BBC The Apprentice winner names new appointment to grow Trade Mastermind business

The former boss of Amazon in Peterborough has teamed up with city entrepreneur and BBC The Apprentice winner, Joseph Valente.

Lee Shepherd (54), who was site manager at Amazon, in Kingston Park, from 2009, has just been appointed as chief operating officer for Mr Valente’s Trade Mastermind business, at the Brightfield Business Hub, in Orton Southgate.

A former Royal Artillery sergeant major, Mr Shepherd, who spent 15 years with e-commerce giant Amazon managing teams of up to 5,000 and playing a key role in scaling-up operations in the UK and overseas, said: “Many small businesses used Amazon to become established, selling products from home and scaling up through the platform.

"Trade Mastermind is doing the same thing, helping one-man operations grow into expansionist businesses.”

His appointment comes as Mr Valente (35) looks to fast track Trade Mastermind’s growth from a £10 million to a £20-plus million turnover business.

Trade Mastermind seeks to help small construction business owners expand their businesses and create new jobs.

Mr Shepherd, of Hampton Vale, said: “What Joseph was trying to do in Peterborough really caught my eye.

"As a fan of The Apprentice, I knew of him, and I was excited to help business owners scale their operations.”

Mr Shepherd says his leadership journey began at 16 when he left school in 1988 to join the Royal Artillery as a junior gunner. Over a 22-year career, he served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the Gulf War, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.

His role at Amazon expanded rapidly and in 2019, he launched a new warehouse at the former Jaguar Land Rover site in Coventry, using expertise gained in Peterborough.

The next step took him to the Middle East, where he managed operations across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, overseeing 10 locations and 3,000 employees.

Mr Shepherd, who is married with three children, said: “By 2024 I had covered everything I wanted to do at Amazon and needed a new challenge back in the UK.”

He says his priorities are learning the business and refining strategic plans.

“The first quarter is about understanding how Joseph built this company. Then we can create a strategic, entrepreneurial roadmap, freeing him up to focus on the big picture and his creative strengths.”

Mr Valente, who won The Apprentice title in 2015, said: “We are delighted to have Lee on board. His arrival is exactly what Trade Mastermind is all about, taking businesses to the next level, and I’m sure that in helping us scale up to the next level, we’ll learn yet more we can pass on to our entrepreneurial ‘customer students’.”