Verallia Appoints New UK Managing Director

After 27 years’ of service to the business, Alan Henderson will be stepping down from his position as UK Managing Director, succeeded by Axel Guilloteau formerly Sales & Marketing Director of Verallia France.

Axel Guilloteau will begin his position as Managing Director of the United Kingdom as of March 1, 2024.

Axel started his career in Saint-Gobain group in 1999 in the pharmaceutical field as Sales Manager. He moved to Singapore between 2002 and 2006 as Sales Director Asia, for Saint-Gobain Desjonquères. Back to France in 2006, he was appointed Sales Director of the spirits market for Verallia France and was promoted in 2010 to Managing Director of Saga Décor and Verallia Poland. Axel moved again for a new international step as Managing Director of Ukraine and Poland between 2013 and 2016. Since the end of 2016, he has been Sales and Marketing Director of Verallia France.

Axel Guilloteau said “I am so pleased to have been appointed UK Managing Director and I am excited to begin my journey. Based on the amazing job achieved by Alan, I look forward to working with a great, high-performing team, continuing to grow and enhance the business, which is uniquely placed to service the premium spirits market and lead the industry with sustainable glass packaging. I’m fully supportive of our strategy and am excited about leading it into its next phase of development, as we grow to support customers, shareholders, and the UK economy. Thank you, Alan, for your commitment, I am so honoured to take over your succession”

Alan Henderson began his journey 27 years ago, when at the time it was Gregg & Co, and has held the position of UK Managing Director for 13 years under the name Allied Glass. Most recently, Allied Glass was acquired by Verallia in 2022, a European leader and third largest producer of glass packaging for food and beverages.

Reflecting on his time at Verallia, contributing to the growth of the business, and managing the transition to becoming Verallia UK, Alan comments on his time:

“The 13 years heading Allied Glass & Verallia UK have been a privilege, heading a fantastic team and delivering change as we have positioned ourselves to take on the premium market, growing our portfolio and supporting hundreds of individual brands in their growth particularly during the last 4 years of immense turbulence and challenge.

I have decided that the time has come to move on and allow someone new to take control of the next phase of the company’s journey. After working on various areas of integration with the senior team, I now feel that the business is in a new position, ready to capitalise on the new learnings from Group and to take on the next stage of growth over the coming years.

As Verallia looks to the next stage of the company’s journey, particularly the decarbonisation projects, Axel’s combined operational and sales experience makes him well-placed to lead the business. I am sure he will take the business to the next level under his leadership,” said Alan Henderson