International Women’s Day 2023 - Kate's story

Meet Kate and hear about her 34-year career at Tesco. From starting out as a clerk to becoming an experienced Distribution Centre (DC) Manager, learn how she fulfilled her potential, progressed her career – and balanced it all while raising her family.

It makes me very proud to say that I’ve been working for Tesco for 34 years. I’ve worked within the distribution division the entire time, starting in 1989 as a clerk at Hinckley Distribution Centre. I’m still in contact with friends I made there, which just goes to show how enjoyable it was.

The key is not being afraid to get stuck in.

I worked my way through the admin division for the next 13 years, going from Admin Supervisor, to Admin Manager and then Operations Support Manager. It was during this time that I started my family and had my two beautiful daughters. I was very well supported and was given the opportunity to come back part-time and even job share for a few years while they were little. This was at a time when part-time work and job sharing were unheard of!

To be honest, balancing a career and a young family was hard and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my mum. Having a good network around you at work and at home is so important if you want a career and a family at the same time.

Listening, working hard, and treating others with respect – it’s how everyone gets on well.

After 13 years at Hinckley, I moved to Crick Distribution Centre as the Personnel Manager. There, I started to get much more involved with the warehouse and transport operations. Becoming the Transport Manager was an eye-opening experience, both for me and the drivers! They hadn’t seen a woman in transport before – but it was great, we all got on so well. My technique with management has always been to listen, work hard, and treat people how you’d like to be treated.

I spent some time doing secondments at a few different distribution centres, and then in 2010 I decided to do the Options for Depot Manager training course. For me, it just felt like the right time professionally and personally. I became the Stream Operations Manager for groceries, which again provided huge exposure to another part of the business. It was vital in assisting me on my Depot Manager journey.

Up to this point, most of my background had been in the people teams, not operations. However, this actually set me in good stead for my future, which I proved by getting a placement as the DC Manager running the Goole Depot – and stayed there for a further two years. When it was time to move on, I became the DC Manager of Daventry clothing for three years and then worked at Lichfield as the DC Manager for another three. Now, I’m back at Daventry as the DC Manager of the grocery depot.

I’ve been able to develop my skills and progress my career at a pace that suited me.

I’ve always worked hard, and made sure to build great relationships in my teams. The leadership skills I’ve developed along the way has allowed me to enjoy every job I’ve done.

I only ever made the decision to change jobs if I could balance them with what my family needs were, so I knew I could always give every role 100%. And I didn’t progress until I felt happy that I could manage that with my family commitments, too.

Success in logistics has been so rewarding. The key to being successful has been to not be frightened of getting stuck in, forming working relationships with people at all levels – and of course, always being myself.

Kate, DC Manager

At Tesco, we’re proud to recognise the contributions of our incredible female colleagues every day – not just on International Women’s Day. We’re committed to ensuring individuals feel valued, supported, and have everything they need to develop and grow rewarding careers with us. Why? Because we’re there for our people, whatever life brings. Explore careers today: https://www.tesco-careers.com/