DIY WEEK AWARDS 2023 Meet the Judges


As the excitement builds for this year’s DIY Week Awards taking place in London on Friday 19th May, the entries are coming in and our panel of expert judges are preparing to evaluate them and draw up the shortlist of potential winners. We’ll be publishing more details in the next issue, but for now here’s your chance to find out more about the people making the all-important decisions…


RETAILER JUDGES


PAUL BAGNALL Former Channel Manager, Henkel Consumer Adhesives


Paul, now retired after 36 years in the industry, has gained a wealth of experience and knowledge in both Sales and Marketing. He joined Loctite in 1984 and then worked until retirement for Henkel who bought Loctite in 1997. Paul forged a really successful career in sales, working with both multiples and independent retailers, across major retail and wholesale channels, including DIY, Grocery and Stationery. In 2010 he became a Category Manager working with both Sales and Brand Marketing as a team to leverage to the full Henkel’s fantastic No 1 brands. He also worked closely with DIY Week, delivering the ‘Hand it Over to Henkel’ series of 19 articles showing how effective Category Marketing techniques can be for small retailers not just the large Nationals. So we are really glad to have him with his experience on board both the Retailer and Supplier judging panels.


ANDREW MARLEY Managing Director, Benchmark Retail Services


Andrew started with Benchmark in 2002, covering territories in the Leeds / Manchester area and then the South East. Moving into an Account Management role in 2006 and appointed to the board of directors in 2011. Andrew took full ownership of Benchmark in May 2021.


Benchmark Retail Services is a multi-faceted service provider.


Andrew and his highly skilled team work closely with their stores to ensure your products, marketing messages and engagement with retail chains reflects your business and most importantly, drives your product sales.


RICKY JOHAL Head of Marketing, Communications and Brand, DK Tools


After studying fine art, design and photography, Ricky started his working life at Home Retail Group - during the acquisition of Argos and Homebase. He later went on to forge a successful marketing career in various sectors, where he worked with leading brands, such as Morrisons Supermarkets, Sky, Fitbit and Canon. At Canon, Ricky was responsible for retail campaigns and the instore brand experience across Europe, Middle East and Africa, as well as Russia. He now leads an agile team of in- house specialists, who work on all Amtech related touchpoints, including packaging, advertising, ecommerce and video, as well as trade and digital marketing.


NEIL MEAD Editorial Director, DIY Week


Neil has over 25 years’ experience in the publishing industry and currently manages the editorial content of DIY Week and Garden Centre Update magazines, websites and associated social media channels. Having previously edited consumer magazines on hobby woodworking and home improvements, as well as a number of trade titles covering a wide range of other industry and retail sectors, Neil is able to offer his opinion and judge the awards’ entries from a wide perspective and chairs both the Retail and Supplier judging panels.


Details correct at time of going to press. For more information about the DIY Week Awards 2023, including the categories, how to enter and confirmed judges, please visit the award’s website at www.diyweekawards.co.uk


www.diyweek.net Sponsored by SUPPLIER JUDGES


PAUL ANDREWS DIY Product Manager, Home Hardware Southwest


DIY Product Manager, Home Hardware Southwest Paul has worked for Home Hardware for more than 30 years, buying across various sectors, including gardening, housewares, heating, leisure and cookware. For the past 10 years he has looked after and grown Home Hardware’s extensive DIY offering.


KATE MURPHY Managing Director, Brookes & Co


As managing director of PR and marketing agency, Brookes & Co, which specialises in DIY, garden and housewares Kate has been writing about home and garden improvement products for years for both trade and consumer media. Apart from writing, Kate has become fascinated by marketing strategy, how brands can best get to market and why consumers, influencers and retail channel opinion formers should be interested when they get there. Kate believes the DIY Week Awards are a great forum for the sort of innovation which invigorates the market.


MIKE SMITH Head of Commercial, EFG Housewares


Mike Smith is now a regular on the DIY Week Awards judging panel and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. He started his field sales career as an area sales representative with Newell Rubbermaid over 20 years ago and has since enjoyed a number of successful roles within the housewares and DIY sector. Lengthy spells with VacuVin, Everyware Global, World Kitchen Chicago were then followed by a one year stint at Home Hardware Southwest and he now holds the Head of Commercial position at the UK’s largest independent wholesaler, EFG Housewares in London.


PAUL WARREN Owner, Broad Street DIY


Paul has grown up in the DIY industry and now heads up the family business, Broad Street DIY, which was started by his parents nearly 40 years ago. The forward-thinking business has secured a number of awards in recent years, including being named DIY Week’s Retailer of the Year in 2017, thanks to fantastic initiatives like its DIY clinics and DIY Ladies’ Nights.


KEELEY VERNON Sector Manager – DIY | Home improvement | Garden, BHETA


Having worked in both wholesale and retail channels for 20 years, predominantly in the home décor & DIY sectors, Keeley’s experience sits in new business development and national accounts with household brands such as Fiskars and Farrow & Ball. Delivering double-digit growth in Homebase and other multiple retailers executed through strategic planning and scaling up brands. In her current role of almost four years, as Sector Manager for DIY, home improvement and garden at BHETA, she is responsible for sector growth and supports members in achieving their strategic and commercial goals through delivering tailored industry initiatives to include retail engagement and export.


FEBRUARY 2023 DIY WEEK 11


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