When leaders set the right tone for a business, the team will engage and everything falls into place!
We were privileged to have Richard Ring, CFO of Apetito, come and talk to us on the Conscious Finance Podcast about how becoming a successful CFO has, for him, been all about relationships. Richard is very fond of the organisation he works for, describing his role at Apetito as the most fulfilling he has ever had. Richard’s earlier experience in accountancy included roles at PWC, NatWest, Hanson Aggregates and then a role as FC at RAC. He joined Apetito twenty two years ago.
Apetito is the owner of Wiltshire Farm Foods, a manufacturer and distributor of nutritional, quality food and their overarching ambition is to look after the most vulnerable in society. They supply meals to the elderly in care homes as well as in their own homes and to patients in hospital. Supplying these markets demands products that are dietetically balanced and nutritional as well as catering for specific needs – renal patients needing low potassium meals, for example. People who have had a stroke or cancer will struggle with swallowing and Apetito caters for these needs with a range of meals that allow them to eat with dignity. For Apetito, it isn’t about making the most margin as possible, it is about helping people to recover and to live longer.
As CFO, Richard has seen significant growth and what was a £40 million business is now turning over £300 million. In addition to that, the company has bought and started Greenfield in the US and Canada. The leadership team at Apetito have combined great financial and economic success with strong social purpose and that is always a winning combination.
Richard grew up in Plymouth in a family of doctors, to become the only non-medic in his immediate family! He loved languages and studied French and German at the University of Bath. At the end of his degree, he started to look for something to make a career out of and chose accountancy, remembering his grandfather who had been an accountant and a much-loved, gentleman, as well as a great role model. Although he had not done A-Level Maths, Richard always thought that German plus accountancy was a good combination and niche. He was right! As a fluent German speaker, he secured the role at Apetito as this was exactly what they were looking for – and there wasn’t much competition!
Finding your niche
For Richard, his proficiency in another language was what made him stand out from the field and now he advises young hopefuls entering the field of finance and accountancy to have their own niche or speciality which makes them stand out in an interview situation. For those who dream of becoming a successful CFO, a good start is to learn something that makes you different. He also encourages younger people to seek out challenging opportunities outside of their comfort zone.
Richard had to learn to ignore the fear of failure and try things that he had not done before, growing in confidence with each step. With the leadership team he has had to take some bold decisions and make people their focus rather than profit margins. Everyone who works in the organisation is encouraged to go above and beyond for the customer in order to make a real difference to vulnerable people.
A relationship business
Richard describes Apetito as a relationship business and this is why there are no KPIs on how long people are allowed on phones. It’s also why there are 60 depots around the country rather than having a national call centre. Apetito have taken a deliberate decision to create relationships. The same local caller and the same local driver will serve the same customer week in, week out and this creates customer loyalty in the long-term.
Doing the right thing
For those whose goal is becoming a successful CFO, Richard advocates doing the right thing. Making decisions according to what you know to be right not only helps you to sleep at night but builds trust in your organisation. When the leadership team at Apetito have a tricky decision to make they sit down together and work out what the right thing to do is for the people and for the long-term.
The benefits of thinking long-term
Decisions made with “long-term thinking” in mind always pay back over time. The fact that Apetito has grown rapidly over the years is a testament to how long-term thinking and treating people well are great business strategies for growth. They now have 2,000 employees and they live out their company values.
Another thing that has helped in the growth journey is stability. As the leadership team have been around for a while, the staff have been able to see that the message of helping the most vulnerable is lived out consistently and that it isn’t just words. The leadership team always seek to connect the people on the factory floor with the customer base with strong internal communications.
The “front-line” team (those who deliver the meals) also have a great understanding of how the company is helping the most vulnerable as they are seeing the end user on a daily basis. Apetito encourages its drivers to help people with their post, put stamps on envelopes, if required, etc. This all shows that the whole company is living by its values.
The finance team, rather than feeling disconnected from the rest of the business (which can happen), understands the issues behind the figures clearly as Apetito send them out on the frontline to see the sense of purpose in their role. Not only this, before getting started, a new CFO would have to work in the factory on the lines, in the refrigeration department as well as on deliveries. It’s not good enough to stare at the numbers and make a judgment unless you have actually walked the floors – then you will be able to empathise with what is actually going on.
The journey towards sustainability
Five years ago, Apetito started the journey towards becoming more sustainable by gaining an understanding of where they were at and then creating some 2025, 2030 and 2035, science-based targets. They worked with hospital customers to generate low carbon menus and managed to reduce the carbon footprint of the food of some of the major London healthcare trusts by 12%. This was at zero cost!
Last week Apetito signed off a change to EV for 75% of their Wiltshire Farm Foods fleet of vans; they have also covered their premises and all their land with solar panels and have introduced recycled packaging. Once meals have been eaten, the trays are taken back and recycled with overall return rates of 40%+ and 60% from hospitals.
Apetito are also big partners of Alzheimer’s charities and have given over a quarter of a million to Alzheimer’s over the last few years.
Recently, Apetito’s efforts towards ESG were independently recognised when they won the Kings Award for sustainability (to add to the three Queens Awards they have already won).
Over Richard’s time at Apetito, there have been challenges, but he has learnt to keep a calm head and work together with the team to ride out any storms. Optimism and understanding have got him through, helping him to demonstrate leadership and be visible. Becoming a successful CFO has involved learning to set the right tone to help the people to pull the business through difficult situations.
Now, after 22 years of hard work at Apetito, Richard is now enjoying his retirement after an incredibly fulfilling career. Having found his replacement as CFO, Richard is off on a globe-trotting adventure with his family. They are heading for the Swiss Alps then to Iceland and Greenland and then back to southern France and Spain.
We wish Richard all the best from Core3 and we look forward to hearing all about it!
