Bakers has appointed Harry and Tom Baker as directors, formally bringing the third generation of the family into the company’s leadership.

Harry Baker becomes commercial director, with responsibility extending across Baker Labels, Baker Materials, BakPac and Sportstiks. Tom Baker becomes operations director, overseeing production, processes, systems, training and standards.

Both have taken on increasing responsibility within the business in recent years, with the appointments formalising their roles as Bakers prepares for its next phase of growth.

Managing director Steve Baker said the move reflected responsibilities Harry and Tom had already been taking on rather than a sudden change in their roles.

“We’ve never been a business that gets too hung up on job titles, but becoming a director does carry a different level of responsibility,” he said.

“Harry and Tom have both been doing more and more for some time, so this isn’t a case of suddenly giving them a title and expecting them to grow into it. They’ve already been growing into the roles.”

Harry, who has spent much of his career focused on BakPac, said the new position would give him a broader view of the business.

“Dad has always brought us up with the idea that you earn the role first,” he said. “You do the work, create some value and prove that you can take the responsibility on.”

He said becoming a director would allow him to become more involved across the wider business and challenge established ways of working.

Tom said his focus would be on introducing greater structure as the company grows, while retaining its existing culture.

“The business is at a different scale now,” he said. “You can run a company of 30 people in a very different way to a company of 120-plus people.”

“What I want to bring is a bit more structure and clarity without losing the things that make Bakers feel like Bakers. I don’t want us to become a big company that feels corporate. I want us to become a bigger company that still feels like the small company.”

Bakers was founded by Roy and Marian Baker in 1973 and is now led by their son, Steve. The company is preparing to reveal details of Operation Next Gen, a multi-million-pound investment programme to expand its manufacturing footprint and capacity.

Steve said the appointments would strengthen the leadership team as the business enters its next stage.

“What matters to me is that Bakers stays strong, stays independent and stays family-run. Having the next generation properly involved gives us a lot of confidence about where we can go from here.”