Lifelong co-operator named as president of Central England Co-operative

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 01/06/2017


Elaine Dean, from Mickleover, was unanimously elected as Society President at a meeting last week and will now chair the Board of Directors.

She will 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 our long term strategy.

Elaine said: “I am so proud to have been elected as President of Central England Co-operative and I am looking forward to spending the next 12 months helping to continue our work as a strong, independent, and successful Society.

“I am involved in co-ops because of my family, who imbued me with a passion for this business model as a way of working together. Collectively, my family has around 230 years’ service to the former Derby Co-op. I’m a member of seven co-ops.”

Elaine will be supported in her role as President by Maria Lee who was elected as the Society’s new Vice President for the coming year. 

Paul Singh will join Elaine and Maria in Board activities as he was   re-elected to serve on the Board of Directors by the membership of the Society.

The three successful candidates will serve for a term of three years and will re-join the board to continue to shape the future direction and strategy of the business and build on the Society’s success.

In addition to these positions, Sean Clothier was re-elected unopposed to the board as an employee director and will also serve for a term of three years.

Jim Watts, Society Secretary, said: “Elaine 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.

“Elaine, Maria and their fellow Board Directors will continue to work closely with our Chief Executive Martyn Cheatle and his executive team in pursuit of our vision to be the UK’s best consumer co-operative society by making a real difference to our members and our communities.

“We wish Elaine and Maria every success in their new roles.”

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with gross sales of £927 million in 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property investment. Central England Co-operative has 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.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2017. 

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading surplus into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.
Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth / Heather Clapton at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140

Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop