One of Scotland’s oldest bakeries has put its faith in youth as it has promoted a pair of under 30s to its senior leadership team.
The move underlines McGhee’s Bakery’s commitment to developing talent from within as the business celebrates its 90th year.
Over the last five years, McGhee’s has experienced rapid growth, increasing turnover from around £34m to approximately £54m as the family-run business has expanded its operations across Scotland. As the company scales, it has focused on backing internal talent and giving emerging leaders the opportunity to grow alongside the business.
28-year-old Jessica Richmond has been appointed as group head of HR, while Gordon Moon (27) takes on the role of head of engineering.
Their progressions come amid a significant growth period for the company which now has almost 500 employees: last year turnover grew by more than 10% to £53.7 million and it was named Scotland’s most chosen food brand in the 2025 Scotland Brand Footprint rankings by Worldpanel by Numerator.
Jessica, who has a master’s degree in HR, first joined the firm on a work experience placement in January 2020.
The 28-year-old said: “When I first joined, there was only one person in the HR team. Because there was so much going on, I was thrown in at the deep end. It was without a doubt the best way to learn.
“Now, as the team has grown so quickly, there’s been an increasing focus on HR and we are currently rolling out a new system to prepare us for the next period of growth.
“I am so proud to step into this role. Trust is massive in any workplace, but that’s especially true in a family business. They value attitude over age: people who genuinely care about the business and are willing to work hard.”
Gordon Moon joined McGhee’s in May 2024 as a bakery engineer and was promoted to Head of Engineering just over a year later. Now 27, he leads a seven-strong team responsible for maintaining production equipment across McGhee’s production sites.
Gordon, who began his career as an apprentice, said: “We have a huge variety of individual machines across different production lines running 24/7, so no two days are the same.
“It’s a big responsibility, but in many ways, it feels like what I was born to do!
“The directors are on the floor all day, every day. Seeing that level of commitment makes you want to match it.”
The fourth-generation bakery, which is best-known for its morning rolls, potato scones and empire biscuits, recently promoted Aisling McGhee (35), a chartered accountant who joined the firm at 28, to Commercial Director and 32-year-old Russell McGhee to Operations Director.
Aisling McGhee said: “As a family business, we don’t have the kind of structured graduate schemes or clearly defined career ladders you’d find in large corporations, so we have to think differently about how we attract and retain talented people.
“That means placing a real emphasis on trust and opportunity. By giving people meaningful responsibility early on, we allow them to grow with the business and develop a genuine sense of ownership.
“Jessica and Gordon exemplify that approach. Both have shown real pride in the business, a strong work ethic and a willingness to take responsibility, and their progression into senior leadership roles reflects the trust they’ve earned.”
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Managing Director Gordon McGhee commented: “Age is just a number. We have established ourselves as Scotland’s favourite bakery, and stood the test of time, because of our people.
“We are proud of our team – all 500 of them – and nothing makes us more happy than when we see good people step up into leadership positions.
“Gordon and Jessica are tremendously talented, hard-working, dedicated and smart individuals who make our business better. With people like them in place, the sky’s the limit.”
