Accessibility links

Commissioners

Sir Ian Cheshire

Sir Ian Cheshire

Chair of Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Chair, Barclays Bank UK & Lead non-executive director for the Government

 

Sir Ian was appointed Non-Executive Chairman to the Barclays UK Board in April 2017. He was appointed Group Chief Executive of Kingfisher plc from January 2008 and left the group in early 2015. Prior to this he was Chief Executive of B&Q.  His previous roles at Kingfisher from 1998 onwards include Chief Executive of International and Development, Chief Executive of e-Kingfisher and Group Director of Strategy and Development. Sir Ian has won a number of awards including Lifetime contributions to retailing, green business and the Fortune WEF award for leadership in the circular economy. Sir Ian was knighted in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to Business, Sustainability and the Environment and is a Chevalier of the Ordre National du Merite of France. Other current principal external appointments: Chairman, Maisons du monde; Chairman, Menhaden plc; Lead non-executive director for the government.

Judith Batchelar OBE

Judith Batchelar OBE

Director, Sainsbury’s Brand & Chair, Innovation and Nutrition Working Groups, Food and Drink Sector Council

 

Judith is responsible for all aspects of Sainsbury’s product offer, from Policy formation on aspects such as Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing, through to Product Technology, Product Development, Product Safety, Packaging, Corporate Responsibility, and Public Affairs. She has worked in the food and drink industry for 35 years and is a Biochemist and Registered Nutritionist.  In addition to her work at Sainsbury’s, Judith is a Non-Executive Director at the Environment Agency, sits on the Board of Trustees for Farm Africa, the Matt Hampson Foundation, the Executive Board of The Princes Trust Accounting for Sustainability Project, and is an ambassador for the Woodland Trust. Judith is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce. Judith co-chaired the Government’s AgriFoodTech Council for 5 years and now sits on the Food and Drink Sector Council.

Helen Browning OBE

Helen Browning OBE

Chief Executive, Soil Association

 

Helen has a very mixed organic farm Wiltshire, with dairy, beef, pigs, cereals and is now also experimenting with agro-forestry. Her products are sold through the Helen Browning’s Organic brand in retailers, big and small, as well as through her mini hotel and restaurant/pub on the farm, and through her restaurant in Swindon. She is Chief Executive of the Soil Association, a member of the Food Ethics Council, trustee of the RSPB. Prior to rejoining the Soil Association, Helen was Director of External Affairs for the National Trust. She has had a number of roles in agri-politics over the years, including the Government’s Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food (‘the Curry Commission’) and chaired the England Animal Health and Welfare Implementation Group. Helen was awarded an OBE in 1998 for her services to organic farming.

Shirley Cramer CBE

Shirley Cramer CBE

CEO, Royal Society for Public Health

 

Shirley Cramer is an experienced voluntary sector leader in both the UK and the USA and has also held non executive positions in both countries in the public and voluntary sectors. She was Chief Executive of Dyslexia Action, the UK’s leading independent provider of services for individuals with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties for over a decade. Prior to RSPH she was Interim Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK and working on the ‘Dementia Challenge’. She is Chair of the thinktank, British Future. Shirley also chairs the People in UK Public Health Group, an advisory group providing independent, expert advice to the four UK countries on an overarching strategy for a multidisciplinary public health workforce. Shirley has a UK degree in Social Work and an MSc in Social Administration from Columbia University in New York.

Kath Dalmeny

Kath Dalmeny

Chief Executive, Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming

 

Kath Dalmeny is chief executive of Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, since 2016 leading the alliance's response to Brexit and its profound implications for healthy and sustainable food, farming and fishing. She is also a member of the London Food Board and helped establish the Sustainable Food Cities Network. She is a vocal advocate of high standards for food, environment and animal welfare, and champions better trading practices and government support to reward food producers and workers for all the benefits they generate. Kath instigated Sustainable Fish Cities to persuade major foodservice companies to serve only sustainable fish; and the Right to Food initiative to address food poverty systematically so that everyone can eat well. She also helps run the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, and sits on Defra’s food procurement taskforce. On a voluntary basis she serves on the board of Growing Communities, an award-winning community-run sustainable food trading enterprise based in Hackney.

