Andrea Wilkinson-Leith is an experienced category manager and project manager based in France with over 20 years of experience in procurement. She has a proven track record of delivering significant cost savings for organizations, including savings of over £1 million and €1 million on projects for Britvic and Hyatt, respectively. She is proficient in category planning, management, and supplier relationship management. Wilkinson-Leith is multilingual, with business proficiency in French and German. She is currently freelancing and looking for new permanent or interim opportunities.

1. Andrea Wilkinson-Leith
86 Route du Soulor, 64800 Arthez D’Asson, France
Tel: +33 (0) 559 309245,Mob: +33 (0) 645 026925
E-Mail: andrea.wilkinson-leith@outlook.com
 Experienced Category Manager of all ingredients and packaging used in FMCG environment
 Category Planning, Category Management and Supplier Relationship Management trained and
proficient – Track 8
 International exposure within large, multi-national organisations
 Results driven with proven savings of £1M in a budget year
 Team Player and Mentor within Purchasing team as well as cross-functionally
 Key Stakeholder influencing skills and Project Management focussed
 Languages at business level – French and German – with proven application in recent roles
 Currently living in France, self-employed and looking for new opportunities either Interim or
Permanent
EXPERIENCE
Freelance
Project Manager – Hyatt France May 2014 – Sept 2015
 Headed up project for Hyatt France for Food spend for 7 hotels with value of €11M covering Meat, Fish, Fruit
and Vegetables, Dairy and Grocery Categories. Identified and implemented €1M savings.
 Responsible for all Project Documentation including Plan, Issues and Risk Register Log, Minutes and
Presentations as well as management of timeframe, meetings and all communication with stakeholders.
 Managed all supplier communications, tenders and contract award recommendations as well as Reporting to
Hyatt Senior Management team.
 Supported other Project Manager on Hyatt Beverage Tender and with French supplier communications
Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd
Category Manager – Paper Packaging (Interim then Permanent before move to France) Nov 2011 – Sept 2013
 Reported to Head of Directs Procurement as one of 5 Category Managers
 Responsible for strategy of categories worth £25M across paper, plastic reel-fed and self-adhesive labels,
corrugated, cartonboard and shrink-sleeves across the Group ( 10 sites across GB, Ireland, France)
 Delivered target of £1m savings in role through category management through to contract negotiation by
challenging the market, consolidating the supply base and changing the status quo in terms of internal
requirements
 Achieved all other objectives including Stakeholder Influencing, Demonstrating Leadership Skills, Managing
Change, Cross-functional Project Management, Effective Communication and Use of Procurement Toolbox
 Worked closely with BUs to deliver Innovation projects with select suppliers in line with category strategies
Molson Coors Brewing Co Ltd,
Senior Regional Category Manager Packaging - Interim Aug 2010 – Oct 2011
 Responsible for strategy of all categories of packaging worth £120M including glass bottles, aluminium and
steel cans, PET, cartonboard, corrugated, film, keg caps and glue
 Negotiated all contracts and improved payment terms, continuity of supply and pricing delivering savings of
£6M and improving cashflow by £1M
 Developed and managed supplier relationships to improve supplier performance in line with the SRM
programme
 Identified cost reduction opportunities and technical innovations and proactively drove these opportunities
through the business.
 Identified key areas of financial risk and supply vulnerability within the packaging portfolio and developed
mitigating action plans
 Represented Group Procurement in cross-functional regional interfaces
 Supported Group Head of Direct Procurement with budgeting and forecasting process

