Meet the Waitrose Limited Code Compliance Officer

Meet Matthew Wilson, the Code Compliance Officer (CCO) for Waitrose Limited

Tell us something about yourself and your path to becoming a CCO.

I am currently the Head of Finance, in addition to being CCO. I have worked for the Partnership for 20 years. I started working as a Branch Department Manager and then moved into Finance in 2003. I have worked in many different areas of the business before becoming Head of Finance and CCO

What are the most challenging aspects of your CCO role?

Food retailing is a fast paced industry. Consumer trends move so quickly and the business needs to anticipate and respond. Staying on top of the emerging trends and changes in the business requires a constant focus.

If you could change one thing about the groceries market, what would it be?

Food waste! Matching supply and demand accurately is challenging and we are investing in our IT systems to improve our ability to control waste.

What achievement as CCO are you most proud of?

I’ve been CCO for six months and I am most proud of joining a very professional, collaborative and highly dedicated Compliance Team, who care deeply about the role they play.

What 3 things do you want to achieve in the next 12 months?

1. Embed the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCoP) Steering Group in Waitrose.
2. Empower the Partners in my Compliance Team to deliver a self regulation approach.
3. Keep GSCoP compliance embedded in the ways of working within the Operational Teams.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers of News from the Adjudicator?

I’d be more than happy to discuss anything, this is important work and we can all learn from each other. It’s always been vital to us at Waitrose & Partners that we treat suppliers fairly and build productive, lasting relationships with them – working with the GCA allows us to take this work further and embed this approach even more into our business.