Margate-based Speciality Breads started life as a high street bakery in 1994 before it moved into frozen bread production. Today, its Red Tractor-assured products range from frozen doughs to fully baked breads, which it supplies to the food and catering industry. Its turnover now exceeds £8 million, and with its breads being supplied to the Athletes’ Village during the 2012 London Olympics, they are arguably a highly specialised market leader.

Simon joined the company in 2016 and began a campaign of modernising the business to ensure it continued growing but remaining true to its ethos of finishing its products by hand rather than automating the business further.

Prior to joining Speciality Breads, Simon was already well-grounded within corporate leadership and the baking industry at large. He has held previous roles with Mexican restaurant chain Chiquito, Le Piaf Restaurants, Eaton Fine Dining and notably Brakes, where he spent eight years working initially as marketing manager then head of bakery. After leaving Brakes in 2012, he spent four years with AG Thames as sales and marketing director before taking up the post of MD with Speciality Breads.