Gather Foods hires Pollen Consulting’s Ashley Darley as CEO
Aboriginal-owned food and hospitality industry company Gather Foods has appointed former Pollen Consulting director Ashley Darley as its new chief executive officer.
Ashley Darley brings a decade worth of food and supply chain experience to his new role, including nearly five years spent helping to establish Pollen Consulting from 2016 as one of the management consultancy’s first ever employees.
Majority Aboriginal-owned and with a focus on showcasing native produce, Perth-based Gather Foods is active across the food services sector, from corporate catering and retail and hospitality (by way of its Black Pig Deli & Co shop-front) through to manufacturing and supply of condiments and meat products, with brands Poach Pear and Flying Cow stocked at major national supermarkets.
Currently employing 20 people, with more than a third of those Indigenous, Gather Foods has stated a 10-year goal to become a global food supply player. In a post on LinkedIn, the company said that Darley was ready to take the business to the next level on its scale up journey, citing his background at Pollen Consulting and experience in supporting the growth of some of Australia’s largest food companies.
His former colleagues at the consulting firm were also chuffed with the news. “The path you choose, the people you meet and the fun you have are more important than the destination or duration,” the company quoted in response.
“At Pollen Consulting we are super proud when our entrepreneurial team go on to do something amazing. Watch this space as Gather Foods goes from strength to strength with Ashley onboard.”
Meanwhile, the team at Pollen also have something else to celebrate, with the firm in recent days gaining recognition for exceptional growth on the AFR’s Fast Starters list (revenues are expected to hit $10.5 million this year) and its founder Paul Eastwood being named a finalist in the 2021 Sydney Young Entrepreneur awards – backing up on Pollen Consulting’s Best Professional Services win in 2018.
