Fiona Kendrick

Dame Fiona Marie Kendrick, DBE (born 5 May 1955) is the former chairman and chief executive of Nestlé UK & Ireland, the manufacturers of Kit Kat. Nestlé UK & Ireland has a turnover of around £2.7bn, with 8,000 employees over 23 sites.

Dame Fiona Kendrick
Born	Fiona Marie Kendrick (1955-05-05) 5 May 1955
Nationality	British
Occupation	Businessman
Title	Former CEO and Chairman, Nestlé UK & Ireland
Spouse(s)	Married
Children	2 sons

Early life

Kendrick was brought up in Hereford.[1] Her father was Irish and her mother English. She has an older sister, who is a retired headmistress in Sheffield.[1]

She studied biology and chemistry at university.[1] She began her career for two years as a biology and chemistry teacher.[1]

Career

Kendrick joined Nestlé UK in January 1980 as a commercial graduate in the frozen food section.[1] She became the first female chief executive of Nestlé UK in October 2012, being announced in August 2012. Nestlé UK has its headquarters at City Place Gatwick, off the A23 to the southeast of Gatwick Airport. She is a UK Commissioner for Employment and Skills.[2]

In July 2017, Kendrick stood down as CEO (but continued as chairman), and was succeeded by Stefano Agostini, who had been CEO of Nestle Waters Italy.[3][4] She retired as chairman in December 2018.

She joined the Food and Drink Sector Council, a government organisation formed in January 2018.[5] She has been the chairman of the board of trustees of the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMiTE) in Hereford since April 2017.[6]

Personal life

In January 2015 she was awarded a damehood in the 2015 New Year Honours.[7] She lives in Tadworth in east Surrey.[8] She is involved with the charity Speakers for Schools.[9] In 2015, she received an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University.[10]

Family

She is married to a graphic designer who used to run his own business, and they have two sons.[1]

References

1. Armitstead, Louise. "Nestle: industry must help develop skills". Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
2. Profile, ukces.blog.gov.uk; accessed 24 April 2016.
3. "Nestlé ceo Dame Fiona Kendrick steps down". foodmanufacture.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
4. "Nestle UK and Ireland appoint a new CEO". nestle.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
5. Food and Drink Sector Council
6. "Nestlé UK's chairman joins NMiTE's board of trustees". Confectionery Production. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
7. Notice of damehood for Fiona Kendrick, nestle.co.uk, January 2015.
8. Notice of damehood, yourlocalguardian.co.uk, December 2014.
9. "Dame Fiona Kendrick – Speakers for Schools". Speakers4schools.org. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
10. "Fiona Kendrick Doctorate". Nestle.co.uk. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2016-12-30.

Business positions
Preceded by Paul Grimwood	Chief Executive of Nestlé UK & I October 2012 - June 2017	Succeeded by Stefano Agostini
Preceded by Paul Grimwood	Chairman of Nestlé UK & I October 2012 - December 2018	Succeeded by
Preceded by	Managing Director of Nestlé UK (Food & Beverage Division) August 2001 - January 2008	Succeeded by
Cultural offices
Preceded by Richard Evans	President of the Food and Drink Federation January 2015- January 2017	Succeeded by Gavin Darby