Greggs chief honoured for work in community

Jul 2 2010 by Andrew Hebden, The Journal

GREGGS chief executive Ken McMeikan has been honoured by the Prince of Wales for his commitment to socially responsible business in the North East.

Mr McMeikan was named as the recipient of the prestigious Prince’s Ambassador Award at Business in the Community’s annual excellence awards in Newcastle.

Prince Charles said he was delighted to honour Mr McMeikan “for the remarkable amount of work and success he has achieved to move the responsible business agenda forward, both regionally and nationally”.

Mr McMeikan said he felt privileged and honoured to be named as the recipient and called on businesses in the region to step up to the challenge of supporting the North East community at a challenging time economically.

He said it would increasingly be incumbent on private sector organisations to fill the void left by the shrinking public sector, both by creating jobs and investing directly in community and charitable projects.

Since becoming chief executive of the Newcastle-based retail bakery company in 2008, Mr McMeikan has reinforced Greggs’ long-standing commitment to operating as a trusted and responsible business.

Prince Charles highlighted the firm’s Breakfast Club programme which operates in 135 schools and feeds more than 6,200 children every day across the UK.

Mr McMeikan also led a successful business leaders’ visit to Low Newton Women’s Prison in Durham, which led to the creation of a new training programme for ex-offenders.

And he took part in a visit exploring the issue of homelessness in London, which resulted in a commitment to set up a new Business Action on Homelessness “Ready For Work” programme in the North East.

Last month, he joined the Prince on a visit to look at the challenges facing Teesside after the mothballing of the Corus steel plant in Redcar.

Karen Wilkinson-Bell, North East regional director for Business in the Community, said: “Ken is passionate about making a difference to the lives of those in the communities in which Greggs operates, and is a true advocate of the philosophy of ‘doing the right thing because it’s the right thing for the business to do.’ He has achieved a remarkable amount in a short period, and is a true advocate of the responsible business agenda.”