Currently relocated in Cape Town after being based in Shanghai where he has worked for 3
years, Richard was most recently Corporate Strategic Marketing Director for Sinodis, one of
the largest distributors of leading imported food brands in China, to both the Retail and
Foodservice industry. He was responsible for Corporate and Business strategy, heading
E-commerce strategy and online shopping, leading Trade Marketing, and developing the
"Healthy" product category. Prior to this he was Marketing Director for Element Fresh, the
leading casual dining restaurant chain in China, and also undertook Marketing and Retail
consulting work.
Before moving to China Richard spent more than twelve years in the Retail Industry with internationally
recognized multidepartment quality retailer Woolworths South Africa, where he was Executive Head of Marketing
for Foods and General Merchandise. The initial eight years of his career were spent in the FMCG industry and
split between respected multinationals Kelloggs South Africa and SmithKline Beecham (now Glaxo SmithKline),
where he held both senior Marketing and Trade Marketing Key Account positions.
Richard's career has given him deep insights into international Retail and Foodservice, E-commerce strategy
and implementation, and a unique understanding from both an FMCG supplier and Retail client point of view.
He has launched and developed multiple new brands in different markets and implemented new Trade
Marketing and Retail Key Account programmes. He has developed and implemented Marketing and CRM
strategies based on customer insights, and successfully repositioned various Retail divisions from Food to Beauty,
resulting in their highest ever market shares. Most notably, he led the marketing strategy and repositioning of the
Woolworths Food business, driving the "Good Business Journey' towards more organic , healthy and natural
food, and more sustainable business practices. He launched the first Retail Food magazine in South Africa which
is still a successful consumer publication today, and has won numerous industry awards. His most recent
accomplishments have been the successful launch of an online shopping division in the relatively new online
category of imported food in China, and the introduction of a new Key Accounts structure to the Retail division
of Sinodis China, which he has led over the past year. The online division has seen excellent sales results just one
year after launch, and a successful turnaround has been achieved in terms of sales and profitability of the Retail
Division.
