Following the recent acquisition of drinks supplier Matthew Clark, off licence and convenience chain Conviviality has announced the appointment of Mark Aylwin as Managing Director of Matthew Clark. He will replace Steve Thomson, who after 10 years as CEO, has decided to step down from the role to pursue other interests. Aylwin will take up his position in January 2016.”¯
Aylwin has been in the food”¯and”¯drinks”¯industry for over 35 years and has worked in senior positions with a range of organisations including Booker”¯Group,”¯Blueheath, Safeway”¯and Musgrave Group.”¯ He spent eight years at Booker, most recently as”¯Managing Director of Booker Retail Partners (formerly Musgrave Retail Partners)”¯where he had responsibility for Budgens and Londis. Prior to that Mark was the MD of Booker Direct,”¯the delivered wholesale business of Booker, which included”¯Booker Direct, Chef Direct, Ritter”¯Courivaud and”¯Classic Drinks. Aylwin”¯was also a member of the Board of Booker Group.
Aylwin joined Booker from Blueheath, where he was CEO of the AIM listed delivered wholesaler. Blueheath had pioneered web based wholesaling and was acquired by Booker in 2007. He also spent 20 years at Safeway, where he held senior roles in Buying, Operations, Supply Chain and Logistics. Aylwin was a member of the Board of Safeway.
Ian Smith Commercial Director Matthew Clark, who has contributed to the success of Matthew Clark over 37 years, will become Deputy Managing Director with immediate effect and be a key support to Aylwin.
“I am delighted to appoint Mark as Managing Director of our Matthew Clark business,” commented Diana Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of Conviviality. “He has a wealth of experience in food and drink wholesale and is ideally placed to develop the Matthew Clark business with our customers and suppliers.”
“I am pleased with the progress we have made since the acquisition and the integration is ahead of plan,” she continued. “The key hires required to deliver our synergies are in place ahead of plan and all the teams in both businesses are working well together.
“I would also like to thank Steve Thomson for his contribution to Matthew Clark. Over the past 10 years Steve has led the business, and has presided over a period of significant growth. Steve was integral throughout the recent acquisition process while also ensuring that customers continued to receive the high level of service that they had come to expect from Matthew Clark. I am delighted that Steve will continue to work with our business on a consultancy basis for a period of time on a number of key projects and wish him well for the future.”
