Members
Mr Andy Richardson
Andy is Head of Corporate Affairs at dairy nutrition business Volac and has over 30 years of experience in the food and feed industries. Previous roles have included commercial and marketing posts at large feed compounders and multinational food businesses. Andy chairs the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board, as well as sitting on a number of industry strategy forums including the Food & Drink Sector Council and DIT’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group (STAG) , and co-founding two international collaborations to develop sustainable supply and demand of protein and edible fats.
Mr John Kelley
John is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) which includes implementing the AIC Boards objectives for AIC. This role also includes being the Managing Director of AIC Services – the professional services arm of AIC. He was part of the original team that merged a number of trade associations together to form AIC in 2003. Previous to this he has worked for a major blue-chip retailer, a fresh produce co-operative and a management consultancy. He obtained an MBA through the Open Business School and a BSc (Hons) from Nottingham University.
Mr Lee Thompson
Lee Thompson is Sales Manager at Brandsby Agricultural Trading Association with overall responsibility of the sales team and purchasing of seed, pesticides and fertilisers. After graduating with a degree in Agriculture Lee worked on a mixed livestock and arable farm. He is Basis and Facts qualified as well as a registered feed adviser and an AMTRA qualified animal health adviser. Lee also runs a mixed small holding of grassland, suckler cows and breeding sheep.
Mr Robert Sheasby
Robert Sheasby is the Chief Executive of the Agricultural Industries Confederation the trade association which represents agri business in the UK. His experience is from a career in agriculture having also held a number of roles within the National Farmers Union before joining the AIC in 2018, as well as working as a land agent and auctioneer in his early career. In this role Robert sits on a number of Government stakeholder groups including the DiT Trade Advisory Group for agriculture and food, the Defra group on Productivity as well as having overall responsibility for the operation of the AIC.
Mr Stuart Gow
Stuart has been the group financial controller for East Coast Viners (ECV), a family owned company in the North East of Scotland, for over 15 years. ECV owns a diverse range of agri-related businesses ranging from windturbines, biomass, pea vining, grain storage and compound feed manufacture. His day to day role involves implementation of IT systems and controlling the finance for a highly diverse compound feed manufacturer and substantial grain storage operation. He is a fully qualified Chartered Accountant and previously worked in client services and the consultancy divisions of the largest independent Scottish Chartered Accountancy firm.
Ms Jennifer Butcher
Jen is Communications and Commercial Responsibility Director for AB Agri, an animal nutrition and farm performance business based in Peterborough. Jen joined AB Agri in 2018 from the financial services sector where she focused primarily on communications, organisational change and employee engagement. In addition to her AB Agri and AIC Services roles, Jen is also a member of the IFIF (International Feed Industries Federation) Sustainability Steering Group. She has a BA in English Literature and Language from UCL and an MSc in Organisational Behaviour from the University of London.