Bill Perry has been appointed as Hobart UK Equipment Division’s new Sales Director with a remit to help lead the next phase of the manufacturer’s growth strategy.
A proven sales leader with over a decade of experience in the foodservice sector, he joins from Welbilt Inc, where he most recently held the role of Head of Regional Sales UK & Ireland
Perry’s appointment follows a broad market search and a multi-stage assessment process, evaluating leadership capability, commercial experience, cultural fit and the ability to develop a high-performing sales team. Hobart UK Equipment Division MD Scott Duncan said the process “reflected the importance of the role to our wider growth plans”, following July’s appointment of Paul Godfrey as the division’s Head of Cooking.
He added: “We’re confident that in Bill we have found an outstanding leader who brings energy, a data-driven approach and the strategic thinking needed to help us continue building on our success. We can’t wait to welcome him into the Hobart family, joining Paul as yet another statement of our ambition.”
At Welbilt, Perry led a sales team to deliver significant year-on-year revenue growth. He also launched two new commercial services, FitKitchen and a Merrychef leasing proposition, and led the development of Welbilt's Ireland business into a strategic growth market.
Earlier in his career, he held senior sales and business development roles at Collectiv Food, Peckwater Brands and PKL Group, where he built delivery kitchen and dark store operations across Europe, the Middle East and North America.
On the appointment Perry commented: “Hobart is one of the most prestigious names in the business and I am excited to join Scott and the team to help spearhead the next chapter in their ambitious growth journey. In my career so far, I have led distributor networks and national accounts, set pricing and margin strategy, and built high-performing sales teams. This next challenge - stepping up to a global organisation in ITW (Hobart’s parent company) - is one I truly relish and am confident we have the right team and, most importantly, the right product range, to deliver considerable growth.”