James Bailey in

James Bailey

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Operating Partner at Verlinvest
📍 London, England, United Kingdom

James Bailey is an Operating Partner at Verlinvest, leveraging his extensive retail leadership experience. He previously served as the Executive Director of Waitrose for five years, where he successfully grew sales, market share, and profitability for the £8 billion supermarket group. He is a graduate of the University of Cambridge.

Outside of his corporate roles, James is a passionate supporter of entrepreneurship and creative change. For over a decade, he has actively advised private equity investors and mentored numerous startup and scale-up businesses, including notable brands like Change Please, Hun Wines, and Oggs.

He spearheaded the UKs first supermarket initiative to introduce comprehensive animal welfare labeling on all fresh and frozen chicken.

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Experience
9 Years
Current Role
Operating Partner
Location
London, England, United Kingdom
Personality Overview

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Priorities

Topics James cares about

Sustainable Farming
Launched Waitrose's net zero farm fund to help farmers invest in sustainable practices and spoke at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Big Food Redesign Challenge.
Retail Innovation
Drove growth at Waitrose through product innovation and strategic collaborations with brands like Ottolenghi, Zoe, and Gail's to attract new customers.
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Career

Work history

10-2019
Operating Partner
Verlinvest
4-2020 - 9-2025
Managing Director
Waitrose & Partners
1-2016 - 8-2024
Advisor
Localz
1-2020 - 4-2023
Advisor
OGGS
2-2020 - 1-2022
Advisor
HUNWine
In the press

Media appearances

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Education
Education details unavailable
Lancaster University
Social presence
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Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

DISC behavioral profile

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