Healthspan, the vitamin and supplement supplier, founded in Guernsey, has announced that Martin Talbot has taken over the role of CEO (Chief Executive Officer).
Michael Lawther, who took over the role from Derek Coates in March 2019, will retired from the business on 31 March after 17 years but, he will retain an interest as a Non-Executive Director shareholder on the Company Board.
Martin Talbot joined Healthspan in April 2019 as Chief Marketing Officer and will be moving to Guernsey permanently with this family in the near future. Prior to this, Martin was Group Marketing Director at Total Jobs Group, a role with responsibility for 11 recruitment Job Boards and over 20 million visitors a month.
As Chief Marketing Officer at Healthspan, Martin’s role in the last year has been to work with the team based in Guernsey, defining the brands strategic direction in building a strong vision and mission, that is consistent across the organisation and one that is entirely measurable across the business for success and growth.
Martin Talbot said: “Firstly, on behalf of Healthspan we would like to thank Michael Lawther for his contribution, commitment and leadership within the business and we wish him well in his retirement. Our business priority now in terms of the current climate is to keep our staff safe, we have adopted the Governments guidance on working from home and social distancing and we are now all working efficiently from home.
“The safety of our customers is also a priority, and we are currently working to make sure we can meet the demand and maintain the supply for Healthspan products over the forthcoming months. We are working closely with our partners in both our supply chain and distribution channels to maintain stock and availability for our direct consumers and our trade customers alike. Ensuring that our products are both available and accessible is the main challenge.”
Martin continued: “Building brand and creating greater awareness are integral to the growth of Healthspan and last year we saw the impact of this with the success of a targeted advertising campaign with TV, radio, print, outdoor press and direct marketing which all delivered in growing the brands awareness. We also extended our distribution channels into retail with Superdrug, Boots and Lloyds Pharmacy all becoming customers of Healthspan. This will continue to grow as our products are increasingly attractive to retail partners as our brand grows.
“In addition, we aim to broaden our international offering, extend our marketplace presence and grow the digital, mobile centric service proposition. Keeping pace with what is concerning our customers remains integral to the brand and excelling in new product development by launching innovative, high quality products will continue as we move into providing more sustainable packaging.”
Martin concluded: “There is a great deal of work to be done and we are in unprecedented times. Within the business things are shifting but the structure and leadership is firmly in place. Everyone is clear on what their unique contribution is to our collective success. These challenging times require an agile approach, demand flexibility and resilience and, in addition, empathy, understanding and compassion. The team at Healthspan are responding very well indeed and doing an amazing job.”
