About us

Our Team

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  Charles Elms

  Director

  With more than 20 years experience of working in the UK drinks industry, Charles and Nick co-founded Free Run Wines in 2001. Charles heads up the Free Run team, overseeing a range of key accounts, as well as focusing on commercial strategy and planning. Looking at this photo, you may think that Charles has a penchant for unusual leisurewear – this may be true – but he promises us he only wears this outfit whilst smoking his hives, what with being an enthusiastic beekeeper.

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  Nick Bauer

  Director

  A true Frenchman born and bred, Nick has spent the last 15 years working in the UK drinks industry, so he’s now well versed in the strange ways of “Les Anglais”.  Heading up the company with Charles, Nick manages a number of key accounts as well as developing new projects and business. Leaving the rest of us feeling exhausted, Nick is often found either cycling or diving. Earlier this year he managed to persuade Charles to join him on a charity bike ride from London to Paris to celebrate Free Run's 10th birthday - though the rest of us managed to escape under the pretext of "looking after the office".

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  Clare Cutler

  National Account Manager

  Clare discovered the world of wine when seeking a French speaking role after 3 years working in France and Corfu.  She is now something of a wine trade stalwart, having spent 10 years working in a variety of roles at Thierry’s. Since joining the commercial team at Free Run, Clare has been enjoying the challenge of working with new suppliers, products and customers. Likely to be found wearing flip-flops even in the most inclement weather, Clare is often heard extolling the virtues of the great outdoors; swimming outside in December, growing fresh veggies and exploring the south coast with the top down.

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  Nicola Harrison

  Product Development and Technical Executive

  Nicola was once described as “the brain” of Free Run Wines. Rather than being a poor reflection on the mental capacity of the rest of the team, this comment provides a good indication of Nicola’s wide and varied role; product development, vital link between customers and suppliers, technical and quality management and handling customer service issues. Fluent in French, she claims 6 months in Aix-en-Provence taught her more vocabulary than 3 years at the University of Leeds. Rarely seen in the same pair of shoes twice, Nicola’s Italian roots probably explain her infamous shoe-obsession.

 
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  Jackie Mortimer

  Accounts Manager

  Judiciously deciding to move to a part-time role in Accounts, Jackie had tirelessly organised us for over 6 years, managing our accounts and making sure orders got processed and invoices paid. Jackie claims to have known very little about wine “apart from the fact I like drinking it” before joining the Free Run team, though we find that hard to believe – and some might say she’s the hardest critic to impress when it comes to new vintages. With plenty of free time away from the office, Jackie is most likely to be found on the back of a motorbike.

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  Salvador Garcia

  Logistics Coordinator

  If Jackie is our linchpin and Nicola our “brain”, Sal is the unsung hero of the Free Run office, tirelessly working with customers and suppliers to ensure orders are delivered to the right place at the right time. Having previously worked for Targus in a stock management role, with a burgeoning interest in wine, we don’t think we could have found a better person to look after our supply chain. Although born and bred in South East England, Sal's family come from Spain - which explains the fluent Spanish and mean paella.