Ms Christine Tacon:

My background was seven years at Mars confectionery and four years in what is now Fonterra, Anchor butter, cheese and cream, then I spent 11 years running a farming business. That was the Co-op's farming business, so it was a farming business within a retailer. We were one of the largest farmers in Britain and I grew a lot of fruit and vegetables which I packed and supplied to the Co-op. I took this job because I was getting frustrated with various practices which I thought were inefficient and were actually causing problems in the supply chain. As soon as I got into the job I tackled things straight away. I already had credibility with the farming community and needed to build the relationship with retailers. Even between 2014 and 2015 improvements had begun so there was an immediate impact. I tackled my issues, the ones I cared about, first but that was a way of getting started. Then it is a matter of getting the retailers to stop thinking that the code is something that one tries to find a way around or not getting caught, and recognise that I am talking about the fundamental culture in the business and how retailers behave. Unfortunately, the Co-op took too long to do that which is why I ended up investigating them. That is why all the recommendations are all about its corporate governance, legal and audit compliance and training because it should not have taken from 2010 when the code came into being until 2018 to be talked about. It took longer for the retailers to realise that I was serious, I was coming from them and that I was not going to let go of an issue until it was resolved.