Jon Mack praises predecessor and looks to future
THE new president of the Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA), Jon Mack, has paid tribute to predecessor Tom Slaven for his leadership over the past two years and laid out his aspirations for the trade body.
He highlighted how Slaven, the wider SWA team and council had created a stronger, more collaborative organisation, brought back the annual conference and launched a new identity for the association.
Mack, business unit director at Bidfood UK and responsible for nine sites in Scotland and the north of England, takes over from Tom – retail director of Glasgow-based United Wholesale Grocers – under whose presidency the SWA has expanded its membership of both wholesalers and suppliers.
Receiving the chain of office at a President’s Breakfast event at Mar Hall Golf and Spa Resort in Renfrewshire, he said: “Tom brought experience to the role and real commitment. He’s been a strong advocate for wholesale – so thank you for your leadership. Tom is handing over an association with solid foundations and a strong reputation. It’s on us now to build on that.”
However, Mack acknowledged that while the SWA had “real momentum”, the sector faced challenges of high costs, margins under pressure and increasingly complex regulations. He added that technology, sustainability, skills, and changing customer expectations would keep reshaping the sector and said the association needed to be ahead of the changes, not catching up with them.
He vowed to help develop practical support, real chances to learn and develop, and strong representation where it counts for members.
Handing over the chain of office to Mack, Slaven also highlighted the geopolitical uncertainty, political change closer to home, rising costs and new regulations that had made business tough.
But he said: “Through all of that, the SWA has continued to make sure that wholesale is seen, understood and listened to. There is, of course, much more still to be done. There will be more opportunities ahead, and no doubt more occasions when we will need to stand up for our sector and make our case strongly. I look forward to supporting Jon and the SWA in that work.”
SWA chief executive Colin Smith added: “With a leader of the calibre of Jon Mack at the helm for the next two years, I am confident that the association will continue to go from strength to strength and I look forward to working with him on behalf of our members.”
