Chairman and CEO, Nestlé U.K. and Ireland
Fiona Kendrick became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé U.K. and Ireland in 2012, having joined Nestlé U.K. in 1980 in the commercial area. Before joining Nestlé, she started her career in teaching.
Fiona has spent her working life with Nestlé in key strategic roles in the U.K. market as well as at the global level. In her role as Chairman and CEO, she heads up the U.K. and Ireland business which has a turnover of £2.4 billion and employs 8,000 people across 20 sites.
Prior to taking this role, Fiona was responsible for the global strategic direction of Nestlé’s coffee and beverage brands based in Nestlé headquarters in Switzerland. This role had the responsibility for setting the global direction for the Nestlé beverage brands including Nescafé. The role reported into the main Nestlé Executive Board.
Fiona has a personal passion for the youth employment and skills agenda, and is leading a number of lighthouse projects in this area both inside and outside Nestlé. She is helping to transform Nestlé U.K. and Ireland’s recruitment practices through the Nestlé Academy. The Academy brings together graduate and apprenticeship programmes, direct entry schemes and vocational training in order to deliver more flexible entry points and alternative routes to higher education for people. Fiona was a U.K. Commissioner for Employment and Skills and played a lead role in supporting the development and delivery of strategies for skills and employment across the four U.K. nations.
From January 2015 to December 2016 she was President of the Food and Drink Federation, the association that represents the U.K. food and drink manufacturing industry. She previously led the organisation’s skills and competitiveness agenda and co-chaired the U.K. Food and Drink Export Forum.
In the 2015 New Year’s Honour’s list Fiona was created Dame Commander of the British Empire for services to the food industry and support for skills and opportunities for young people. In January 2017 she was appointed to the Board of the Institute for Apprenticeships.
