Wholesome’s Chair Mark Cashin Steps Down, Not Out
isc | Sep 15, 2009
Mark Cashin
Teamwork has also been the theme in Cashin’s additional role as lead chairman of Wholesome Sweeteners, a joint venture between Billington’s and U.S.-based Imperial Sugar. In 2001, Wholesome Sweeteners had a
turnover of $4m and was loss-making; today, it’s the category leader in Fair Trade Certified organic and natural sugars, syrups, nectars and honeys, with a 53% brand share of all Organic & Natural Sugars in the Natural Foods Channel and revenues in excess of $70m.
Imperial recently upped its stake in Wholesome Sweeteners to 50 percent and, in accordance with the company’s partnership agreement, Cashin recently rotated out of his role as Wholesome’s lead chairman (on September 1), handing over the reins to Imperial CEO John Sheptor for a one-year term.
Sheptor credits his predecessor as “one of the world’s most prominent sugar industry executives, with a true gift for building successful organizations. Wholesome’s distinctive culture is dynamic and entrepreneurial. It’s a good complement to both Imperial and Billington’s and we continue to expect healthy advances in new markets with great new products, which are the essence of success.”
And while he may be stepping down, Cashin certainly isn’t stepping out: He’ll still represent Billington’s shareholders as a board member and continue his long successful relationship with Wholesome’s CEO, Nigel Willerton. Cashin credits Willerton as the driving force for Wholesome’s success.
Cashin and Willerton worked together in the UK in Billington’s sugar business for many years before Cashin persuaded him to take up the opportunity to lead Wholesome and swap his North Wales rural retreat for the Texas way of life. Both Nigel Willerton and Pauline McKee, Wholesome’s Marketing VP, relocated from the UK to head up Wholesome Sweeteners in July 2001. They are still the catalysts for product innovation and successful execution which are behind Wholesome’s impact on the market.
“Mark is a world expert in specialty sugar sourcing and marketing,” says Willerton. “He’s given invaluable guidance, introductions and knowledge to help develop Wholesome Sweeteners into the market-leading business it is today, and I appreciate his continued interaction. The role may be changing, but we’re still a team,” he asserts.
The teamwork analogy is apt, especially when Willerton also points out Cashin’s near-fanaticism about cricket. “Mark’s sadness at leaving his role is somewhat tempered by the fact that England recently beat the Australians at cricket for only the second time in 22 years and regained something called ‘The Ashes.”
“Don’t ask,” he adds with a laugh. (See “The Ashes” on Wikipedia.)
“Teamwork is everything,” says Cashin, a Cambridge graduate (economics and law). “As both an amateur player and now as a coach for youngsters, I’ve observed that cricket’s a sport that best combines the individual within a team framework. Since you only get one chance at bat all day, it teaches you how to be mentally strong as well as physically prepared. It’s a fitting metaphor for life.”
Cashin, who still lives in the Wirral region near Liverpool where he grew up, acknowledges that teamwork informs his life outside of business, too. “Sports helped me learn early on to keep a perspective and enjoy work as much as life, to keep everything in context. It’s about balance. When things get difficult, let’s deal with it as where we are, rather than where we’d like to be, and then put our heads together to get it sorted out.”
“Nigel shares this philosophy and we like to think that all 30 employees feel part of a special team, that likes winning and that each individual feels that they make a vital contribution.”
