International food and drink group Princes has appointed Siwan Smith as its first Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Manager. Siwan joined the company this month and will be responsible for driving Princes’ I&D strategy forward, with support from the Group’s dedicated Inclusion Champions and six Colleague Resource Groups.

Siwan is an experienced diversity, equality and inclusion professional, joining Princes following roles at engineering consultancy, Arup, Merseyside Police and innovation firms, Anchored In and KTN. She led Innovate UK KTN’s Women in Innovation and Young Innovators programmes and helped to shape their Inclusive Innovation competition.

Joe Dent, Chief People Officer at Princes Group, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Siwan to Princes, where she will be taking up our first dedicated Inclusion and Diversity Manager role. Her expertise in this space will be invaluable to the business as we continue to evolve our I&D strategy and embed it across the Group. Princes is firmly committed to ensuring that we create an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected – and I’m sure that Siwan will play a pivotal role in helping us to realise those goals.”

Commenting on the new role, Siwan said: “I am thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with Princes. A long-standing and respected household name, Princes has established itself as an organisation dedicated to quality and excellence and I have been inspired in my first week by their unwavering determination and commitment to now becoming a leader in inclusion and diversity within the food and drink industry”

In 2021, Siwan was announced as a winner in WeAreTheCity’s Rising Star Awards for Diversity, and as a runner-up for Women’s Business Club’s Diversity & Inclusion Award. She was also shortlisted as a finalist for the Ladies First Inspirational Woman Award and recognised in Diversein’s 130 Women Who Break The Bias list in 2022