Our team
Rebecca James - Managing Director
Rebecca (née Graven) is the 6th generation to be Managing Director of the Company. After leaving college, she joined Lloyds Bank in 1987 before joining the family business in July 1993. Rebecca ran the accounts department for the first four years and then took over the running of the operations up until 2000. She is still at the helm of the business but now balances work life with looking after her two children, Emily and Joshua.
A local farmer’s son, Jonathan has spent the majority of his working career in the fresh produce industry despite a brief spell working for Barclays Bank. He has been in Senior Management within a number of companies since 1988, mainly in the trading departments. Just prior to joining James Graven in January 2000, Jonathan was General Manager of a potato packing and exporting company based in Cambridgeshire. Since joining the company Jonathan has assumed a wider role at national level within the industry. He was the founding Chairman of the Budgens National Retailer Council and is the current Vice Chairman of the Association of Convenience Stores, as well as sitting on the ACS Independents Board.
Paul joined James Graven and Sons Ltd in July 2005 as Group Operations Manager, having spent the previous 11 years working in a corporate environment for Budgens. Paul had initially joined Budgens as a part-time employee whilst studying for his A-levels. Subsequently, he became a management trainee, spending the final six years of his career with Budgens managing stores in various locations including
Sally joined James Graven in January 2009 as our HR and Health and Safety Manager. Prior to joining James Graven, Sally worked as Office Manager for a firm of architects in
Bob Tipling - Communications Manager
Bob is one of the newcomers to the company having joined in November 2008. His past career has taken many turns including 25 years in the hotel and catering industry working front-of-house for some of the major national companies, mostly in management positions. Then, in a complete career change, Bob moved into local government, spending 20 years with Leicester City Council, retiring in a senior management position in 1997, when he moved to Dersingham. Bob’s responsibilities include, amongst other things, the production of the in-house magazine ‘Graven’s Grapevine’ and representing the company in Dersingham and surrounding areas.
Karl Mendham - Store Manager, Budgens, Dersingham
Karl worked for Budgens for 15 years before joining James Graven & Sons Ltd when they took over the Budgens store in Dersingham, in May 2007. Karl gained experience in all aspects of the business, starting as a baker on weekday mornings whilst still at school, and also worked part time for Blockbuster Entertainment. He was instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition of the store to new ownership in May 2007, and looks forward to developing close links with the community of Dersingham in the future.
Ken Lobley - Store Manager, Budgens, Soham
Ken has worked for James Graven’s for the past 4 years. He has 35 years retail experience having worked for some well know brands such as MacDonalds and more recently Asda. Ken has a good understanding of local communities having owned and managed the local Post Office in
Sarah Gray - Store Manager, BP/Budgens, Ely
Sarah joined the company in September 2002, as a cashier at the newly opened