East of England Co-op appoints new President and Vice-President

Joy Burnford (former Vice-President) has been elected President and Mandy Errington has been elected Vice-President.

The appointments mean East of England Co-op has both a female President and Vice President.

With over 200 branches, East of England Co-op operates Food, Travel, Funeral, Security and Property businesses across five counties in the region. 

Joy Burnford, who has been appointed President of the Society: "I would like to sincerely thank Frank, our outgoing President for his tenacity, dedication and unwavering focus on our members, customers and colleagues during some turbulent times.” 

Joy, added: “For over 155 years East of England Co-op has focused on our wonderful customers, members and suppliers, as well as our incredible colleagues and the communities we are part of – I am keen that we continue to focus on all that is great about the East of England Co-op.”   

Founder of a business working with some of the world’s leading companies, advising them on how to progress gender equality, Joy published a book called ‘Don’t fix women: the practical path to gender equality at work’.  

Speaking about what the next few years will bring for East of England Co-op, she said: “My aim as President will be to ensure we return the Society to profit after a few economically challenging years. I also want our attention to focus on meeting the needs of our members – the owners of our Society – and the communities we serve. It is 180 years since the Rochdale Pioneers founded the co-operative movement making it a good time to reflect and celebrate our co-operative difference”.  

With Joy becoming President, stepping into her shoes as Vice President is Mandy Errington, who was recently re-elected to the Board of Directors. These new appointments mean that both the President and Vice President of East of England Co-op will be female.   

Recognised as one of the UK’s top female entrepreneurs, Mandy has successfully run her own fashion boutique for the past twelve years. Prior to that, she worked for the East of England Co-op as Head of Marketing and she’s hoping that experience will give her the insight and expertise to take on this exciting position. 

On being elected, Mandy said: “Stepping into the role of Vice President is an honour and a privilege that I truly value. After serving a term as a director and being re-elected, I see this opportunity as a chance to build on my experience and make more of an impact within the organisation. 

“I am passionate about building stronger connections with our members and supporting local initiatives”.  

Frank Moxon’s term as President comes to an end, however he will remain as a Board Director until the end of his current term. Looking back at the last four years he said that one of his most memorable pieces of work was “the design and implementation of a new strategy of investment and growth that has already turned around the East of England Co-op's core businesses”. 

Frank believes there are lots of reasons to be optimistic, saying: “We have opened more stores this year than in the previous five, and that will accelerate; and we expect to return to profitability this year.” 

Photo credits: Anglia Picture Agency