A new team has been appointed to lead the Builders' Merchants Federation's (BMF) Young Merchants Group for the next two years.
The BMF's Young Merchants group voted unanimously to elect Jamie Pierce, marketing manager of Parker Building Supplies as chair and Victoria Fiddies, regional sales manager of Catnic, as vice chair at its November meeting, which was held at the Saint-Gobain Innovation Centre in London.
With membership open to merchants and suppliers under the age of 40, the BMF Young Merchants group provides a platform for younger members of the building supplies industry to discuss issues and exchange ideas.
Mr Pierce, 25, takes over from Simon Fleet, who has just completed his two-year term during which time membership has grown to a five-year high, with numbers nearly trebling in the last year alone.
Said Mr Pierce: "I was genuinely surprised and excited to be elected as chair of the group and I am extremely grateful to be given this opportunity, along with Victoria as vice chair. Young Merchants has a great cross section of members and offers an important chance to network, gain confidence from each other and fast track all-round industry knowledge both in the meetings and in a more relaxed social environment set around the meetings."
Ms Fiddies, who began her career as a management trainee with Travis Perkins before joining the Catnic sales team, says the group is an excellent way for like-minded young people in the industry to progress their career and forge life-long friendships.
"It's a group where ideas are shared and problems resolved," she said. "It's great to see more ladies joining as we are under-represented in our industry. I am looking forward to working with Jamie to recruit more members and, in my role as vice chair, I will be offering a friendly face for new members, good networking skills and an understanding of industry issues."
Mr Pierce added: "We are both looking forward to the challenge of the roles and hope we can continue the great work immediate past chair Simon Fleet has put in to make sure that our members have a voice in the industry for the foreseeable future."
