GEOFF CALDER – CHAIRMAN
Geoff joined the Board as a Director in December 2014 and took over from Philip Wynn following his retirement at the 2015 AGM.
He has been involved in the food industry all his life. He was with Northern Foods for 10 years, then Allied Domecq, followed by 18 years at McCain Foods where he was UK Managing Director and CEO of the South African business.
Latterly he has been involved with working closely with John Shropshire. He was Managing Director of G’s Fresh looking after the commercial side of the business and has done virtually everything apart from farming.
In his own words, he is a “commercial animal that has touched farming”. In recent years he has bought a potato business, growing, storing and grading, so he understands the stresses and strains of farming and the whole supply chain.
In addition to his role as Chairman of the Green Pea Company, Geoff is currently in his “pre-retirement” phase and is working globally a couple of days each week for John Shropshire
WILLIAM BRADLEY – DIRECTOR
Gold Area and Operations Director
William farms at Middleton on the Wolds, share farms at North Dalton and has other contracting interests. He has been involved with peas for 15 years and enjoys the challenges in all things agricultural!
ANDREW WRAITH – DIRECTOR
Amber Area
Andrew has been a board member since 2009. He farms in a family partnership based at Portington near Howden. The family have grown peas for Birds Eye since the early 1970’s and is a founder member of Howdenshire Growers Ltd.
In addition to farming Andrew is a director of the land and property business, Savills, based in Lincoln. As head of Agribusiness for Savills he is responsible for the national team of consultants and maintains a client base providing management and consultancy services to a range of farms and associated businesses.
As a GPC director, Andrew sits on the contract negotiation committee.
MARTIN ROBINSON – DIRECTOR
Lime Area
Martin joined the board of the Green Pea Company in February 2013. He farms at Goxhill and Whitton in North Lincolnshire and is also a partner in the family farm based near Brigg where seed wheat, oilseed rape are grown along with vining peas which have featured since 1988. Martin is also a director of an arable contracting business. He sits as a farmer member on the HGCA Research and Knowledge Transfer Committee.
PAUL HAYWARD – DIRECTOR
Purple Area
Paul has been a director of The Green Pea Company since it was established in 2006, this followed experience with other pea groups in a number of roles. On the GPC board he has specific responsibility for financial matters.
Paul farms in partnership with his wife Heather at Bishop Burton. In addition to growing vining peas for Birds Eye as part of the Purple area, combinable crops are grown on their own farm and under a contract farming agreement. Other enterprises include beef rearing, commercial and residential lets, commercial storage and farm management. (www.cold-harbour-farm.co.uk).
PETER CALEY – DIRECTOR
Silver Area
Peter is a Silver area grower and he joined the board in 2012. With a background in Farm Business Consultancy, Peter now farms in partnership with his father, based at Burton Constable where the enterprises include arable, bed and breakfast pigs and Smithy Briggs Hay & Straw (www.smithybriggs.co.uk) which supplied hay and straw to the equine and livestock markets.
Peter is also a partner in Six Valley Lamb LLP which is based at Thixendale near Malton (www.sixvalleylamb.co.uk). The business operates grasslands between the Yorkshire Wolds and Holderness producing grass finished lamb for the deadweight market.
On the Green Pea Company board, Peter has specific responsibility for communication.
MARTIN RIGGALL – COMPANY SECRETARY
Martin has been Company Secretary since the formation of GPC, prior to which he was Secretary to the Executive Commitee of the five Birds Eye Humberside groups, providing support to the growers’ negotiating committee.
In May 2012 he is retiring as Chief Executive of British Growers Association (formerly PVGA), a position he has held since 1995, but will continue on a part-time consultancy basis working on key projects including GPC.
He is a Trustee of The Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO); a member of the RPA Producer Organisation Scheme Experts Group; and Company Secretary of two other pea groups – Anglian Pea Growers and Stemgold Peas.
Before joining PVGA, Martin spent 25 years in the seed industry, most of that time abroad in Spain and the US, starting out as a plant breeder before moving on to a series of senior management positions.