Fairtrade Foundation appoints new Director of Commercial Relations
The Fairtrade Foundation has appointed Ashish Deo as its new Director of Commercial Relations.
Ashish, 46, brings with him a wealth of experience having worked at a senior level for some of the world’s most recognizable companies in a number of different pivotal roles within the consumer goods value chain.
Prior to joining the Fairtrade Foundation, Ashish worked at Diageo for 12 years, the last four as Commercial Development Director - Global Procurement.
Ashish will be responsible for a 20 strong commercial team progressing the commercial function of Fairtrade in the UK for the next stage of its ambitious growth path that has seen the movement increase retail sales from £16m in 1998 to £800m in 2010.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Fairtrade Foundation at what is a hugely exciting time for the Fairtrade movement in this country. My role will be to deepen and extend our relationships with our existing partners and to help achieve growing sales of Fairtrade products,” Asish Deo said.
“Ashish has enjoyed a successful career with a string of notable achievements. He is the ideal man to take Fairtrade to the next level and we are delighted to have him on board,” said Harriet Lamb, Fairtrade Foundation’s executive director.
Born in India and after completing his MBA, Ashish started his career in Mumbai where he was Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble. He moved to London with his family in 1994 where he worked as a senior Marketing Consultant.
Three years later in 1997, Ashish joined Diageo as Business Planning Manager in duty free where he remained for 12 years in a number of key roles including Strategy Director for its Asia key markets.
Ashish is married with two children and lives in Hampton, Middlesex.
Please ring The Fairtrade Foundation Press Office for more details on: 020 7440 7620 / 7695
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Notes to Editors
1. The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products which meet international Fairtrade standards. This independent consumer label is now recognised by 72% of UK consumers and appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
2. Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark including coffee, tea, herbal teas, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, mandarins, lychees, coconuts, dried fruit, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes & snacks, honey, jams & preserves, chutney & sauces, rice, quinoa, herbs & spices, seeds, nuts & nut oil, wines, beers, rum, confectionary, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys, cotton wool and olive oil.
3. 9 in 10 households purchase Fairtrade goods, including an extra 1.3 million more households in 2009, helping Fairtrade sales reach an estimated £800m in 2009 - a 13% increase on the previous year. There are over 460 producer organisations selling to the UK and by the end of October 2008 872 certified producer groups were in the global Fairtrade system, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.