having held senior Sales & Marketing roles across the food industry for 18 years, moving in 2018 to a newly created role as Head of Sales – Strategic Affiliates, working closely with key customers and their manufacturing supply chain to develop and nurture these relationships.

A self-confessed ‘foodie’, Emma has a rich culinary family heritage with her parents’ restaurant ‘Harry’s Place’ holding a Michelin star for 17 years and her uncle being Managing Director of Dickinson & Morris, a position held since 1992.

Before following her family into the food industry, Emma was a graduate of The Royal Ballet School, she had the privilege of sharing a stage with Rudolf Nureyev at Covent Garden age 11 and  subsequently enjoyed a successful professional ballet career.

Orla McAleer

Chief Culture Officer, Alltech

Orla McAleer is the chief culture officer at Alltech. In this role, she works to strengthen the company’s emphasis on its people and purpose. She has worked in the business for over 20 years, traveling extensively, building teams and close relationships with colleagues globally. She leads the company focus on culture, including the alignment of its purpose, mission, vision and values.

McAleer has been central to the tremendous growth in the organization and has helped build a winning marketing team and brand that has matched the growth ambitions of the company.Prior to this role, she was the chief marketing officer at Alltech, responsible for overseeing the company’s global marketing efforts across its more than 120 markets. She has a track record in strategic global marketing leadership, B2B brand building and communications.

McAleer held several marketing and communications roles before joining Alltech at its European headquarters in Ireland in 2003 as European public relations manager. She was promoted to communications manager for Europe and Asia in 2004. In 2008, she relocated to Bangkok, Thailand, for her role as Asia-Pacific marketing manager, building the team and brand in 17 countries.She returned to Ireland to head up the European marketing function in 2010. She was also heavily involved in the corporate brand and $30 million activation of the sponsorship of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2010 and 2014.

In 2016, she became responsible for Alltech marketing globally and took on the role of chief marketing officer officially in 2017. She has steered the marketing function through integration of over 20 acquired companies, a transition to greatly enhanced digital marketing and activating the Alltech purpose of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™.

McAleer received her master's degree in business, leadership and management practice from the University College Dublin Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, a bachelor’s degree in business studies from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland and holds a diploma in public relations.

Karen O'Connor

Category Director Meat, Fish & Poultry, Sainsbury's

Karen leads the Meat, Fish & Poultry business at Sainsbury’s and is focused on creating a competitive, differentiated and compelling offer for the many millions of customers who shop meat, fish and poultry at Sainsbury’s each week. Having started her career at E.ON Energy across a number of commercial project and strategy roles, Karen joined Sainsbury’s in 2012 and took on the mantle of the MFP category in June 2021.

Karen describes her time leading MFP as being ‘an amazing opportunity to make a real difference through our meat, fish and poultry business at a time of huge change - and when future-proofing our supply chains and focusing on sustainability has never been more important’.

Originally from Ireland, Karen now lives in east London with her husband James, four-year-old Fiadh, and one-year old Dylan.

Deborah Ogden

Personal Branding Expert & Coach

Deborah Ogden is an internationally respected speaker on personal branding and impact.  She is also host of two podcasts, ‘On Brand With…’, sharing stories of personal brand in the real world, and ‘More Impact’ a weekly shot of impact inspiration.

Whether it’s building profile, winning more contracts, or pitching and presenting with confidence, working globally, Deborah’s expertise has delivered breakthrough results time after time for businesses and individuals.

She has 30 years experience working on the brand and image of some high-profile names including Old Trafford Cricket Ground, the British Heart Foundation and Co-operative Insurance (CIS).  Deborah has made an impact with organisations and individuals up and down the country including:  Tesco; Ernst & Young, Sheffield Forgemasters, Pinsent Masons, the University of Law and Polypipe - she brings first-hand experience of the power of personal branding both on a corporate and individual level.

Her approach centres around building profile as a visible expert and increasing personal impact using her Impact Method: ‘Clarity, Communicate, Capitalise’.

Having trained as a solicitor, Deborah has a strong background in professional services giving her an in-depth and real world understanding of the importance of backing up content with strong presentation.

Deborah is a regular commentator for BBC Radio and the press, featuring in national publications including Daily Mail, Express, Essentials and Stylist magazine and had her work published in Your Success, a personal development book. 

Andrew Richards

Commercial Director, Retail Europe, Pilgrims Europe

Andrew joined the business in 2017 as Commercial Director UK & Ireland to lead the company’s commercial strategy for the UK and Ireland including Moy Park’s extensive insight, marketing, food innovation and commercial functions, in 2018 was appointed European Commercial Director – Retail, and in 2020 gained Executive responsibility for the Prepared Foods operations. With an extensive commercial track record, Andrew has worked with many of Europe's market and category leading FMCG companies across confectionery (Cadbury/Kraft), savoury snacks (PepsiCo UK), soft drinks (Britvic PLC) and latterly coffee (UCC). Andrew holds the Advanced Management Programme from The Harvard Business School.

Dr Jules Taylor-Pickard

Technical Director, Technology Group, Alltech

Dr Jules Taylor-Pickard is the Technical Director of the Technology Group at Alltech, where she implements technologies, services and support globally, to ensure optimal commercial offerings and opportunities.

Dr Taylor-Pickard also directs the European commercial and research strategies, providing technical support to the sales force, initiating and supporting multi-species research activities, focusing on solutions to optimise animal performance and efficiency.

Dr Taylor- Pickard has been with Alltech for 21 years and has held previous roles including Global Gut Health Director, Global MYCOSORB® Manager, and Pig Technical Manager for Europe. She obtained her Ph.D. specializing in piglet gut health, physiology, and immunity.