Scottish Grocers’ Federation Chief Executive Pete Cheema has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Sandy Wilkie – formerly of Muller-Wiseman Dairies and now retired – was also recognised in the 2018 Birthday Honours List with an MBE.
Born in Wolverhampton and brought up in Kent, Pete Cheema based himself in Scotland from 1988 onwards and quickly established a reputation as a leading and indeed award-winning retailer. He has served as President of the SGF and was a member of the National Executive from 1999 onwards. He was appointed Chief Executive in 2015 and is widely credited with having transformed the Federation into a modern, relevant and highly influential organisation. Active in both local and national politics, Cheema stood against Deputy First Minister John Swinney in the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary election. He currently sits on the Board of the Scottish Retail Consortium and of the Scotland Towns Partnership.
He commented: “This award has come as a real surprise and I am delighted to accept it on behalf of myself and my family. As much as anything this a recognition of the importance of convenience retailing to the economy and to our communities.”
SGF President Dennis Williams added: “Pete is to be warmly congratulated on this thoroughly deserved award. This is a great honour and recognises the contribution Pete has made to retail and to the Federation. This will surely raise our profile even further and it is very fitting that this honour is being bestowed during our centenary year”.
