Joe Denham has taken over as the new director general of The Federation of Garden and Leisure Manufacturers, which incorporates trade associations PetQuip and Gardenex, following the retirement of Amanda Sizer Barrett.
Denham has been chairman of the board of the Federation since 2020, and now takes over day to day leadership of the organisations.
His diverse career background includes started at Barclays Bank in the early 80’s, before moving into data communications and owning an IT training company, as well as having his own show on Shopping TV for a number of years and owning a 120 acre farm in France. Together with his business partner Paul Owen, Denham started VegTrug in 2009 which proved to be a big success in the garden industry.
He said: “I am delighted to be taking on my new role, at a crucial time for both Gardenex and PetQuip.
“While the last few years have been extremely challenging for UK exporters, I am excited to start a new chapter at the Federation as we navigate the next stage. I am looking forward to meeting as many members as I can over the next few weeks and to introducing additional benefits to strengthen and grow the support we can offer existing and new members.”
