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MEET OUR TEAM
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CAMERON CARRINGTON-RIGG
Co-Founder & 'The Student Person'
Hi, I’m Cam and I’ve been interested in food as long as I can remember, baking up a storm in my nans kitchen!
I studied Food and Nutrition at Sheffield Hallam University with a placement year in industry & I’ve spent the majority of my 10 years in the industry working in Development, but have also spent time in both technical and commercial too.
After working for Yum Brands for 2 years, developing lots of delicious products for Pizza Hut, the North came calling again (I’m a proud Northerner!) and I made the move up to Manchester. Knowing my heart was in Development and having grown up with Co-op in my life (my mum worked in a Co-op store my whole childhood!), I took an opportunity at Co-op Food as a Product Developer back in 2017 where I stayed for 7 years across a number of different development and commercial roles. If I had to choose which role was my favourite, it’d be a tie between my time developing Ready Meals and my time buying Hot Food to Go – both came with their challenges, but a lot of fun too!
I'm now in role as Lead Product Development Manager at Tesco, spending my time between my home in Manchester, work home in Welwyn Garden City and the numerous suppliers I have the pleasure of working with, managing a team of 7 fabulous developers who make the job even more enjoyable. My life revolves around all things Prepared, one day I’ll be taste testing Ready Meals, the next seeing our Pizzas being made in North London, the next visiting our suppliers out on the continent.
I am motivated by supporting students to realise their potential, and support students in finding their first job in the industry and this is why I set up Flourish in Food back in 2020.
CATHERINE PINTILIE
Co-Founder & 'The Data/People Person'
I’m Catherine, and I lead a grower-owned avocado importing business based in the UK. Our farms are located across Southern Africa and beyond, and I oversee sales and logistics across the UK and Europe. I’m very passionate about avocados and the supply chain and my favourite way to eat them is in a good guacamole.
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Previously, I worked as Supply Chain Director at Fruit Logic, a fruit-packing operation supplying fresh produce to UK supermarkets. Before that, I was Buying Manager for Taco Bell Europe, where I was responsible for sourcing a wide range of products—from beef and tortillas to beverages, packaging, and even furniture.
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I studied Geography and Management at the University of Leeds, including a year in industry with the Sainsbury’s Marketing team. After graduating, I returned to Sainsbury’s on the Commercial Graduate Scheme and went on to spend 10 years as a Food Buyer. It was during my time as the Grapes, Citrus, and Avocado Buyer that I discovered my passion for fresh produce. Visiting farms and meeting growers around the world remains one of the highlights of my career.
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I am deeply committed to supporting students as they pursue careers in the food industry and to creating opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds. I am especially motivated by mentoring and serving as a role model for young women entering the sector.
CLAIRE MARTINO
'The Getting Things Done Person'
I'm Claire and work as a Head of Marketing at Bakkavor, where we make a wide variety of products such as meals, desserts, soups, dips, salads, pizzas and garlic bread.
My role is varied, but it's really all about understanding market trends and ensuring that we keep the shopper and their needs at the heart of the decisions we make. I studied languages and business at uni and my first role was using my languages in a large multinational company, but I quickly learned that I didn't really relate to their products so after 2 years, I left to join Bakkavor!
After completing a leadership training programme, I have become really passionate about my own personal development as well as that of others.
I first joined Flourish as a mentor to share my experience and have gained so much from it that I wanted to help even more. I've now joined the Flourish team to help widen their programme beyond graduates/early years and ensure more people in the food industry get to benefit from having a mentor.
CAITLIN CANNON
'The Digital Person'
Hi guys, I’m Caitlin and currently work as an Assistant Brand Manager at Kerry Dairy Ireland, working on exciting kids brands like Cheestrings and Attack A Snak.
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I’ve always been super passionate about the food industry, stemming from my Home Economics lessons at school, to then going on to study Food Marketing and Business Economics at the University of Reading, and now being within the industry as a career.
My Flourish journey began as a mentee, which I found such a valuable experience that I was keen to get more involved. Now I am part of the team to help promote Flourish through our digital channels, so even more foodies can become part of the scheme!
WILL DICKINSON
'The Partnerships Person'
Hi, I'm Will and I've worked in and around the food industry in some form for 20 years!
I first stepped into a kitchen as an apprentice chef in 2005, and from there went on to spend a decade working in fine dining restaurants in the Lake District, spending much of that time working in Michelin star restaurants.
In 2014 I decided to have a complete career pivot and applied for a development chefs role at Greencore, that first step into the food manufacturing industry was quite a tough contrast to the fine dining kitchens I was used to, but proving that with the right attitude and a lot of hard work I have managed to progress through the ranks
Now working at Premier Foods I am the Head of R&D for cake, looking after some big brands including Mr Kipling. It's great to be part of a branded business and seeing another side to the industry after a lot of years focussing on own label products.
Being a mentor for Flourish has been an incredibly rewarding opportunity over the last few years, and I hope I have managed to provide some good advice and support to all the mentees I have met along the way. Being able to give something back to an industry I love that has supported me so well over the years is a real privilege.