WOODLANDS - Key Persons
Agata joined Woodlands Home & Garden Group in February 2020 as Head of Production, before being appointed Head of Operations in May 2020, where she is accountable for the performance of the manufacturing, warehousing, internal and external logistics, supply chain, facilities, and maintenance across the group.
Skilled in strategic leadership & management, Agata is a keen investor in people, and is committed to driving improvements through individual and team development in line with the company's operational excellence journey.
Fast developing an impressive reputation within the manufacturing industry Agata was recognised as being in the top 100 leaders in UK manufacturing by ‘The Manufacturer' magazine in 2020. More recently she was also awarded the no.5 position in the top 10 women in UK manufacturing by the ‘Manufacturing Global' publication.
Ged Lees - Managing Director
Ged is an experienced Board Level and Managing Director, with a proven track record of providing strategic leadership and delivering tangible growth and success across a diverse range of businesses. He joined Woodlands Home & Garden Group in January 2019 as Managing Director and is the first non-family member to join the board.
Ged has extensive experience within the B2C and B2B retail sectors, covering E-Commerce, Mail Order and FMCG, as well as in manufacturing and distribution for a variety of companies from PLC and blue-chip organisations to specialist SME's. He has also developed an impressive reputation for creating brand value and is passionate about people and cultural development.
Prior to joining Woodlands, Ged previously held a number of successful roles including Managing Director of Victoria Plum and Chief Marketing Officer of Barker & Stonehouse.
Ged Lees is appointed to our Board of Directors, helping to create a new senior team. Woodlands Homecare Ltd is renamed Woodlands Home & Garden Group.
Graham has over 23 years of experience in financial management, working within the manufacturing and logistics industries at companies such as Marshalls PLC and Leman International Transport. He joined Woodlands Home & Garden Group as Head of Finance in 2019 and has played a fundamental role in creating the group's solid financial infrastructure, stock management processes, along with its ability to deliver innovative solutions across a diverse client and product base.
Graham has a keen eye for detail and strong technical skills. He has built a strong rapport with the senior leadership team and has developed robust financial reporting systems and processes across the business. He has also established an excellent relationship with the many professionals within our network of key customers and suppliers and created tangible improvements in commercial and trading operations.
Job Titles:
- Head of Tiger Sales & Customer Service
John joined Woodlands Home & Garden Group in 2020, following a career in customer service and sales spanning more than 20 years working for major retailers. This saw him lead the service and customer excellence teams at Debenhams for over 15 years and more recently hold a similar role at Mamas and Papas. His experience managing in-house operations afforded him clear insight into customer service and sales team management in a contact centre environment for omnichannel and multinational retailers.
John is responsible for sales and customer service across the rapidly growing Tiger channel and is committed to developing his team and the wider business to establish strong communication and customer service standards for all customers. He is passionate about creating industry leading service and values the benefits that can be gained when working together to achieve shared goals.
Job Titles:
- Head of Product & Process
Lauren joined Woodlands Home & Garden Group in 2012 as a Sales and Customer Service Assistant and has gone on to successfully progress her career internally over several years before being appointed Head of Product and Process in March 2020. Lauren has a customer service career that spans over 15 years, and prior to joining Woodlands, she worked for a variety of retailers, governmental and charity organisations with a strong focus on customer service.
Within the Woodlands group, Lauren has built up vast knowledge and experience in all areas of product and systems and is recognised as a product technical expert within the garden building industry. She leads the in-house new product development, training and quality excellence teams and is a real driving force behinds the company's constant thirst for innovation and improvement.
Ross is the third generation of family leadership at Woodlands following in the footsteps of his father David Moran and grandfather Eric Moran. He joined the business in 2003, originally as an Office & IT Administrator, to help upgrade the IT systems and assist with the upcoming site move to Rodley.
He was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2009, and in 2013 became Managing Director, playing a key role in the development of the sales and admin teams and working alongside David to drive through a period of strong business growth. In 2018, Ross took full control of the business following David's retirement, assuming the role of Chief Executive and assembling a new senior team capable of achieving the long-term vision of the company.
His hands-on approach and ambition has helped earn the company an impressive reputation for innovation and success. Ross is incredibly proud of the heritage and hardworking family culture that is embedded within the business and passionate about its ongoing development and ambitious growth plans.
Sam joined Woodlands Home & Garden Group in 2019. He brings with him a wealth of strategic and operational marketing best practice from over 25 years of experience working client side with a variety of major brands such as Next, La Redoute and Victoria Plum and agency side with Hub. Sam's success has been achieved through working in partnership with stakeholders and executing strategy in support of business goals.
Sam is a versatile and highly skilled marketing professional, with a demonstrable history of success in marketing and advertising. He has been instrumental in the creation of a talented dynamic in house marketing function here at Woodlands which now includes web developers, graphic designers, CAD designers and social media executives, who work closely with third party agency partners.