Meet the Faces Behind West Design

West Design Products is an industry leading, family-owned manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler and innovator of quality art, craft, stationery, toy and education products. Managing Directors; Jo and Owen Bray, oversee the daily operations that take place within the three sites across the UK.

The full Senior Management Team also includes George and Mike, who cover all the Financial, IT, HR, Manufacturing and Operations.

Jo Bray - Managing Director – Sales and Marketing

With childhood dreams of being the next Sue Barker, I went to the University of Wales, Bangor to study History with Journalism, before undertaking a postgrad diploma in Journalism in Liverpool.  However, before too long, and what was meant to only be a temporary role, I started working for West Design Products as an Area Sales Rep for the North of England.  I subsequently became a KAM when I relocated to Kent after 4 years, and then progressed to a NAM responsible for John Lewis, Tesco, Debenhams, Sainsbury’s, Hobbycraft etc before becoming Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for the Company.

Owen Bray - Managing Director – Operations

I studied Exploration Geology at The University of Wales – Cardiff and managed to get a placement with Schlumberger, an Oil Exploration company. After my degree I joined Schlumberger’s Management Trainee Scheme which enabled me to travel and work all over the globe. I always had though a passion for the family business that I had grown up with and I eventually came back to it. Since the mid 2000’s, I have held numerous roles within West Design Products from working on the warehouse floor all the way up to my current position of Managing Director of Operations.

Mike Smith - Operations Manager

I am the Operations Manager for West Design Products based out of our Folkestone distribution site in Kent. I’m an accomplished operations leader with 30 years’ experience within Amazon logistics, automotive and retail sectors. Over this time I have worked closely with our customers to truly understand how we deliver the very best service and experience which is at the heart of what we do at West Design Products.  

Our Sites

Now that you’ve met the main faces of West Design, learn more about our three sites based across the United Kingdom.