Our Executive Team draws on their national and international expertise, including extensive work in novel agricultural technology and innovation, research and development, government policy and the commercialisation of scientifically viable patents and business opportunities.
Chief Executive Officer
Dave provides leadership and strategic direction to the development of the Centre in its emerging role, both nationally and internationally. He is a trained engineer, with 26 years’ experience of agri-technology in both the cropping and livestock sectors, encompassing a broad range of technology areas. He has been involved in the R&D of a number of novel and patented developments across the agricultural production sectors. Some of these have been fully commercialised and he has assisted with spin-out and new company formations.
Chief Operating Officer
Kirk has an extensive career ranging from work in central government to social enterprise and innovation companies. He has worked from audit to board level in the private, public and charities sectors all round the world, and has held posts with the Ministry of Justice, BEIS, the Home Office and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. A Chartered Accountant, he also holds an MBA from the London Business School and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Guelph, Canada’s largest agricultural university.
Director of Business Development
Lisa has vast experience in the agri-food sector, having spent over 20 years working in the industry in a variety of different roles. More recently, Lisa headed the agri-food division of Promar International, with a focus on client engagement, business development, project delivery, implementing systems, PR and team management. Lisa has dealt with the project management and direction of a range of assignments in the fresh and processed horticultural sectors, as well as the pork, dairy, poultry and beef sectors with clients from across the supply chain operators, government departments, levy bodies/organisations in both the UK and globally.
Chief Technical Officer
Trish provides leadership, drive innovation and steers Agri-EPI’s technical growth. She works with project partners, governments, industry and the international agri-tech community to help drive Agri-EPI’s technological vision and strategy. Trish started out in the automotive engineering sector, before completing a degree in genetics and biochemistry. After winning a national competition that funded an interdisciplinary PhD in engineering and biochemistry, the focus of her work has been on the development of novel sustainable products and processes in the agri-food and agri-tech sectors. Trish has worked with companies of all sizes across these sectors assisting them with innovation and facilitating cutting edge research with a global impact. She has worked as a research scientist, sustainability and techno-economic analysis expert and innovation manager for a number of companies.
Together with our Management Team, our board navigates Agri-EPI Centre towards a sustainable future. By deepening long-term opportunities that advance our mission to accelerate the adoption of precision agriculture and engineering technologies, to boost productivity and increase farm efficiency worldwide.
Chair
Vince is a Founding Director of Agri-EPI and also founded and commercialised well known precision farming and digital farming brands in the UK, Europe and Africa.
He has a continued passion for developing agri-tech businesses globally. At the heart of this is advancing agricultural research within the agri-tech sector. Integrated science and technology is at the heart of this objective.
He has delivered wide reaching commercial success in the agri-tech sector from a number of collaborative projects including Innovate UK funded Agri-tech projects and European Space Agency projects.
A skill set that bridges the gap between academic and commercial ventures is at the heart of his value to the industry, delivered as an independent consultant and non-executive director.
Vice Chair
Willie Thomson is Harbro’s technical director, responsible for their agri-technology and R&D strategies. With over 30 years of experience in animal nutrition and husbandry. He has been heavily involved with the development and application of technical advances for many species in the monitoring of health and nutrition
Willie is also a director of Innovent Technology, which was created in 2001, primarily to assist with addressing the needs of the Scottish agriculture industry and to commercialise a patented animal health product that he invented, Kling-on Blue.
He has vast experience in the agricultural industry, and in bringing products to market successfully. He has experience in writing and filing patents and is aware of IP methodologies. He has heavily been involved the development of the Agri-EPI Centre since its inception in 2014/15 and was Chair of its Board between 2015 and 2020.
