Athwal, who will sit on the firm’s executive team, is scheduled to take up the role on 2 June 2025.
With more than 25 years’ experience in the wholesale sector, Athwal has served in trading director roles at several different Unitas Wholesale members.
This includes JK Foods, Hyperama and most recently Parfetts, where he has served as trading director for the past four years. He has also operated as a non-executive director on the Unitas Wholesale board.
Because of Athwal’s longstanding relationship with the buying group and his experience in the sector, Unitas Wholesale is confident that he is ideally suited to the role.
“We are delighted to welcome Gurms to the Unitas Wholesale central team,” said Unitas Wholesale managing director John Kinney.
“His wealth of experience, strategic thinking, and proven ability to deliver commercial value will be a tremendous asset to our members.”
Kinney then went on to discuss Athwal’s experience in the sector and history with the business.
“Gurms has a strong track record of negotiating commercial terms and promotional programmes that deliver tangible results for both wholesalers and suppliers,” added Kinney.
“Until recently he was a non-executive director on the Unitas Wholesale board and his transition to executive director ensures continuity and further strengthens our commitment to driving incremental growth through deeper supplier engagement.”
Meanwhile, Athwal said that he was honoured to have been hired for the role.
“Having been connected to Unitas for the majority of my career, I have built strong relationships within the team and across the supplier community,” he said.
“Unitas’ scale and reach across retail, foodservice and the on-trade offer a unique platform for collaboration and I’m looking forward to building on the excellent work already underway and driving further value for our members.”
Unitas Wholesale is a leading independent wholesale buying group that supports a network of 136 members across 285 distribution points.