David Fursdon

David Fursdon

Chairman, Beeswax Dyson Farming & Trustee, National Trust

 

David Fursdon is a qualified rural chartered surveyor with a background in private practice and consultancy for both large and small farms and Estates. Currently Chair of Beeswax Dyson Farming Ltd and on the Trustee Board of the National Trust he is interested in the interaction between commercial farming and the environment, something he has looked at with the Green Alliance. His own commercial experience comes from running his own diversified family business in Devon and as a Crown Estate Commissioner. He has championed new entrants in agriculture, chairing the Government sponsored 'Future of Farming' Review. He was an English Heritage Commissioner and was President of the CLA. He chaired the SW Rural Productivity Commission; The SW Rural and Farming Network and served on the Affordable Rural Housing Commission and Rural Housing Policy Group.

Professor David Hill CBE

Professor David Hill CBE

Founder, The Environment Bank & Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Trustee

 

David is Chairman and founding owner of The Environment Bank Ltd which brokers funding from developments to create new, and enhance existing, wildlife habitats. He established one of the first environmental consultancies in the UK, which he subsequently merged with a plc. He has a strong professional and personal interest in biodiversity conservation and has worked in the planning and development control sector for over 25 years, advising corporates and developers on the environmental impacts of their projects. David was a founding member of Natural England, the governments’ statutory advisers on the natural heritage, its Deputy Chair 2011 - 2016, and a member of the Board of the UK government’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee. He was a member of the government’s Ecosystem Markets Taskforce and is currently Chair of the Northern Upland Nature Partnership. David is Chairman of Plantlife that promotes the conservation of plants and is a Board Trustee of the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. He is passionate about nature conservation and enjoys bird watching and wildlife photography. David was awarded a CBE in the 2015 Queens Birthday Honours for services to nature conservation and the economy.

Professor Tim Jackson

Professor Tim Jackson

Director, Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, University of Surrey

 

Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey. Tim’s current role at Surrey is Director of the ESRC Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). CUSP is a multi-disciplinary research centre which aims to understand the economic, social and political dimensions of sustainable prosperity. Tim has been at the forefront of international debates on sustainability for almost three decades and has worked closely with the UK Government, the United Nations, the European Commission, numerous NGOs, private companies and foundations to bring economic and social science research into sustainability. From 2004 to 2011, Tim was Economics Commissioner on the UK Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), where he led the Commission’s work on redefining prosperity. His work for the SDC culminated in the publication of his groundbreaking book Prosperity without Growth which has subsequently been translated into 17 foreign languages. A substantially revised second edition has been published recently. 

Ann Jones

Ann Jones

Vice Chair, National Federation of Women’s Institutes

 

Ann and her husband run a Beef and Sheep farm and a property letting business in the foothills of the Cambrian mountains in Llanddewi Brefi with their two sons. Ann was brought up on a diary farm in Carmarthenshire, was an active member of the Young Farmers movement. She moved to Ceredigion and immediately joined Llanddewi Brefi Wi. Ann has been a very active member of the WI at local, federation and National level. She was Chairman of Ceredigion federation from 2010 to 2013. Wales Chairman from 2013 to 2017, National Vice Chairman 2016 to date and National Public Affairs Chairman 2017 to date. Ann has been an Eco Team leader for the WI and named on the first Green list awarded by the Welsh Assembly. Ann plays an active role in her community having been a Chairman and secretary of Llanddewi Show, community councilor and school governor.

Ufi Ibrahim

Ufi Ibrahim

Strategic Business Leader, Former CEO, British Hospitality Association

 

Ufi Ibrahim is a strategic business leader with over 25 years experience in the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industry. She is recognised for her success in cultivating mutually beneficial partnerships with businesses, associations, and governments, particularly as Chief Executive, British Hospitality Association and Chief Operations Officer, World Travel & Tourism Council. Ufi was instrumental in the creation of the Government-led UK Tourism Industry Council, the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Visitor Economy, and the establishment of the International Competitiveness Monitor for Travel & Tourism, which is now operated by the World Economic Forum and recognised as the global benchmark for policy makers and investors. Ufi has also authored many destination strategies for the development of tourism economies including Croatia, Botswana and the State of Santa Catarina in Brazil, advising on policy reform to secure greater levels of Foreign Direct Investment, Exports and Competitiveness in domestic and international markets.

