Meet The Team

It was at her mother’s kitchen table, our founder Clare discovered her love of tablescaping and the joy of bringing people together. Such was the appeal, Clare made the decision to give up the security of a successful corporate career to launch Talking Tables. To this day it’s still very much a family owned and led business.

Mark McCormack joined the company in 2001, just months after it was launched. He has special responsibility for corporate governance, and has been instrumental in the company signing up to such bodies as Living Wage, Better Business Act, and Better Business Charter.

Daniel, previously director of supply chain, has been with the company for 12 years, originally joining as supply chain assistant and working his way up while gaining a thorough insight into the business. He became a director five years ago and in 2022 he steered the company to B Corp status. He serves on the Giftware Association’s National Committee.

Claire heads up our volume and multiples business unit. With over 25 years' experience as a buyer - 16 of them at Tesco - she brings an invaluable retail perspective to the team.

As our director of operations, Lynne heads up our shared services unit which includes merchandising, customer service, IT, delivery and warehousing. Lynne has a lifetime of senior experience running merchandising functions at retailers ranging from Pandora to John Lewis, and House of Fraser to Arcadia.

Jake has worked in a wide range of areas, from gifting, to confectionary, to beauty, to electronics and more, giving him an especially broad experience to call on. Being based in the Far East, ensures he can build stronger relationships with factories and regional knowledge.