2.  Ensured all necessary purchasing and master file data updated accurately on SAP
Severn Trent Water PLC Jan 2008 – Aug 2010
Category Manager
 Recruited as Key Supplier Manager in Operations working with OJEU Regulations and managing a portfolio of
equipment (variable speed drives, odour control design plants, CHP engines and spares) for Waste to Energy,
Renewables and Energy efficiency projects. Working alongside Engineering to manage Key Suppliers mostly
within the Capital Expenditure arena.
 Promoted to Category Manager within Strategy and Systems Team – managing 3 staff on Purchasing Helpline
and P2P Senior Systems Support. Promoting P2P within the business and looking at other systems and
compliance in preparation for SAP implementation.
 Worked alongside IT with regard to development and maintenance of the system as well as improving computer-
based training for requisitioners.
 Created and maintained Policies and Procedures relating to P2P for the business as well as Purchasing to ensure
compliance and providing training and best practice.
 Maintained Audit Log for both internally and externally identified audit points for action by the management team.
Beiersdorf UK Ltd
Purchasing & Packaging Executive Nov 2006 – Jan 2008
 Reported to Purchasing Manager as part of Senior Team in Purchasing and Packaging Dept
 Managed Gift packaging for Nivea for Men Brand in UK alongside other seasonal promotions including creation of
packs with Customer Marketing, suppliers and design agency, artwork and fulfilment of timely retailer supply
chain requirements
 Delivered successful Christmas range to budget and to specific retailer requirements
 Packaging types included plastic vac forms, 4-colour print cartons and outer cases including Retail Ready
Packaging and Labels for High Street Stores and Supermarkets.
 Objectives achieved and included improvement of current Supplier Evaluation process, Working Capital Targets,
Sourcing new suppliers including audit function and becoming Lead buyer for Plastic Packaging portfolio.
H J Heinz, Telford
European Buyer – Interim Maternity Covers Jan 2004 – Sept 2006
 Maternity Cover with responsibility for Dairy Powder Portfolio of $25M for UK, Holland and Italy for Infant Feeding,
Soups, Desserts, Ready Meals
 Took on $50M Food Additive Portfolio in addition until end of contract.
 Managed and achieved cost saving projects of $800,000 whilst sourcing new opportunities for driving out cost
using Six Sigma methodologies within supply-base
 Introduced new technologies to replace existing ingredients providing cost savings and risk management strategy
 Used e-sourcing/e-auctions using Emptoris to drive through further cost benefits
 Delivered Right First Time Quality Plan with suppliers as well as new Terms and Conditions to strengthen the
business’ position in terms of liability
 Trained in Ariba & SAP systems for Contract Management.
 Involved frequent European and UK travel where I used my language skills with European suppliers
Muller UK Jun 2002 - Jan 2004
Buyer – Ingredients
 Reported into German Lead Buyers with regard to managing contracts for Ingredients used on UK site - Fruit
Preps, Fructose, Flavours Starches, Emulsifiers, Stabilisers, Colours, Frozen Fruit as well as improving
communication and relationships between UK and German sites
 Lead Buyer for 33M Euro Cereal spend across UK and German sites with responsibility for driving down cost
whilst balancing market conditions on products such as Rice, Cocoa, Raisins, Nuts and Biscuits
 Site Buyer for Ingredients including Skimmed Milk Powder, Gelatine, Cocoa Powder, and Other Misc. Ingredients.
 Delivered saving of 3M Euros on Lead Category of Cereals across UK and Germany for Muller Corner Brand.

3.  Key User for Purchasing for Introduction of SAP Purchasing Module - Go Live October 2003.
 Part of 6 month Project Team on SAP implementation and responsible for training of all requisitioners and writing
and training of all purchasing processes
 Maternity Cover for Purchasing Analyst managing all reporting against budget to Germany from November 2002
 Working closely with Planning, QA, NPD and Marketing Teams to ensure timely product launches to Retail both in
Germany and UK
Kerry Ingredients (Previously Lucas Ingredients) Aug 1996 - Jun 2002
Buyer
 Ingredients Buyer in a team of 5 in Central Purchasing reporting to Commodity and Ingredient Managers at
European Head Office.
 Responsible for raw materials for Flavour business (spend approx. £4M) and Bakery Division (£3M).
 Saving in excess of 10% across ingredients for Flavour business through negotiation and supplier rationalisation.
 Reporting and analysis on Budget, Actual and Variance monthly reports considering currency and commodity
market conditions.
 Progressed the technical evaluation and approval of new and alternative materials in conjunction with the
Technical and QA Departments through both manual systems and Optiva.
 Ensured price information on systems was current with multiple lot sizes and economic order quantities
 Improved supplier performance addressing issues as necessary with the Audit Team
 Reduced number of live suppliers whilst ensuring the business was not exposed in key product areas
 Maintained and updated contracts and coordinated with logistics planning in line with forecast data to ensure
efficient operation of MRP.
 Reduced number of invoice discrepancies
 Worked in Germany for 6 months in 2001 managing transfer of raw materials to new acquisition (£6M spend),
MRP and use and training of new Promix computer system, working closely with Operations, Technical, and
Central Purchasing in England as well as coordinating local site issues between production and customer
services and liaising in relevant language with German, French and English Suppliers
QUALIFICATIONS: 1976 – 1982 La Retraite High School for Girls, Clifton, Bristol
10 O Levels and 3 A Levels (German, French, History)
1983– 1984 Queen Mary College, University of London
BA (Hons) European Studies (German) – Completed First Year
2001 Diploma Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply Chain
Bath College of Higher Education
2014 TEFL – Teaching English as a Foreign Language – 120 hour course
IT COMPETENCES: SAP, Microsoft Excel and Word, Track 8 – Category Management, E-Sourcing – SAP, Ariba and
Emptoris
LANGUAGES: German (Business competency written and spoken) – used in 6 month project in Frankfurt with
Kerry, with teams at Nivea in Hamburg and with suppliers in all business environments
French (Business competency written and spoken) – used mostly at Britvic with suppliers and
with colleagues at French sites and working with Hyatt as well as on a daily basis as French
resident
MOBILITY: Full Driving Licence and own car – European region
INTERESTS: Travel, Reading, Holistic Therapies, Gardening, Teaching English