Paul Hill speaks to Trudy Wilson, director of supply chain at Booker, about being a female leader in an industry traditionally taken up by men at boardroom level
As a woman leading in wholesale, what unique challenges or opportunities have shaped your journey in the sector?
Women make up 60-65% of the retail workforce1 and around 70% of the hospitality sector2, yet representation at senior leadership levels remains far lower. In wholesaling, a sector that plays a role in serving retail and hospitality customers, it creates a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is visibility – ensuring women see wholesale as a place where they can build long, rewarding careers. The opportunity is influence – shaping a sector that is evolving quickly and needs to reflect the customers it serves.
It’s important women’s voices are heard at the decision-making table, not as a token gesture, but from a place of genuine understanding of the customer and the colleague experience. When you truly understand who your customers and colleagues are, you can shape commercial decisions, policies and cultures that reflect real needs rather than assumptions – and that’s where representation becomes a genuine business advantage.
Being a grocery consumer through different life stages gives you an understanding of what really matters: value, quality, availability and service. Bringing that lived experience into strategic decisions has been incredibly powerful. It’s reinforced for me how important it is that leadership teams are flexible, diverse and representative, so we can stay responsive to customer and colleague needs.
I started my career working part-time in stores, and I want women at every stage of life to see that progression is possible, wherever you work, and that their voices and representation matter at every level of the business.
It’s one of the reasons I recently became co-chair of our Women at Booker colleague network. Since the network launched in 2023, it has made a meaningful and lasting impact across our business, bringing talent and development programmes to life through initiatives including our Own Your Career toolkits, mentoring sessions, development conferences and learning-led events.
The network has also created safe, inclusive spaces for open conversation, learning and allyship – delivering impactful events focused on well-being, sport, women’s health and inclusion, and raising awareness through key moments such as Baby Loss Awareness and Cervical Cancer Awareness Week.
What advice would you give to women considering a career in wholesale?
Wholesale is a brilliant industry – fast paced, full of entrepreneurial energy and rich with people who genuinely care about customers. It’s an exciting place to build a career because no two days are the same, and the variety keeps you constantly learning.
My biggest piece of advice is to immerse yourself in the industry through the eyes of the customer. Spend time in
a small retail store and understand everything that goes into running a business. Do the same in hospitality – step into a café, a restaurant kitchen or a bar and experience the pace and intensity of that environment.
When you truly understand what customers are up against, you can shape products and services that support them. That mindset is fundamental to success in wholesale.
I’d also say listen and learn from the experts around you. This industry is full of people with deep knowledge across supply chain, commercial, operations and customer service. Seek out collaboration, offer help and stay curious. The more you get involved, the more opportunities will open up.
What have been the latest developments across wholesale catering and retail within Booker, and what are the long-term plans for both areas?
It’s been a year of progress across the Booker business – for our retail and hospitality divisions. Thanks to the exceptional work of teams across the business, our own-brand food proposition has gone from strength to strength since we relaunched with our three new Chef’s brands in summer 2025 – with standout new products in categories like chips and desserts, as well as a brilliant festive range.
We’ve relaunched our website, making it sharper, more intuitive and easier for customers to navigate. Alongside that, we’ve begun a major upgrade of our supply chain systems.
The first phase went live in January, with further enhancements later in the year. These upgrades will help us optimise stock, simplify replenishment for colleagues and – most importantly – deliver even better quality through improved forecasting and ordering.
We’re also proud to have received several industry awards in the past few months – including Leanne Fay winning Wholesale Manager at the FWD Awards, and Letitia Ferne being named Young Manager of the Year at the Meat Management Awards.
This is testament to the strength of our team and the talent we have within the business across all divisions.
Looking ahead, we’re focused on developing customer propositions that evolve with the market. There are some exciting launches coming this year that will strengthen our offer across retail and catering.
We’re also driving greater end-to-end efficiency through deeper partnerships with suppliers, ensuring we can continue to offer the best prices for customers and consumers.
