with Daniel Angadi
Operations Director of THIS
Daniel Angadi is Operations Director at THIS, the rapidly expanding UK-based plant-based, vegan meat and high-protein food producer. He’s a passionate speaker on his industry, its opportunities, and its challenges.
He was in a typically bullish mood when he sat down with MacGregor Black’s Senior Managing Consultant for the Food & Drink practice, Rob Blackburn.
Daniel Angadi is refreshingly candid about his career. How it began and how it unfolded. So much so, we lost count of the number of times he recounted a story but sadly ended it with, ‘you can’t put that bit in though.’ Our advice: Buy Daniel lunch and just listen to the director’s cut. It’s highly entertaining.
So we took it back to the beginning. How did he start his journey? Unsurprisingly, he was in typically frank form.
“I fell into it if I’m genuinely honest; I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do when I left university.”
Falling into it and finding his way
A graduate opportunity with Unilever offered him a year out to travel before starting full-time. For him, it sounded like an adventure. In reality, it became the entry point into a career in supply chain that would take him from large-scale manufacturing sites to one of the UK’s most recognisable challenger brands, and now to a purpose-led plant-based business in THIS.
His first placement took him from his home in the Southeast to a factory in Leeds, he recalls:
“I was completely out of my comfort zone, a fish out of water, a young southerner in a proper Northern factory environment. I didn’t really know what I was doing. But boy did it shape me.”
A pivotal moment came when his manager handed him a copy of Maverick by Ricardo Semler about the thinking that turned around a Brazilian business. The book’s radical philosophy on employee empowerment shifted Daniel’s perspective on leadership.
“Up until then, I thought to be successful in factories you had to be the loudest person in the room. The most dominant voice. That book switched something on. It showed me you could lead differently and still win.”
From that moment, he set a clear target: become a factory manager before 30. He achieved it with a move to a new role in Humberside, but by his own admission, he’d reached his goals too early. He was not ready.
“I was awful! I made a lot of mistakes. I was inexperienced. I don’t know why they picked me. But I had energy. I believed in doing things the right way, and I learned quickly.”
His move, in 2009, back to Leeds and to logistics and procurement company IPL marked what he describes as one of the defining roles of his career. The site employed around 1,000 people and was the largest fresh produce factory in the UK at the time.
“You get certain jobs that make you; that was one of them.”
Under his leadership, the site moved from troubling health and safety notices to award-winning performance. Quality improved, productivity improved, and the factory and the operations expanded. But for Daniel, these metrics, often the ones that most might measure success on, are not the proudest achievement.
He explains:
“The reason we improved wasn’t because I made brilliant decisions. It was because the teams felt it [success] was theirs. They told us what they needed. That ownership drives performance.”
That belief in people-led performance has remained constant throughout his career.
Culture is built in the small things
The next defining chapter came at Innocent, the disruptive UK fruit and smoothie maker. The timing was pivotal both professionally and personally. A trusted search partner reconnected him to an opportunity that would significantly alter his trajectory.
“It shows the power of relationships. When someone genuinely understands you and advocates properly, it can change everything. Innocent felt aligned from day one. When you’ve spent years swimming against the tide saying people should come first, and then you join a business where that’s simply how things are done, it’s incredibly reassuring. You realise you’re not completely off track.”
He speaks fondly of the brand’s creative culture, where even annual objectives were infused with personality.
“We had to submit five objectives. So we still did one to five, but we named them after our favourite formats of potato. Dauphinoise, fries and so on. It sounds frivolous, but it isn’t. Those small cultural signals breed authenticity. They make people feel comfortable being themselves.”
For Daniel, culture is shaped less by the slogans on the wall and more by the everyday behaviours.
“Sure, you can write values down. But culture lives in the small things. How meetings feel and how people speak. Whether there’s space to be human.”
When asked what defines successful leadership in today’s environment, Daniel challenges the premise that it has fundamentally changed.
“I genuinely don’t think it has. The best leaders I’ve worked with over 25 years have been values-led. They’ve built cultures based on autonomy. They’ve created strategy with their teams, not for them. There’s a big difference. And they’ve generated passion about what the business is trying to achieve. It’s simple. But it’s also hard. Because you just can’t fake it.”
Earlier in his career, Daniel admits he was probably driven by key milestones. ‘Factory manager by 30’, ‘win an award’, ‘secure the next big title up the chain’.
“I achieved those things. And it was a high. But then it was, okay, what next? I think it probably took me to my mid-30s to recognise that chasing outcomes did not equate to fulfilment. At 28, my purpose would have been about me. Now it’s about nurturing others, leading positive change, and inspiring future leaders to do the same. That gives me far more energy.”
He shares a moment that crystallised that shift. At an old work colleague’s wedding, the bride’s parents approached his wife to thank him for the role he had played in their daughter’s growth.
“I didn’t think I’d done anything extraordinary. I’d just tried to create the right environment. But hearing that stayed with me. That’s way more powerful than any award.”
From achievement to impact
At THIS, Daniel continues to embed creativity deliberately. The business has invested in structured creative thinking training for its 40-plus employees, encouraging teams to think widely, wildly and deeply when solving problems.
“It sounds counterintuitive to put structure around creativity, but it works. People like frameworks. It gives them permission.”
Within his own supply team, he also champions what is jokingly referred to as “Forced Fun in Supply”. This is a small weekly ritual designed to inject energy into operational routines.
“It’s just about adding a lift. We spend so much of our lives at work. Why not inject a bit of spark into it?”
That mindset extends to growth strategy. Rather than attempting to innovate entirely in-house, THIS has leaned into partnership.
“We’re a purpose-driven UK brand. There are other purpose-driven businesses across Europe that aren’t in the UK market. So instead of competing, why not collaborate?”
Those partnerships have already led to several launches, including the UK’s first chickpea tofu, developed alongside a Slovakian business.
“If the values align, the commercial conversation becomes much easier. Authenticity and energy are persuasive.”
We talk in depth about the good times, but Daniel isn’t afraid to open up about the more challenging periods of his career and freely admits to working under leadership styles that conflicted sharply with his own.
“I regret not always standing up more strongly. Leadership casts a shadow. It’s very difficult to create a positive environment if the culture above you doesn’t support it.”
Today, supported by a CEO who encourages autonomy and trust, he sees the contrast clearly.
“When you’re allowed to be yourself as a leader, your team feels it, and the environment lifts as a result.”
Perhaps the clearest expression of his philosophy came recently when a key member of his team secured a supply chain director role elsewhere. Rather than resisting the move, Daniel and his CEO supported it fully, even helping negotiate on his behalf.
“It leaves a gap, of course it does. But if we’ve helped someone reach their ambition, that surely should be celebrated as success.”
Eventually, we turn to legacy. For Daniel, legacy is not about tenure or titles, and the last story explained gives clear insight into his mind on what mark he’d like to indelibly leave.
“No one stays forever. So when they leave, what do they say about the time they spent with you? If they say it helped them grow, that’s it. That’s enough for me.”
Speaking to Daniel Angadi reinforces a simple but enduring principle: markets evolve, industries shift, but the foundations of leadership remain consistent. Clarity of purpose. Courage to lead with authenticity. And an unwavering belief that when people thrive, then performance follows.
