Company: GXO
Role: Operations Manager
For Tom, logistics was once a side hustle – but now it’s a career!
“I used to work as a part time Sports Therapist for a professional football team. For additional income I joined my current company as a Warehouse Operative. After 12 months as an Operative, I joined the Graduate Scheme in Jan 2021 as an internal applicant and have since progressed to an Operations Manager at a large national distribution centre for one of the UK’s biggest grocery retailers.
His knowledge of the industry stretched little further than warehousing, and it certainly wasn’t a sector he considered a future career prospect.
“Realising what opportunities existed within the sector changed my mind. These included working with cutting-edge technology, accelerated career progression and not being fixed to a location.”
He might have left the physio room and the football pitch behind, but Tom has picked up valuable skills along the way – all of which helped kick off his logistics career.
““My experience in sports gave me confidence in leadership, and my degree sharpened my critical thinking – both of which are highly transferable to this industry.”
Today, Tom leads operations at a major National Distribution Centre, managing a 24/7 operation with around 400 colleagues. His focus? Empowering his team with the tools, support, and confidence they need to keep one of the UK’s largest grocery supply chains moving seamlessly.