Brakes are the leading wholesale foodservice supplier in the UK, they have been providing food and catering supplies to the food services industry across the country for 60 years. In 2016, Brakes became a part of the Sysco family, making them part of the biggest foodservice company in the world.

tml Partners were referred to work with Brakes by Matt Stewart. The brief was to fill Matt’s role when he was promoted from Communications Director within Brakes to Senior Director – International Communications at Sysco. Matt introduced tml Partners to Margaret Gooch, HR Director, so that we were able to gain insight into what Brakes needed from their new Corporate Affairs Director. Margaret and Matt were keen to bring someone into the role who would be able to continue the work Matt had done with the corporate affairs team in developing the strategy across internal communications, external communications, public affairs and CSR.

On working with tml Partners Margaret said:

“We engaged with tml Partners to support us with the search for our next Director of Communications.  From the outset Tom and Naomi quickly understood the brief: someone who would have a clear vision for the role corporate communications needs to play in the next stage of our journey at Sysco GB, but also someone who would be the right cultural fit for our Executive team and lead our Communications department. tml Partners provided us with a broad range of candidates at the initial stages and then supported us right through the selection process. Working with tml Partners ensured we had the very best candidates available in the market being put forward for the role and thanks to them, we’re delighted with our appointment.”

tml Partners were chosen as the sole recruitment partner for the role, which meant we were able to do an extensive market map, focusing on providing candidate profiles with a varied communications background. This led to Jessica Latimer securing the role of Corporate Affairs Director and lead the fully integrated communications function at Brakes. Jessica has previously worked with organisations such Sky and SAP and started out in a communications agency. She was able to draw together her expertise to take on the role.

On working with tml Partners Jessica said:

“Naomi was a great support to me throughout the recruitment process at Brakes. She provided me with a full brief ahead of the initial interview which covered everything I needed to prepare me for my meetings. Naomi was quick to provide feedback after each stage and understood my needs as we went through the process together. I would recommend Naomi to anyone looking for support and guidance to help them find their next senior Comms role.”

About tml Partners: Specialist Headhunters for Marketing and Commercial Roles

tml Partners are specialists in Executive Search and Professional Search with access to a global network of commercial, marketing, business development, communications, brand, product, and digital leaders. Our team works with businesses ranging from fast-growth challenger brands to blue-chip organisations to develop their in-house teams.

With offices in New York and London, our team has the expertise to support across key hiring locations, globally.

To learn how tml Partners can help you, please get in touch.