Andrew Barrow talks to Ian Reynolds-Young
Football fans of a certain age will be familiar with Liverpool FC’s ‘Boot Room’ culture. Set up by Bill Shankley after his arrival at Anfield in 1959, the gathering in which tactics, the team, and how to win were constantly discussed, produced four future managers in Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish and Roy Evans. Each in turn wove his own magic, but each shared an ethos that guaranteed not only continuity but also continued success.
There’s no physical equivalent of the Boot Room at the Evoca UK HQ at Kingswinford, but the benefits of the internal appointment run through the business all the same.
Hervé Donneaud may have just announced that he’s heading for a well-earned return to his roots in France, but his successor was identified long ago and has been systematically nurtured to be ready to accede to the top job.
The new MD of Evoca UK is Andrew Barrow and as he says, ‘To many, this may appear a sudden change but Hervé and I have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that this will be as smooth a transition as possible. Thanks to Hervé and his support I know that I’m ready to take the reins.’
Andrew arrived at Evoca, aged 45, in February 2022, in the role of HoReCa Sales Manager. He brought with him 20 years of experience in the coffee industry and an intimate knowledge of Gaggia machines. In March 2023, he was promoted to the role of lead for all the Evoca UK Sales and Customer Service teams and around a year later, he was named as Sales Director, Evoca UK.
Andrew is clear that the mentorship he has enjoyed from Hervé has been the foundation of his preparations to take the leading role. ‘ I embarked on a development programme with Hervé and the things I’ve learned from him since joining Evoca, and particularly in recent times, have been invaluable. He’s brilliant at his job, with experience in the business gleaned in several international territories but more than that, he’s a superb mentor. He gave freely of his time and his knowledge and frankly, I wouldn’t be where I am today without his backing.’
In the past few months, Hervé has encouraged Andrew to spread his wings… ‘Hervé just told me, ‘look, get on with it’ and that’s what I’ve done. Subsequently I’ve been getting increasingly involved in all areas of the business, outside the standard sales remit.’
…his mission is to maintain the status quo in order to keep the success coming.
Now that Andrew is officially in place – he assumed the MD role on April 6 – don’t expect the new incumbent to initiate any ‘crazy changes’. As was the case at Anfield, his mission is to maintain the status quo in order to keep the success coming. ‘There’ll be some tweaks here and there for sure’, he said, ‘but basically it’s business as usual. The business is full of excellent people doing a great job and my view is, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.’
The new job necessitates significant lifestyle changes for the boy from Billericay. He’ll be based at Kingswinford and intriguingly, he describes his part-time Midlands home as ‘a luxury cabin’, adding ‘but that remains to be seen, because it’s not ready yet. It might turn out that I’m living in a glorified Portakabin!’
As for his successor in the Sales Director role he’s keeping his cards close to his chest; but he’s hopeful that the Kingswinford ‘Boot Room’ phenomenon can continue to deliver…
From a personal point of view, Andrew will be the fourth Evoca UK MD that I’ve had the privilege of working with but bearing in mind that he’s still shy of 50 years old, the chances are he’ll be my last!
All of us at PV wish him every success.
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