 Sunderland joined Cadbury Limited in 1968.He worked on both the confectionery and soft drinks sides of the business, on the Boards of Cadbury Ireland, Cadbury Schweppes South Africa, as a founding Director of the Coca-Cola Schweppes joint venture in 1987, and then as Managing Director of Trebor Bassett.In 1993, he became Managing Director of the Confectionery Stream and a member of the Cadbury Schweppes Board.