Development growth leads to promotion at Branston

Vidyanath Gururajan (29) has been promoted to the position of Group Head: Development & Projects at Branston Ltd, following a restructure of the company's Development Department.

The restructure is a result of Branston's continued growth and increasing investment in innovation, which has also led to an expansion of the department. Vidyanath – known throughout the potato industry as "Vee" – will focus on innovative best practice across all areas of Branston's operations and be responsible for the co-ordination of operational capital projects, working alongside the company's general managers.

In keeping with Branston's ethos of reducing its carbon footprint year-on-year, Vee will chair the group environmental forum; ensuring the continued monitoring of carbon measurement resulting from Branston's activities, identifying carbon-producing hot-spots and developing and implementing carbon reduction plans.

Previously responsible for implementing improvements in the operation and supply chain, Vee was instrumental in delivering the carbon footprint labelling program for Tesco.

His new role will encompass ongoing management of Branston's Manufacturing Excellence Teams – an initiative introduced and implemented by Vee in his former position as Development Projects Manager - at the company's three sites across the UK.

Vee joined Branston, the UK's leading supplier of potatoes in the UK, in August 2005 as Development Engineer from LG Phillips where he worked as a Technology Engineer. Educated in both Britain and India, Vee has a first-class degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Madras and an MSc in Engineering Management from the University of Sunderland.

Since joining Branston he has qualified as a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), becoming a Member as a result and, in his spare time, has gained qualification as a Six Sigma Black Belt.

Following his appointment, Vee commented: "I am looking forward to the new challenges of this role and furthering the work I undertook when Development Projects Manager.

"This is an exciting time for Branston and expanding the department will enable the company to focus on its growth and ongoing development while, at the same time, meeting its environmental responsibilities."

To enable swift delivery on all NPD projects from conception to completion, Branston has also recently appointed a secondment Development Engineer and is looking to recruit a Development Co-ordinator.