BPEX Board

BPEX Board Profiles

	Stewart Houston CBE, BPEX Chairman Stewart is an AHDB Board Member and became Chairman of BPEX Ltd upon its creation, having also chaired its predecessor. Stewart, who is based in Bedale, North Yorkshire is also Chairman of NPA and a member of COPA COGECA EU committee of agricultural trade associations.
	Adam Couch, Cranswick Country Food Adam joined Cranswick in 1991 as a graduate trainee from Hull University, where he graduated in accountancy. Adam was appointed a director in 2003 and is managing director of the fresh pork operations.
	Jon Easey, MJ & JA Easey Jon Easey was born in Suffolk in 1968 and went to school in Hoxne and Framlingham. He read Agricultural Economics at the University of Reading then moved to London working in the wine trade. Jon progressed to the beer sector working as a Brand and Marketing Manager for a major national brewery where he developed a unique insight by spearheading national advertising and promotional campaigns such as Castlemaine XXXX. In 1996, he returned to East Anglia, joining the family business, MJ & JA Easey, running an integrated pig scheme comprising 11,500 sows (as well as finishing up to 8,000 pigs a week), a feed mill, veterinary practice and arable farm. Jon has endeavoured hard to direct industry policy and lobby government from the fringes.
	Clive Francis Clive joined BPEX in July 2007 and formally becomes the independent member of the new Board from 1st April 2008.He has held a number of senior roles in the food industry, more recently with Associated British Foods and British Sugar.He now carries out consultancy work and lectures on business at the University of East Anglia. He holds degrees from Nottingham and Bath Universities
	John Godfrey, CBE, FCA, FRAgS Born in a North Lincolnshire farming family, John Godfrey qualified as a chartered accountant in 1971 before returning to the family farming business. Now he and his brother manage an arable and pig enterprise in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. He has been Chairman NPA, Chair of BPA, Chair of FABpigs, Vice Chair of Yorkshire Farmers Livestock Marketing Ltd, Chair of Grimsby Birds Eye pea growers committee, and Chair of the North Lindsey branch of the NFU.Currently he is Chair of Riseholme Park Farms Ltd and Chair of Pig Industry Development Scheme and is still active in a number of agricultural organisations. In addition he is currently President of the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society and President of Scunthorpe United Football Club.He received the David Black award in 1997, was awarded the CBE in 1998 and in 2004 was elected a Fellow of Royal Agricultural Societies.
	Bob Howe Bob Howe has been in the meat industry for 38 years. Current position is Managing Director of Bowes of Norfolk. Before that he was Business Unit Director of Geo. Adams & Sons Ltd for 24 years. He is currently chairman of ZNCPig. He has also been chairman of the BMPA pig committee and is a former BMPA council member. He has also been UK pig representative at Clitravi in Brussels and a member of the BPEX board before reorganization.
	John Hughes Daleheads Foods John is from a farming background and joined Dalehead in 1973 as Livestock Buyer, he became MD in 1999. Through a merger with Roach Foods in 1999 and the acquisition of BQP in 2000, the new Company achieved a long held ambition to become a major integrator from pig production through to ‘shelf ready’ retail packed pork and pig meat products. In 2004 Dalehead and Roach were acquired by Tulip, a division of Danish Crown.
	Richard Longthorp, LKL Farming Richard Longthorp farms 1,800 acres at Howden in East Yorks with contract operations covering a further 2,000 acres. He has 1,300 outdoor sows at Retford, Nottinghamshire, and all the progeny is taken to bacon weight. The pigs are all produced under the high welfare Freedom Foods scheme. As well as being a member of the BPEX Shadow Board, he is a former member of the NPA Producer Group, former Chairman, of the NPA, active in BPISG , Chairman, Pig Industry Training Strategy Implementation Group, member of Rotary and former Captain and Chairman of Selby RUFC which he says is a particularly useful part of the CV for operating in the UK Pig Industry.
	John Rowbottom, Melrose Pigs Ltd John has a long association with the pig industry through the family’s 750 sow farrow to finish pig enterprise based in Yorkshire. He is a member of the National Pig Association Producer Group and a Board member. In addition to the pig enterprise the family farming business also includes arable and a grass drying enterprise. In the past John has owned businesses as diverse as the manufacture of explosives and the extraction of chlorophyl from grass for human consumption. John is a former President of the British Association of Green Crop Dryers.
	Mike Sheldon, Greenway Farms Ltd A 520 sow intensive pig unit in Buckinghamshire, producing slaughter pigs for a national processing company. From 1998-1999 the first Chief Executive of the National Pig Association (NPA), formed as the first united trade association for the UK pork industry. From 1982-1995 working in various roles for PIC, the worldwide pig genetics company.
	Bill Thurston Bill Thurston is Managing Director, Pork Business Unit VION Food Group Ltd with overall responsibility for all fresh Pork sites in the UK. His family has a background in pig and poultry rearing in Norfolk and he has been in the food industry for the last 26 years. The focus of this has been in the agricultural side of business in a number of bakery supply companies. Before joining VION he was Senior Vice President Europe and Middle East with American bakery company Dawn Foods; Senior Vice President/Group Company Director CSM Bakery Supplies Europe; Managing Director of Bakemark UK & International.
	Meryl Ward, Grayingham Grange Farm Meryl runs a family farming enterprise comprising 2,000 sows, finished pigs, a mixed arable enterprise and farm shop.Her current roles include treasurer of BPISG, a member of the Farm Animal Welfare Council and is a governor of Harper Adams University College