BVM&S, CertCHP, DipLaw, MRCVS
After qualifying from the Royal School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Matt started life in companion and livestock veterinary practice in rural Dorset. In 1999 he returned to academia to continue his career, and held positions at the University of Sydney, US Davies in California, and at the Royal Veterinary College in London, where he was appointed lecturer and Senior Clinician. After completing a RCVS Certificate, Matt returned to clinical practice, setting up his own veterinary businesses. With 37 clinics the group become the UK’s largest veterinary business in their sector, before managing a successful exit to Private Equity in 2018. His network of businesses included laboratories, digital animal health, first opinion and referral veterinary clinics.
Matt’s passion is innovative veterinary care, and he has received several awards for developing new and novel ways of ensuring the highest standards in animal care, including a Nuffield Scholarship and the Queens Award for Voluntary Services. His main Executive role is as the Global Chief Medical Officer for Destination Pet, assisting with ensuring the group achieves the highest clinical standards, supporting the development of the Destination Pet digital strategy and helping to create the European development of the business.
Matt is active in vet tech and Agritech in the UK and is on the board of five Agritech businesses including the government Agritech strategy centre Agri-EPI and vettech businesses VetYou and Vet Pursuits. He is also a consultant for Geneva based Animal Health consultancy Stonehaven and chair of the MWI Clinical Board. As a farm vet and a qualified lawyer, Matt still does the odd fertility routine visit and provides legal opinion on a number of animal welfare and litigation cases.
Nevil is an independent financial consultant. He qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG, worked in Investment Banking with Deutsche Bank and spent a period working with an international poverty relief charity, mainly in the Indian sub-continent.
Nevil also worked as a finance and channel director in the world’s largest furniture manufacturer, Steelcase, where during 2015-16 he led a turnaround of the company’s Paris operations. Nevil was Agri-EPI’s Centre’s Director of Finance between 2016 and 2019.
Sarah has spent 25 years working in food and farming. Sarah’s experience gives a unique insight into the business development needs and opportunities open to the British food and farming community.
In addition to running her successful business growth and communications consultancy, Partners in Produce Ltd, Sarah holds a number of executive, non- executive and voluntary roles. These include Non-Executive Director of the Covent Garden Market Authority, Executive Chair of the National Fruit Show and membership of City Harvest’s Food Council. She is a monthly columnist in Southeast Farmer and a regular contributor to a range of food and farming publications.
Tom was born in Sheffield and now lives in North Yorkshire. He brings a wealth of experience drawn from across the food and farming sector in terms of policy, industry dynamics and commercial drivers. His career in farming has spanned more than 20 years in a variety of leadership roles at the NFU, Tesco and AHDB. He is a recognised expert in agricultural policy and has a significant track record in strategy development and influencing government and the wider food and farming industry.
Having left the farming industry in 2020 Tom is now CEO of the North York Moors National Park Authority where he leads a team of over 130 people charged with conserving and enhancing the landscape, cultural heritage & natural beauty of the North York Moors, one of ten National Parks across England.
Allan was brought up on a Scottish arable farm and has enjoyed a varied career as a chartered accountant in a broad range of private and public sector business roles. He brings a diverse range of experience and expertise to Agri-EPI. He is a past Chairman of the Farmers Club, and currently Chairman of two pension schemes, advisor/consultant to a few agri-tech companies and running Luffness Mains Farming, an arable enterprise in East Lothian.
After a business and law degree in Edinburgh his accountancy career took him abroad and then to England where he worked in finance and commercial roles in growing private international businesses, finally returning with his family to buy out the family farming enterprise in Scotland.
Back in Scotland, he acquired a portfolio of NED roles, including Chair of AHDB Potatoes and SCRI which merged into the new James Hutton Institute, both these appointments taking him into the agriculture and science policy environment, with an interest in the sustainability of food, farming and technology. These involved some time developing relationships in China and elsewhere on matters concerning the global potato industry.
Registered office: Agri-EPI Centre Midlands Agri-Tech Innovation Hub, Poultry Lane, Edgmond Newport, England, TF10 8JZ
Company Reg. Number: 09922991
VAT Number: 240019456 (UK)