Martin Rogers

Occupation: Head of New Channels

Co-operative Businesses traded with in last 12 months Food and Bank

Skills and experience

The world, and the markets in which we operate, are changing faster than ever before. We face increasing competition in all areas. To meet these challenges, we need democratic voices who are knowledgeable, credible and experienced in the business, and know how to get things done. I am proud of our history, energised by the present and ambitious for the future. I want the Co-op of tomorrow to be stronger than the Co-op of today.

Additional information

I am Martin, and I have been working at the Co-op since 2005. Before that I worked in China with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) where I taught English and HIV education and worked in investment banking for five years for UBS in Frankfurt. I have a degree in economics and post graduate qualifications in management. I have been privileged to serve as an elected member since 2015, on the Council, Senate and Co-op Foundation Board. I’ve been a positive influence, as a critical friend of both the business and the membership, doing things the Co-op way.

I am passionate about the Co-op, and have devoted the last twelve years of my life to this place. I have worked across our Co-op, in Travel, Food, within the corporate centre and with the Bank. As a colleague I have been closely involved in our most recent major events, such as the crisis at the Bank, the acquisition and integration of Somerfield and running our central support teams for stores. I currently lead our New Channels team in Food, looking to extend our reach for members and customers, and bring the Co-op difference to as many places as possible. I am hugely grateful for the opportunities the Co-op has given to me. In truth, I spend most of my waking hours thinking about how to make the Co-op better.

Although we have come through our crisis, and the businesses are performing well with stronger leadership and clearer strategies, we must not get complacent. We face increasing competition in all our markets, the disruptive power of technology, and huge economic headwinds. We are a business that needs to radically change how we work, and how we focus on producing member value.

At its core, the co-operative business model is a thing of beauty and simplicity – allowing likeminded people to join together to proactively shape market capitalism for mutually beneficial outcomes, which is just as relevant today as it was in 1844. This model works well across the globe, and in many sectors, for hundreds of millions of members. What we haven’t always done well at our Co-op – to my huge frustration – is explain, nurture or implement this model well enough. Commerciality and co-operation are not mutually exclusive, but mutually reinforcing. The socially minded entrepreneurs in the Rochdale pioneers understood this, and we can sometimes forget it.

Although we are member owners, I prefer to think that none of us really ‘own’ the Co-op – we are here to look after and cherish the Co-op for the next generation. I want my children to inherit a Co-op that is better than today’s. I wake up every day focused on how we can make our business stronger, more resilient and more relevant. A strong democratic voice – that is listened to, consulted and respected, is absolutely vital to ensure we grow in the right way, make the right changes, for the right reasons. And that is why I am asking for your vote again.