Co-operator named as new Central England Co-op President
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 20/11/2020
Date published: 20/11/2020
An experienced co-operator who has dedicated her life to supporting vital good causes has been named as the new President of Central England Co-op.
Jane Avery, from Markfield, in Leicester, was unanimously elected as Society President this week and will now chair the Board of Directors.
Jane had her first encounter with co-operatives at the age of 13 and has never looked back.
Alongside her current role as a Board Member and now President, Jane has devoted much of her professional life to supporting people looking to set up worker co-ops and social enterprise businesses, as well as supporting several other vital good causes such as Leicester Rape Crisis.
She will now be responsible for the leadership of the Board to ensure the Society carries out its commitment to be a successful co-operative business and to serve the best interests of the members in line with its long-term strategy.
Jane said: “It fills me with immense pride to have been elected as Central England Co-op President and I am excited about working closely with my fellow Board Directors during the next 12 months to support our ongoing efforts to continue to grow our strong, independent, and successful Society.
“I would also like to pay tribute to Elaine Dean, our outgoing President, for the amazing job she has done representing Central England Co-operative not just here in the UK but across the globe.”
Elaine will support Jane after being elected to the role of Society Vice-President.
Jim Watts, Society Secretary, said: “Jane has a long and close association with the Society spanning many years and is well known throughout Central England Co-operative and across the wider co-operative movement as a champion of co-operation and advocate of co-operative values and principles.
“Jane will continue to work closely with our Chief Executive Debbie Robinson and her executive team in developing the Society’s strategy as a relevant and progressive co-operative business.”
Notes to editors
Picture caption: Central England Co-op President Jane Avery and Vice-President Elaine Dean.
About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.
Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish.
Our 7,550 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 400 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.
We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.
Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood
Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle
Phone - 01543 421390
Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop