Tom Beach is a visionary leader and entrepreneur in the field of agricultural technology, dedicated to transforming farming practices through cutting–edge robotics and automation. As the founder of Autonomous Agri Solutions (AAS), Tom spearheads advancements in precision agriculture, laser weeding, and robotic farming systems, driving innovation for sustainable and efficient food production globally. With a deep understanding of agricultural challenges and opportunities, Tom has collaborated with leading AgTech companies, research institutions, and growers to deploy state–of–the–art solutions tailored to modern farming needs. Under his leadership, AAS has become a trusted name in the industry, specialising in Robotics–as–a–Service (RaaS) and pioneering solutions for broad acre crops and horticulture. Tom’s expertise lies in aligning technology with practical applications, ensuring innovations deliver measurable impact for farmers. He has played a key role in fostering partnerships across Europe and beyond, advocating for the adoption of autonomous solutions to address labour shortages, climate challenges, and rising production costs. A frequent speaker at international conferences, including FIRA and AgTech showcases, Tom is passionate about sharing insights into the future of farming and the integration of robotics in agriculture. His work is fuelled by a commitment to sustainability, innovation, and collaboration, making him a leading voice in the transformation of global agriculture.

Hannah Cuthbert, Recruitment Consultant, MorePeople

Hannah graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a First-Class degree in Politics. Over the last few years, Hannah has been actively involved in agriculture, from driving tractors to advising farm businesses on policy and rural surveying. More recently, Hannah has been a Student & Young Farmer for the National Farmers’ Union and is a member of the Institute of Agricultural Management. Hannah works in the Rural and Agriculture team, placing the likes of Rural Surveyors, Estate Managers, Farm Managers and so on. Prior to joining MorePeople, Hannah worked a harvest on a farm in Australia. The heat, kangaroos and big kit was very different to what she was used to in the UK!

Claire Donkin, Managing Director, C Donkin Ltd

Claire is an independent horticultural agronomist and technical consultant with a small arable farm. She started her career in peat free growing media development for herb production and gained an MPhil in the subject before building up C Donkin Ltd as a grower service provider. As a business they work in supporting growers and crop associations through agronomy in speciality crops such as plant propagation, herbs and asparagus and in trials and project management. Claire has always had a keen interest in alternative growing media and worked with AHDB and other funders on numerous projects in the area over the years. She is a member of the Growing media association edible horticulture group and worked on the peat consultation response on behalf of Plant Propagators Ltd and British Herbs. Claire is currently a contributing advisor to several crop association technical groups including British Leafy Salads, British Herbs and Plant Propagators.

Laura Fry, Consumer Insight Director, Kantar

Laura has been at Kantar for three years. The first two years were spent as an account lead for Waitrose in the retail team at Kantar influencing their business strategy for 2024. Now, a year in, Laura has moved to the world of fruit and veg, jointly running a team of eight produce experts and advising over 80 produce clients to help unlock opportunities for growth.

Dieter Lloyd is an independent marketing and public relations consultant. He is the British Leafy Salad Association (BLSA) spokesperson and chairs the BLSA Food Safety Subgroup. Dieter is the former Managing Director of PamLloyd Food Marketing and PR (PLPR), the specialist fresh produce agency. Over two decades Dieter has worked with grower Associations such as BLSA, British Asparagus, Brassicas, UKShallots, British Carrots and fresh produce brands including Zespri, Tenderstem, Kalettes and Fresh & Naked. Dieter has over 30 years’ experience in marketing and commercial roles. After 15 years in publishing with Mirror Group and the Omnicom agency group, he joined his wife Pam at PLPR in 2007. Since 2015, in his role as the media contact for leafy salads, Dieter has spoken to national and international print and online media and appeared on national, regional and local radio and TV. He has represented the industry on topics such as eColi 157, Listeria and Salmonella, crop and labour shortages, Brexit, Coronavirus and pricing. Dieter is a dad of two boys, a Bristol Bears rugby fan and an enthusiastic sports photographer.

Alix Morley, Farm Safety Campaign Specialist, Farm Safety Foundation

The Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) was set up in 2014 to raise awareness and drive better attitudes to both physical and mental wellbeing in the next generation of farmers in the UK. Over the past ten years, the charity has delivered their ambitious education programme, created practical resources, conducted research, and managed and run their two annual awareness campaigns – Farm Safety Week and Mind Your Head – helping to make our farms safer places to both work and live.

Dan Parker, CEO, Veg Power CIC

Dan Parker has worked in marketing and advertising for 25 years. As Chief Executive and Executive Creative Director of marketing innovation agency Sponge, he pioneered online, mobile and location marketing for the world’s largest food, restaurant, grocery, media, and technology brands. Since 2015 he has consulted on the role of advertising in public health and childhood obesity for UNICEF, EU, OECD, Jamie Oliver, Cancer Research UK and the Department of Health & Social Care. In 2018 he partnered with The Food Foundation, Baroness Boycott, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Sir John Hegarty to launch Veg Power. Veg Power is a not-for-profit organisation which inspires kids to eat more vegetables, best known for the multi-award winning Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign. Now in its fifth year, the campaign reaches into the homes of 46 million people and the primary schools of 1,000,000 pupils, with 59% of parents and kids saying they ate more vegetables as a result. The campaign has so far increased vegetable sales by 1.4 billion children’s portions. Veg Power also supports parents to improve their children’s diet through their Simply Veg channels and encourages people to buy seasonal British vegetables to reduce their carbon footprint, support British farming and enjoy tastier and more nutritious vegetables.

Kim Parker, Crop Protection Scientist, Horticulture Crop Protection Ltd

Kim Parker is the lead crop protection scientist for field vegetables and seed potato at HCP, coordinating minor use and emergency authorisation applications for these sectors. Following a PhD in plant pathology and several years’ experience in tropical agriculture, Kim worked for ADAS from 2000 researching crop diseases of field vegetables and protected edibles. Kim then joined AHDB in 2016 as a research manager and crop protection scientist and has specialised in minor-use plant protection product regulation since 2021.

Simon Thorpe, Senior Technical Manager, Red Tractor

Simon joined Red Tractor in 2019 as Fresh Produce Technical Manager, moving into the role of Senior Technical Manager in 2022. In over twenty years of working with food, farms and food manufacturing, Simon has experienced a diverse array of different working environments, from nightshifts and production lines to working with retailers and farms in the UK and around the world. In his current role, Simon manages a team of sector specialist Technical Managers who oversee development of the Red Tractor farm standards. Simon interacts regularly with industry stakeholders, food-chain organisations, government bodies and members of the global standard setting community, to learn from peers, support pragmatic standard development and champion the excellent standards and produce of Red Tractor farms.

David Webster, CEO, LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming)

David joined LEAF as Chief Executive Officer in September 2023. Before this, he worked as Director of Sustainability and External Affairs for the UK Grocery Division of Associated British Foods (ABF). David joined ABF via W. Jordans (Cereals) Ltd. David worked closely with founders Bill and David Jordan to publicise the Jordans breakfast cereal brand and its longstanding commitment to wildlife friendly farming. Jordans was acquired by ABF in 2008 and David subsequently went on to lead sustainability for the Jordans & Ryvita Company, before being promoted to the position of Divisional Director for Grocery in 2017. He has a deep interest in farming and wildlife stemming from this work, and in particular the formation of the highly respected Jordans Farm Partnership, through which he worked alongside longstanding farm suppliers to the Jordans business, together with LEAF, the Wildlife Trusts and The Prince’s Countryside Fund.