Cashman named as Cooke Scotland's new finance chief

Cashman was previously head of finance at the UK’s top bottled water producer Highland Spring, where he led the finance function for the £100m turnover business.

He takes over the finance brief at Cooke from Alan Marshall, who is retiring later this year.

Senior roles

Cashman has worked in senior finance and operations roles for household brands including HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Sky, where he was integral to the £200 million acquisition of Telefonica’s domestic broadband and home phone capability, and the roll-out of Sky Q and Sky Mobile – two of Sky’s largest product launches.

Cooke managing director Colin Blair said: “We’re really pleased that David is joining us. He has a wealth of experience in senior finance roles in financial services and food production and we are very confident that he will help us to meet our ambitious business goals in the future.

“I’d also like to thank Alan Marshall for his invaluable contribution to our success over the past 25 years. Alan will ensure a comprehensive handover of the finance function before he retires later this year.”

£169m turnover

In 2019, Canadian-owned Cooke Aquaculture Scotland had a turnover of £169.3 million and made a profit after tax of £32.7m.

Cashman said Cooke’s values, including its commitment to communities in which it operates, were key drivers behind his decision to move from Highland Spring.

“I’m really looking forward to having the opportunity to help Cooke Aquaculture Scotland to grow, and ensure that the UK business remains on a very strong financial footing,” he said.