Alumni stories - Anna Elia

I’m Anna, originally from the village of Witchford, North of Cambridge, and I attended Hills Road from 2015 to 2017. I chose to study English Language, Sociology, Business, and Economics; of these, I had only studied English Language previously - the rest were all new! The gamble of studying new subjects paid off, especially Business and Economics, which shaped my degree choice, and ultimately, my career. My memories of Hills Road are full of working hard but also being in an environment where learning was valued, where I tried many new things for the first time and made new friends.

After Hills, I studied Business Management at the University of Nottingham. The course was diverse, exposing me to all areas of business from an academic and practical perspective. During university, I joined a student group which launched not-for-profit social enterprises. This gave me invaluable hands-on experience in running businesses, managing people, and presenting.

Leaving university in 2020, I secured a role as a Graduate Food Buyer at Lidl. I never imagined how well-suited I would be to food buying; fast paced, tough negotiations, and relationship management - all combined with my passion for food (and eating!). A few years later, after being a Junior Buyer and Assistant Buyer, I became a Buying Manager. Responsible for shaping the category offering, product development, and negotiating with giants like Mondelez and Unilever - it felt like a massive step forward in my early career.

Now, I’m a Senior Buying Manager at Ocado Retail, where I lead the breakfast division. My team and I manage product ranges, pricing, promotions, and supplier relationships. Every day is very different; some days consist of negotiating in supplier meetings and huge data sets, others I spend product sampling in the commercial kitchen or visiting factories. One of my favourite aspects of the role is attending trade shows to discover trends and partnering with innovative start-up brands to bring exciting new products to our customers.

Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue developing as a leader in the retail space and I’m grateful to Hills for giving me critical thinking skills, confidence, and curiosity which helped shape my path.