Team

The man behind UOE and the one most likely to be in front of a journalist’s microphone is Elliot Jacobs. He found his entrepreneurial passion early in life when he got a Saturday job at a local stationery shop called Universal Office Equipment (later to be known as UOE). Later in his career, he re-joined UOE and has guided it to become one of the UK’s leading independent business supplies and services companies serving over 1.5 million customers. He sold the B2B division of UOE to Quills in 2019 in order to concentrate on the retail side of the business.

Under his leadership, UOE has gone from strength to strength. Then, in 2014, he negotiated a multiple franchise agreement with the Post Office and combined it with UOE’s retail operation to create a unique and highly successful business model – there are now 8 Post Office/Stores and a coworking business Hub and a Bank Hub.

In June 2021, Elliot was elected (by fellow postmasters across the UK) as the first Non-Executive Director at Post Office in its 360-year history.

Find out more about Elliot at www.elliotjacobs.co.uk

Simon, our Group Operations Director [a.k.a. GOD ;-)] has over 21 years of corporate experience, predominantly in senior-level roles. Seeking to redress the work/life balance in 2009 he took time out to relax, reflect and plan what to do next. During this period he worked with a local start-up digital marketing agency to develop their business plans, and it was from this that he came to understand the challenges and fun that could be had within the small business environment.

Convinced that a combination of the best elements of the big corporates mixed with the entrepreneurial spirit and drive of an SME would deliver great results, Simon arranged a long lunch with Elliot after which it became clear that their combination of skills and talent would be an irresistible team, and he joined the UOE family in 2010.

When he is not working, he is most likely to be found enjoying music or walking his dog, Alfie.

Prior to joining UOE in 2015, Louise spent 23 years in the corporate world of office products. She had known Elliot for many years and had worked with Simon at a previous company, so it was a fantastic to have her join the UOE team. In her first 4 years, until UOE divested its B2B division, she developed and enhanced UOE’s relationship with its corporate client base. Following the ‘retail strategy’ being defined, Louise transitioned to her current, multi-faceted position as a member of UOE’s Group Operations Team. With a role that covers supply chain, finance and customer service.

When Louise isn’t doing her day job, she enjoys playing netball, walking in the hills and along coastal paths, visiting the Greek Islands, and having a nice meal out and walking her dog, Dolli.

With nearly 20 years’ retail experience, originally from the land down under, Jaryd ventured to the other side of the globe to explore Europe and found UOE!

Jaryd has risen repeatedly through the ranks and holds responsibility for customer experience covering staff training and development (on both Post Office and Retail channels) as well as in-store customer experience across our UOE Store brand. His energy and positivity have been invaluable in helping to recruit, develop and maintain the engaged, high-performing teams that serve at each of our retail stores.

With a strong passion for travel, live music and theatre, you’ll either find Jaryd at a gig or a show in town if not exploring abroad (when he’s allowed time off!).