Dr David Pencheon OBE

Dr David Pencheon OBE

Honorary Professor at University of Exeter, Formerly Director of the Sustainable Development Unit for NHS England and Public Health England

 

David Pencheon is a UK trained doctor and was the founder Director of the Sustainable Development Unit [SDU] for NHS England and Public Health England, established in 2007.  He left the SDU om 1st January 2018 and is an Honorary Professor and an Associate at the Medical School in the University of Exeter, UK. David was previously Director of the Public Health Observatory in Cambridge from 2001 to 2007.  He has worked as a clinical doctor in the NHS, a joint Director of Public Health in North Cambridgeshire, a Public Health Training Director, with the NHS R&D programme, and in rural China in the early 1990s with Save the Children Fund (UK). He has honorary chairs at University College London, and Exeter University, a visiting professorship at the University of Surrey, and was awarded the OBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours List for services to public health and to the NHS.

Dame Fiona Reynolds

Dame Fiona Reynolds

Master, Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge & former Director-General, National Trust

 

Dame Fiona Reynolds became Master of Emmanuel College in 2012. She came to the College from the National Trust, of which she was Director-General since 2001. Before her position with the Trust, she was Director of the Women’s Unit in the Cabinet Office and was previously Director of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (now Campaign to Protect Rural England) and Secretary to the Council for National Parks. She is a Non-Executive Director of the BBC and from December 2012 was the Senior Independent Director of the Executive Board. She is also a Non-Executive Director of Wessex Water.

Andrew Selley

Andrew Selley

Chief Executive, Bidfood

 

Andrew has spent 19 years with the Bidfood business (formerly Bidvest Foodservice), primarily developing the Food Logistics business in the UK, as well as the businesses in Turkey, the Middle East, the Baltics and Spain. He became Chief Executive of Bidfood UK in 2014, and also sits on the global leadership Foodservice Group within Bidcorp, Bidfood’s ultimate parent company. After serving as a Council Member for three years, Andrew was also appointed Chairman of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors in January 2017, the industry body representing the interests of wholesale and cash & carry in the UK. The wider Bidfood business including foodservice, logistics, and fresh businesses, employs more than 6,600 people in the UK and has focus on food innovation, service excellence, sustainability, and delivering great value. Prior to joining Bidfood Andrew’s career began at Coca-Cola Enterprises, where he worked his way up from Graduate Trainee to Trading Director of the wholesale division.

Baroness Barbara Young

Baroness Barbara Young

Chair, Woodland Trust & Member of the House of Lords

 

Barbara, Baroness Young of Old Scone, is a Member of the House of Lords with special interests, among others, in the environment, agriculture, natural resources and climate change. She is Chancellor at Cranfield University and her voluntary positions include President of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust; Honorary President of the South Georgia Heritage Trust; Patron of Lantra and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Management; and Vice President of RSPB, Bird Life International and Flora and Fauna International. She has formerly held a variety of other environmental roles, including Chief Executive of RSPB, Chairman of English Nature and Chief Executive of the Environment Agency. Barbara joined the Woodland Trust’s Board in January 2016 and became Chair of the Trust on 9 June 2016.

Sue Pritchard

Sue Pritchard

Director, The RSA Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (ex officio)

 

Sue has over twenty five years’ experience as a researcher, writer and consultant on leading change in complex social systems. This work has focussed on the leadership and delivery of major government projects working with the boards and executives of major enterprises across numerous sectors - infrastructure, health, defence, technology and finance. Alongside this Sue runs a small livestock farm in Wales and has held a number of honorary and Visiting Fellowships, remains an Honorary Senior Associate at University College, London and Chair of the Advisory Board for the Gender and Diversity in Major Projects Leadership research programme.  As Chair of a Health Board in Wales, Sue pioneered a series of joint-working initiatives and helped the development of multi-agency public service boards.