Kris Gibbon-Walsh and Dominic Blakemore take up key roles at food redistribution charity
Kris Gibbon-Walsh has been appointed as permanent chief executive at FareShare, having held the position as interim since October 2024.
The food redistribution charity also announced that Dominic Blakemore has been appointed as chair of trustees, following the announcement that John Bason will be stepping down from the role after serving as chair for 13 years.
Bason’s time as chair oversaw a significant expansion of FareShare, which now redistributes food to over a million people across the UK every year.
Blakemore, who is also CEO of global foodservice company Compass Group, will bring significant experience from the food industry to his role as chair, FareShare said. As an existing member of the charity’s board of trustees, he is already regarded as having played an instrumental role in shaping key partnerships, including the Coronation Food Project.
The announcement comes at the end of FareShare’s 30th anniversary, which it said was a record-breaking year for the charity as it delivered more surplus food than ever before to its network of 8,000 local charities and community groups across the UK.
Gibbon-Walsh said: “I would like to thank George Wright for his support and advice. It is an honour to take on the role of CEO at FareShare. Having started at FareShare as a volunteer at one of our warehouses over a decade ago, I truly understand how the surplus food we redistribute changes lives.
“The food and logistic sectors have been brilliant partners over the last 30 years and the 8,000 charities we distribute to are at the heart of our mission, using surplus food to bring people together and strengthen communities. I am excited and optimistic that we can do even more together.”
Blakemore added: “I would like to thank John on behalf of all of the trustees on the board for his incredible service over the past 13 years. He has chaired us with passion, commitment and integrity throughout this time and has been integral to all that has been achieved.
“I’m delighted to be working with Kris, whose deep-seated knowledge of FareShare and its partner network — and incredible personal commitment to the purpose of FareShare – is at the heart of all he does.”
