Laura Patterson

Commercial leader with 17+ years' experience spanning senior retail buying and supplier-side leadership across FMCG and Healthcare. Proven track record of delivering profitable growth, leading high-performing teams, and driving strategic transformation across multi-channel environments including grocery, wholesale and e-commerce. Seeking a broader Commercial Director or Managing Director role with increased scale, complexity and full P&L accountability.

Sales and Marketing Director at TSL Healthcare (2018-01 – Present)

TSL Healthcare is a leading supplier and manufacturer of essential health care products including period care, continence care, first aid and foot care. With a £24m turnover and 60 employees, TSL partner with all major UK retailers – such as Boots, Tesco, and Superdrug – as well as discount chains and distributors like B&M, Savers, Pricecheck and PHS.

Board

Director with fiduciary and governance responsibilities and full accountability for business strategy, commercial performance and organisational leadership.

• Creates a high-performance, margin-focused environment, instilling drive, tenacity and incredible resilience into motivated teams
• Positively promotes organisational health, creating sustainable results through a strong and clear set of values and expectations
• Delivered £4m+ incremental revenue through strategic diversification into higher-margin channels including distributors, government contracts and e-commerce
• Increased gross margin from 25% to 31% through value engineering, pricing strategy (CPI), and channel mix optimisation
• Led successful recovery of £4.5m+ cost inflation through collaborative but aggressive negotiation, working with customers to develop mitigation strategies
• Scaled the branded portfolio from 3% to 15% of sales, reducing reliance on own label
• Established strategic partnerships with licensors such as Mattel, and ESG organisations to strengthen brand positioning and create long-term value, e.g. partnering with Climate Impact Partners to secure Carbon Neutral status

Business Unit Controller at TSL Healthcare (2021-01 – 2022-08)

Full P&L ownership for a core business unit, responsible for commercial strategy, category development and financial performance.

• Delivered +9% sales growth and £970k ahead of budget
• Launched Diagnostics category generating £3m incremental revenue
• Strengthened supplier partnerships and commercial frameworks to improve working capital and reduce exposure

Senior National Account Manager and PMO Lead at TSL Healthcare (2018-06 – 2020-12)

Joined as a Senior NAM and quickly promoted to PMO Lead.

• 2020 sales +43% YOY by bringing in +£10m sales in PPE, working with pace and tenacity to understand changing consumer needs and legislation
• Secured TSLs first two NHS framework awards on advanced wound care and PPE which gave TSL the opportunity to diversify our reliance on retail

Senior Buying Manager at Asda (2009-09 – 2018-05)

Held multiple senior buying roles with full P&L accountability across large-scale FMCG categories, managing portfolios up to £650m.

• Led category strategy, supplier negotiations and commercial delivery across complex, high-volume categories
• Delivered consistent outperformance vs market through pricing, range and promotional strategy
• Developed 10-year category strategy for £230m In-Store Bakery business
• Managed large-scale operational environments including 550 bakeries with complex capex and resource issues
• Initiated and executed the licensing strategy on yoghurts, increasing own brand participation from 14% to 20% by developing a new partnership with Disney
• Managed and developed supplier partnerships to unlock £3m+ additional investment and improvements from back to front margin
• Leadership of a team of 8, including Buyers and Bakery Training Managers

Bachelors Degree in International Business, Finance and Economics – University of Manchester (2004-01 – 2007-01)