Anne Godfrey takes over the reins at GS1 UK
London, 20 October 2020 – Anne Godfrey has officially taken over the reins at GS1 UK, the global data-standards organisation.
In her new role, Anne will lead the team responsible for supporting GS1 UK’s community of nearly 45,000 members and will help to shape its next three-year strategy.
The onset of the global pandemic has meant that the products and services that GS1 UK creates, from unique identifiers that ensure accurate traceability of products in the healthcare and retail supply chain, to services that facilitate the accurate transfer of product data, have never been more important.
Anne joins the team from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, where she was CEO for four years. She takes over from Gary Lynch, who has been CEO at GS1 UK for 16 years and announced his intention to retire at the end of 2020.
Prior to joining CIEH, Anne served in senior positions at The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the The Law Society and the CBI. Her earlier career in professional publishing included senior sales, marketing and product development roles for Thomson Reuters and Pearson.
Chris Tyas, chair of GS1 UK, comments: “Anne understands GS1 UK’s priorities, balancing commercial imperatives with the needs of our members, ultimately placing the informed, protected consumer at the heart of what we do. This combined with her experience in public health and environmental protection, and the industry partnerships she brokered at the CBI, make her an ideal fit for GS1 UK.
“With this wealth of knowledge, we are confident that Anne will strengthen GS1 UK’s resolve and purpose to support our members across all our key sectors, keeping patients, consumers and citizens safe and informed. I look forward to seeing the developments that follow in this turbulent time, and how we can continue to provide trust through the accurate data our standards deliver.
“Anne has been on-boarding virtually at GS1 UK as a consequence of continuing restrictions and Government guidance. The repercussions of the pandemic, and the uncertainty surrounding the end of the Brexit transition period will be key concerns Anne will address as part of her strategic approach in the coming months.”
Anne Godfrey, CEO of GS1 UK, comments: “In these unprecedented times, it has never been more important for us to support businesses both large and small, and to inform and protect consumers. The effects of the COVID-19 crisis and the end of UK's transition period after Brexit are ongoing, and it is vital that organisations like GS1 UK continue to provide continuity of business for our members. Our standards are global and facilitate not only cross-border trade, but also help to maintain trust and efficiency in the supply chain.
”I could never have envisaged a virtual induction, meeting staff, members and stakeholders online. It has been an interesting experience, to say the least, but I look forward to the time when I meet our members face to face.
“It is exciting to be leading GS1 UK at a time when our trusted data standards will be so vital for British business. I look forward to working with our community to deliver tangible benefits for our members and their customers.”
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Notes to editors
For further information or requests for interviews, contact Sarah Atkins,chief marketing officer, on sarah.atkins@gs1uk.org or 07990 770 955.
About GS1 UK
GS1 UK is just one of 115 neutral and independent GS1 organisations operating worldwide. From product barcodes to patient wristbands, GS1 standards have been transforming the way we work and live for more than 40 years.
Whether online, in store or in a hospital, the common language of GS1 global standards is helping our community of more than 42,000 organisations across Britain to uniquely identify, describe and track anything, creating greater trust in data for everyone.