Founded in 1876, Warburtons remains a private family-owned business, led by the fifth generation of Warburtons – Jonathan, Ross and Brett. The cousins took over the business in 1991 from their fathers, Derrick, George and Tom, who ran the business together with Henry Warburton. Since then, they have built the family business into Britain’s biggest bakery brand but without losing the sense of family values on which it has been built.
The brand has grown under the cousin’s stewardship, but the passion for baking the best quality bakery products has always been at its heart. They take a long term, sustainable approach to growth to ensure they can pass the business to the sixth generation in the best shape possible. They believe investing back into the business, in innovation, technology and their people while never compromising on quality is key to their success.
Jonathan, now Chairman, gained experience in sales and marketing, spending time with some of the world’s biggest brands such as Unilever before joining the business, progressing through the marketing ranks to Marketing Director where he developed some of the brands most iconic ad campaigns before becoming Managing Director. Chairman since 2001, Jonathan is still actively involved in the marketing and commercial side of the business. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Manchester Met University in 2003.
Now Executive Director, Ross graduated from the University of Oxford before heading to work as an Investment Manager in the City of London for a number of years. When he joined the family business, Ross spent time in operations, managing bakeries before becoming Executive Chairman. Ross is involved in the business today, taking an active role on financial and investment matters. He was awarded the MBE for services to the food industry in 2004.
After graduating from University, Brett gained experience in the British food & bakery industry before completing his MBA at Harvard. His passion for business and people saw Brett focus on operations, joining the business as General Manager of the bread division before becoming Managing Director. Now Executive Director. Brett remains focused on the operations side of the business, from the wheat it buys to the people who bake the products every day. Brett was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Kent in 2009.
The three cousins are actively involved in the British Food Industry, taking leading roles on key trade and research organisations, and regularly speaking at many influential conferences.
With headquarters still in Bolton, England, Warburtons now employs approximately 4,500 employees in 12 bakeries and 14 depots across the country. They bake more than 2 million of their famous wax wrapped loaves, thins, wraps, crumpets, pancakes and bread rolls every day. Warburtons is the second biggest grocery brand in the UK.
Click on the images below to view .pdf files of the inductee’s biography and plaque.
