Active CV Archives - Christine Tacon

Previous Board and Taskforce Memberships

NED Met Office 2013-2106 (Board and member of Audit and Risk Committee, RemCo andNomCo)

NED Ursula Agriculture 2013-2016 a technology start-up analysing satellite and drone data

Governor Harper Adams University 2012-2106

Chair Food and Drink Engineering Forum 2012-2014 across IMechE, IChemE, IBD, IFST, IET

Chair 2011 Oxford Farming Conference, Director 2009-2011

NED Farmway 2012-2013, a farm supply business which we sold

NED Rural Payments Agency, Audit & Risk Committee member DEFRA 2001-2009

Public Member Network Rail 2012-2015

DEFRA Regulatory Challenge Panel Member 2011- 2015, including legislation on water abstraction

Member Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) Business Advisory Board 2012-2014

Member Rabobank Agricultural Advisory Board 2004-2011

Member Implementation Group of the Strategy for the Future of Food and Farming DEFRA 2003-2006

Sub-group Chair Food Growing in Schools Taskforce to DEFRA, DoE, DoH 2011-2012

Sub-group Chair Fruit and Vegetable Taskforce to DEFRA, DoH 2009-2010

Trustee Forum for the Future 2003-2006…

Current Board and Committee Roles

Groceries Code Adjudicator a BIS Ministerial Appointment (2013-present)
The role was created to encourage, enforce and monitor adherence to the Groceries Supply Code of Practice by the 10 UK grocery retailers with turnover >£1bn in dealing with their direct suppliers. I have the power to launch investigations and to impose sanctions, including penalties up to 1% of UK turnover.…

Interests

Regular participant in London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in 1903 Autocar, rallied from Paris to Monaco in 1953 Morris Minor and have owned 1929 Austin 7 since learning to drive in it
Narrowboat owner, travelled from Macclesfield to London for the Olympics
Sustainable building: worked on Co-operative Group Eco-Town bid, got planning permissions for “home grown” house on Co-op farm and converted own barn with rainwater harvesting, ground source heating, sedum roof and new building materials…

Awards/Education/Interests

Honorary Professor, Harper Adams University 2016

Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, Cranfield University 2014

CBE for Services to Agriculture in 2004

Chartered Engineer, FIMechE, FIAgrE, FRSA, FRAgS, Chartered Environmentalist
MBA Cranfield University

MEng and MA Cambridge University, Production Engineering

Fluent French and German speaker, basic Spanish

Vintage and veteran cars: participant in London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in a 1903 Autocar.…

Employment

The Co-operative Group, Managing Director Co-operative Farms	2000-Jan 2012
Executive board member Co-operative Food (simultaneous)	2010-Jan 2012
New Zealand Dairy Board (now Fonterra), Commercial Director Anchor Foods UK	1996-2000
Redland Plc, Marketing Director Redland Bricks	1994-1996
Vodafone, Marketing Consultant to National Lottery Bid	1993-1994
Wang UK, Marketing Director	1992-1993
Mars Confectionery, Marketing Manager, Production Planner	1985-1992
Coats Viyella, Quality Manager Dynacast UK, Trainee Dynacast Germany, France	1982-1985

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Previous Non-executive Experience

Public Member of Network Rail acting as a shareholder, representing the public interest, holding the Executive and Non-Executive board to account 2012-2015
Chair Food and Drink Engineering Forum operating across IMechE, IChemE, IAgrE, IBD, IFST, IET 2012-2014
Business Advisory Board Member for Living with Environmental Change, a partnership of the Research Councils reporting to BISNED 2011-2014
Farmway 2012-2013, a farm supply business which I led to a sale, completed March 2013
NED Rural Payments Agency, Audit & Risk Committee member DEFRA 2001-2009
Member Implementation Group of the Strategy for the Future of Food and Farming DEFRA 2003-2006
Trustee Forum for the Future 2003-2006
Rabobank Agricultural Advisory Board 2004-2011
Chair 2011 Oxford Farming Conference, Director 2009-2011
Sub-group Chair Food Growing in Schools Taskforce to DEFRA, DoE, DoH 2011-2012
Sub-group Chair Fruit and Vegetable Taskforce to DEFRA, DoH 2009-2010
Member HRH Prince’s Rural Action Programme 2007-2008
Judge 2012 BBC Food and Farming Awards, Farmer of the Year and Big Food Idea (retail/supply)
Member of LWEC Review Panel 2012

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Executive experience 1982 to 2012

11 years in the Co-operative Group as Managing Director of the Co-operative Farms (now owned by the Wellcome Trust), including a year on the Co-operative Food Executive Board

Credited with turning round the farming business, losing £6m p.a, to one of the most respected farming businesses in the UK, in 2011 making £6m profit
Integrated production vertically into packing and branded produce in Co-op stores
Encouraged co-operation in machinery sharing, input purchasing and focus on R&D
Initiated the award-winning “From Farm to Fork” project which has had over 250k school children spend an educational day on a farm and Habitat Heroes, a project enhancing the environment for red-listed species on the farms
The farm sold at £50m premium to the value of the land, which I perceive as the value I added

12 years in fast moving consumer goods: brand management with Mars Confectionery and Vodafone and Marketing Director at Anchor Foods (now Fonterra)

Launched the Tracker brand at Mars Confectionery and created the Milky Way advertising still known to children today (through You Tube).

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