BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SIR PETER KENDALL (INTERIM CHAIR)

Starting in January 2025, Sir Peter Kendall has been appointed interim Board Chair at Rothamsted Research and will hold the role for an initial period of 12 months during which time a formal process to seek a permanent chair will take place.

Sir Peter replaces Sir John Beddington who stood down in December after successfully acting as the Chair since 2014.

Sir Peter is a fifth-generation arable and poultry farmer from Bedfordshire and was President of the National Farmers' Union from 2006 until 2014. He has also served as president of the World Farmers Organisation, as chair of the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and was a board member of the Lawes Agricultural Trust. He was knighted in the 2015 New Year Honours.

PROFESSOR ANDREW BALMFORD

Andrew Balmford is Professor of Conservation Science in the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, where his research focuses on how to reconcile biodiversity conservation with meeting human food needs and other land-demanding activities; the costs and benefits of retaining intact ecosystems; and identifying what works in conservation.

He collaborates closely with conservation practitioners and with colleagues in other disciplines, including economics and psychology. In his book Wild Hope he argues that cautious, evidence-based optimism is vital in tackling environmental challenges. Andrew helped establish the Student Conference on Conservation Science, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, and Earth Optimism.

PROFESSOR BRIDGET EMMETT

Professor Bridget Emmett, UKCEH Science Area Head for Soils and Land Use and Head of Site UKCEH Bangor. Particular interest in soils and ecosystem science. Many projects involve a role as PI in coordinating a large number of partners to improve integration across different disciplines and sectors from catchment/landscape to national scale to support policy development and outcome reporting.

Current areas of interest and activity include; soil health; impact of land management on natural capital and the implications for ecosystem services; land-sea interactions; impacts of air pollution and climate change on soils and ecosystem function; new data and modelling tools for supporting policy development and improving evidence for natural capital accounts and a wide mix of environmental, economic and social outcomes. Techniques include national-scale surveys and monitoring; long-term, field-scale manipulation experiments, data visualisation tools and development of integrated modelling platforms; and robust evidence provision using an integrated assessment approach. Research income has come from a wide range of funders including NERC, BBSRC, EPSRC, DEFRA, Welsh and Scottish Governments. International work includes over 9 EU projects as UK lead and currently includes membership of the EU mission Board for Soil Health and Food; work in China funded through the Newton programme and work in Nigeria, S.Africa and Nepal.

MR JAN HOLTHUIS

Jan Holthuis, partner and lawyer at BUREN, is Dutch qualified lawyer registered at the Amsterdam Bar, a solicitor in England and Wales. Jan founded HIL International Lawyers & Advisers in 1995. HIL became the first Dutch law firm licensed in China by the Chinese Ministry of Justice in 2004. In 2016 Jan merged the HIL practice with Buren. Jan specializes in corporate and commercial law, in particular China related cross-border M&A and corporate restructuring, international technology transfers, China related product liability insurance claims and international arbitration.

Jan is a registered arbitrator at the China International Economic Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (SHAIC). He has set up the Agriculture Law Section of the International Bar Association in 2015, was the Chair for many years and is presently a member of the Advisory Board. Jan has been involved in many politically sensitive China related international transactions and litigations acting for Western and Chinese clients.

PROFESSOR JULIE GRAY

Professor Julie Gray is a Professor of Plant Cell Signalling at the University of Sheffield. She has worked for over 39 years in academic roles with a focus on stomatal development and function, plant stress responses, and molecular genetics.

PROFESSOR MATT LOBLEY

Professor Matt Lobley is a Professor of Rural Resource Management and the Director of the CRPR at the University of Exeter. He is a rural social scientist, with over 30 years of research experience, with a primary focus on understanding farm household behaviour and the impact on the management of the countryside. He regularly works with businesses and policy makers on rural and environmental matters.

NEIL SCRAGG

Neil Scragg is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years experience. Neil was a Finance Trustee of UKCEH for 6 year and has been a non-executive board member of over 30 businesses in manufacturing, retail, engineering, services, and leisure.

PROFESSOR SANDY THOMAS, OBE

Professor Sandy Thomas OBE is Director of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food  Systems for Nutrition, and Emeritus Professor at the Science Policy Research Unit  at the University of Sussex . She has extensive experience of leading, convening and  generating cross-disciplinary analysis and strategic science to inform policy