M&C Saatchi UK’s Chairman, Richard Thompson, joins evolving health and wellness brand Naturecan to support its extraordinary growth.
Thompson has been appointed non-executive chairman of the firm based at St Petersgate in Stockport which is expanding fast globally, revealing he thinks Naturecan can become the ‘world’s number one CBD brand’ in five years.
He said he was ‘very happy’ to become non-exec chairman and build on the work of founders Andy Duckworth, former boss of supplement brand Myprotein, and entrepreneur Paul Finnegan.
He said: “I very much bought into Paul and Andy’s vision. They are two individuals with such unbelievable drive and ambition. Every target appears to be smashed, growth continues to be prolific and they have credibility having done this before with other wellness brands. There is no stopping the brand and the people.
“What they are building is extraordinary and I am very happy to bring whatever experience I have to support the founders and the management team in continuing to achieve tremendous growth.”
Thompson said he would help the brand to grow internationally as well as build sales in the UK where the CBD market has only taken off in the last few years – way behind America and territories such as Japan.
Thompson also chairs the English and Wales Cricket Board and he is the founder and Chairman of talent management agency M&C Saatchi Merlin.
At Saatchi, he has guided the career of ex-England test cricketer Freddie Flintoff since he retired from the game in 2009.
Thompson said that he and Flintoff had a ‘meaningful stake’ in Naturecan and they were both excited to be working together to make sure its value grows and Thompson said he would be supporting Flintoff as an investor of many years in the Naturecan brand.
Thompson said: “I have worked hard with Freddie to make sure his post-cricket career has been as successful as it was on the pitch during his playing days. It is good to be an investor and have a share in a company whose products I very much believe in.”
Thompson said he uses Naturecan CBD oil to help sleep and overcome jetlag during his busy international schedule.
He said that he also found Naturecan CBD Arnica Cream and Muscle Balm soothing before and after a workout.
Paul Finnegan said: “We have just acquired a state of the art CBD production facility in the United States and this is a really exciting time for the brand.
“With such a formidable line-up of excellence behind us, we are confident that we can achieve Richard’s ambition of becoming the world’s leading CBD brand in the next five years.
“Richard has years of experience working with the biggest brands in the world and his guidance and expertise will be invaluable to us.
“It’s great to have someone at the heart of the business who has done it all before.”
Andy Duckworth said: “We are delighted to add Richard to the top table at Naturecan. Richard’s achievements in private equity and as Chair of at M&C Saatchi UK and founder of M&C Saatchi Merlin, Surrey County Cricket Club, and his impact at the ECB speak for themselves, and we look forward to a successful partnership at Naturecan.”
Naturecan, which has 60 staff, is a world-wide success story with sales of £12 million last year and revenue for 2023 is projected to be £18 million. For more information, visit: https://uk.naturecan.com/
