UK Flour Millers has announced the appointment of Alistair Gale as chief executive, taking over from director general, Alex Waugh, who has led the organisation (formerly nabim) for more than two decades.
Alistair will join UK Flour Millers on 1 June 2023 from the Port of London Authority (PLA), where he is director of corporate affairs & strategy. Prior to the PLA, Alistair worked for Blue Circle Industries plc/Lafarge, Cement UK, the UK’s largest cement manufacturer.
“Flour is an ingredient in about a third of our supermarket foods, and the UK flour milling sector is vital to the nation,” Alistair Gale said. “I’m looking forward to joining in the early summer, continuing the transformation in profile and representation the association has been evolving through over recent years.”
Alex Waugh will be retiring from UK Flour Millers after more than 30 years’ service. He has worked across a number of other representative organisations, including the UK Rice Association and European Flour Millers, and played a leading role in a number of sectoral committees and organisations advising government and industry.
Commenting on Alex Waugh’s retirement, UK Flour Millers president and chairman of Whitworth Bros and Carr’s flour mills, Roger Butler, said: “Alex’s passion for the milling industry is evident to all of us as members. He has helped us address many challenges and changes in his time with the association. He will leave with our heartfelt thanks for an amazingly well-done job.”
Some 2,500 people are employed in UK flour milling, working in an industry with 51 mills across the country. Trade association, UK Flour Millers is the industry’s representative body, collating and sharing the collective views and positions of members. As the ‘industry voice’, the association speaks on behalf of its members to government, policy makers, the media and other stakeholders.