Fresh produce industry veteran Douglas Henderson MBE won the Florette Lifetime Achievement award at the Re:fresh awards, held at the London Marriott, on Thursday.
Born in Glasgow in 1944, Henderson graduated with qualifications in accountancy and, after a short term outside the industry, joined Geest, based in Spalding. He proved to be a true international, building up a network of contacts, and came to be trusted implicitly for his honesty and integrity, so much so that he was awarded an MBE for his services to the industry in 2002.
When the leaders of the fresh produce industry devised the blueprint for a trade association in the UK during the early 1990s, it was to Doug Henderson that they turned to become the organisation’s first chief executive.
From a small office in New Covent Garden Market, he and his team steered and moulded the industry into a solid union with a common front. During his time as ceo of the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) he served with six presidents and built strong relationships with UK government and Brussels.
Henderson was responsible for moving the unit to Peterborough. His comprehension of issues and understanding of personalities laced with a strong measure of tact made him the complete individual to charter the industry through the troubled waters of legislation and change that were a feature of his time in office.
On retirement from the FPC, Henderson took over the chairmanship of MDC, an organisation dedicated to developing bright new talent for the industry.
