Paul Pickering announced vice president of Stephenson

Stephenson Personal Care (‘Stephenson’), the Yorkshire-based firm and leader in the manufacture and supply of a wide range of soap bases and ingredients for the personal care market has announced Paul Pickering’s appointment as vice president.

Paul was initially employed as Stephenson’s head of sales, leading the sales team and driving strategic growth initiatives. He focused on discovering new distribution territories and partners that align with Stephenson’s value proposition. Paul also spent significant time building Stephenson’s North American markets, delivering substantial growth and securing customer acquisitions with major brands.

Paul explains, “I am delighted to be appointed vice president at this very exciting point of our business growth. As a company, our focus is continually evolving as we shift from predominately solid format offerings to truly sustainable,100% natural, Organic-approved raw materials. Part of this strategy is our investment in a dedicated facility for the manufacture of polyglycerol esters which are key ingredients in many skin, hair, and sun care applications under the Durosoft® brand.

“The team at Stephenson is ready for the future. We have always been at the front of market trends, and we have led global innovation within the solid format market for the majority of our 160-year history. Throughout this, we have scaled and invested to allow capacity to never hold us back from delivering for our valued customers,” Paul notes.

Managing director Rob Carr concurs, “Paul brings a deep level of industry knowledge to the table having been on the frontline of our business for many years. With his team, Paul has been instrumental in moving the business from a specialty soap business focused on certified and sustainable bases into a trusted partner for many businesses looking to provide solid format solutions to many traditionally liquid cosmetic and personal care applications.

“His unique energy and inspirational leadership mean that he is an empowering force to the team and colleagues whether he is making decisions, implementing ideas, or continually learning from challenges. We are thrilled that he has attained this significant position within the company,” Rob concludes.