Two New Directors Join The Board of Cornwall Farmers

Friday 16th October 2007

Cornwall Farmers, the 4,000-strong co-operative, has appointed two new directors to lead and support the organisation’s continuing expansion. Dr Geoffrey Vernon, an experienced businessman from Tavistock, and Roland Ley, whose family farms over 400 acres at Holsworthy, raise the Cornwall Farmers Board to eleven members, representing all areas of the co-operative’s activities.

The two new directors reflect the rich diversity of experience which Cornwall Farmers is able to call upon among its members: Dr Vernon is a former director of Rothschild Asset Management Ltd and holds several Board positions on a number of companies worldwide. Roland Ley is a 29-year old farmer whose life revolves around a 170-strong herd of dairy stock.

“We started the consulting process to find two new members for the Board in the spring and are delighted that Geoffrey and Roland have come forward,” says Cornwall Farmers’ Chief Executive Andrew Cocks. “Our Board is comprised of active members who collectively look after the interests of everyone participating in the organisation. Geoffrey and Roland bring just what we need in terms of expertise, enthusiasm and commitment to the organisation.”

Dr Vernon has a high business profile in the venture capital sector but he actually began his working life on a farm. “Having worked on an arable and dairy farm in Cheshire from the age of 13 until I got my PhD I always wanted to return to farming” he says, “and today we farm 65 acres and breed pedigree Ruby Red Devon’s. This is the first time I have sat on the Board of a co-operative. We exist to support the members and not external investors as I am more used to, so the challenges are the same but I am a great believer in the co-operative structure and activities of Cornwall Farmers and this has only been strengthened by what I have seen and heard at Board level.”