The North West Business Leadership Team has welcomed Andrew Milne, Group Chief Operating Officer of Nichols plc, the international soft drinks group based in Newton-le-Willows, to its ranks of the region’s prominent thinkers and decision makers.
Andrew joined Nichols as Commercial Director for Vimto Soft Drinks in July 2013. He was appointed to the plc Board on 1st January 2016 and became Group Chief Operating Officer in 2019. Andrew also has extensive experience in the soft drinks industry having previously worked as Sales Director for the Northern region at Coca Cola Enterprises and prior to that, as Trading Director at GlaxoSmithKline. At a time when the region and the country are facing major challenges, Andrew’s knowledge and industry expertise will be an important resource in shaping thinking within the NWBLT.
On joining the NWBLT, Andrew commented: “I am excited to become a part of NWBLT during this challenging period for both our region and for the nation. At Nichols we are proud of our long history in the international soft drinks business. With a brand history of 112 years and sales in over 85 countries, the experience we have gained diversifying our business stands us in good stead for the future. I look forward to sharing this knowledge with my peers in the NWBLT and learning from them too”.
Richard Carter, NWBLT’s Chair and Managing Director of BASF Group companies in the UK and Ireland, commented: “We are delighted that Andrew has joined the NWBLT. His contribution will be invaluable to our programme of work during these turbulent times and we are very much looking forward to engaging further with him, and his team, at Nichols plc”.
