Food For Thought

Pat McEntee’s career in food had humble beginnings as a 15-year-old apprentice at a butcher’s shop in a small town in New South Wales to becoming CEO of APAC region for an international company in what he describes as “an exciting life journey!”

The experiences and learnings over the next three decades; where Pat worked with the Woolworths Group in various roles within Meat and Supermarkets including developing the Thomas Dux Grocer business, GM of Fresh Foods at Woolworths, Director of Supermarket Operations in Australia, and MD of Woolworths in New Zealand, have led to Pat becoming an industry expert.

An opportunity at Hilton Foods (an enterprise that began in the UK in 1994 supplying case-ready meat products exclusively for Tesco) in 2018 resulted in Pat’s appointment as Chief Operating Officer and later as Chief Executive Officer where today he leads the Hilton Foods business for the APAC region.

The history of Hilton Foods in Australia began with Hilton Food Group (HFG) in a joint venture with Woolworths Group in 2012, supplying consumer-ready packs to Woolworths Group supermarkets from the Bunbury Meat Centre in Western Australia. The Hilton philosophy adopted globally is based on a total partnership, spanning our team, suppliers and customer with transparency being vitally important and close relationships with chosen partners assuring sustainable growth.

Then in 2015 Hilton commissioned operations in Melbourne at Truganina becoming the forefront of Australian innovation with automated logistics and celebrated as the country’s most technologically advanced food manufacturing facility. In 2019 Hilton then opened state-of-the-art facilities at Heathwood in Brisbane heralding the ultimate in technology, size, volume, and manufacturing excellence. More recently, Hilton expanded operations yet again and in 2021, opened a world-class FoodPark in Wiri, Auckland, New Zealand. Repeatedly, innovation was significant for Hilton with the processing of both traditional meat protein and extended value-added products such as seafood and poultry making Wiri a standout, unequalled in both versatility and scale.

Today, Hilton Foods with now over 24 facilities, has grown globally: expanding across eleven different countries, including Ireland, the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Crucial to operations throughout Hilton’s facilities across the globe, is bringing the world’s best practices to its customers and understanding what products work best for the different markets. “What sets Hilton Foods apart from our competitors is that we invest considerably in automated logistics, food technology and innovation,” says Pat and it is Hilton’s technological expertise and consumer insights that make them ahead of current trends and drive further progress.  

Hilton has introduced great technologies in Australia, such as being the first to launch the paper seal tray in Australia exclusively for Woolworths, and smart technology, which has reaped significant outcomes such as yield benefits. Similarly, Hilton emphasises the importance of its team behind the brand, which determines the future of the business and is integral to HFG’s successes: therefore, training, development and upskilling are an important aspect that benefits and continually ensures Hilton operates best practices in its facilities. “We have to deeply care about our people. Not only the safety and wellbeing, but a strong connection with your team and the partners close to you, engendering an environment of care, trust and opportunity are all important” explains Pat.

Pat’s philosophy with food is that “it’s about family, it’s about fun, and special occasions that bring people together. Therefore food quality is paramount and quality must come first in everything we do at Hilton”.

For Pat, being a member of The CEO Institute has provided the opportunity to learn from Syndicate 65, with every session being rewarding. "I feel privileged to be able to come together in a connected and supportive environment. The people are truly remarkable with great business acumen, rich and interesting experiences and coming from such a great mix of businesses; the diversity of the group really provides a unique learning opportunity. Equally notable is the level of support and further opportunity to listen to speakers impart their journey and experiences from which all can engage and learn". 

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