PEFC - Key Persons


David Leslie

Job Titles:
  • Joint Managing Director of James Jones and Sons Ltd, Scotland
David Leslie is joint Managing Director of James Jones and Sons Ltd, Scotland's largest independent sawmiller and one of the leading suppliers of British timber in the UK. In addition to his PEFC role, David is a board member of Confor, a board member of SIRT (The Strategic Integrated Research in Timber), a member of EGTTS (Expert Group on Timber Trade Statistics) and the Institute of Chartered Foresters.

Elisabeth Piveteau

Job Titles:
  • UK & Ireland Director at PiveteauBois
Elisabeth Piveteau is UK & Ireland Director at PiveteauBois, one of France's leading softwood sawmillers and manufacturers of timber solutions for the construction, landscaping and energy sectors. Elisabeth has over 20 years' experience in sales and business development in the intellectual property and scientific information markets, having worked at industry leaders Thomson Reuters, Lexis Nexis and Macmillan. Her mission is to develop and grow a customer base for its value-added and commodity timber products in the UK and Ireland while raising awareness of France, alongside Austria, as Europe's joint 4th biggest softwood producer.

Ewan Brown

Ewan Brown has worked in the Timber industry for over 20 years, initially in timber preservation and timber technical consultancy, and then joining the industry body supporting plywood and panel products in Australasia. Supporting these industries in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea soon led to involvement with the PEFC endorsed Australian Forestry Standards. Ewan has audited chain of custody schemes globally, and managed international COC certification portfolios for one of the UKs leading Certification bodies. Currently, Ewan is the Responsible Sourcing Manager for Timber and Paper at B&Q, the UK's leading home improvement and garden living retailer, where he coordinates and manages B&Qs Chain of Custody systems and timber regulatory compliance.

Hilary Khawam

Hilary Khawam's career has spanned the corporate and not for profit sectors for more than 20 years. Before joining PEFC in 2005, she served as Deputy CEO of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and has accumulated more than twelve years experience in the certification and eco-labelling sector. Hilary is Communications Director, responsible for PEFC's marketing and communications activities in the UK.

John Kirkby

John Kirkby - Since graduating with a degree in Forestry Management from the University of Aberdeen in 2001, John has worked in the timber products industry in a number of roles. From 2001 to 2012 he was employed by TRADA Technology Ltd, where he was responsible for the provision of a problem-solving timber consultancy. John has specialised in helping companies across the UK achieve and maintain PEFC chain of custody certification. Services ranged from the full implementation of a new chain of custody systems to annual internal audits to check the ‘health' of existing systems. Customers include sawmills, printers, joinery companies, builders merchants varying in size from 1 to 1000+ employees.

Maggie Fitzherbert

Job Titles:
  • Senior Responsible Sourcing Manager
Maggie Fitzherbert is Senior Responsible Sourcing Manager at Soil Association, working in the Climate and Landscapes team to support companies on legal and sustainable supply chains. She leads auditing and advisory services for Due Diligence Systems for timber and other forest risk commodities, as well as implementing responsible sourcing practices for natural resource management. She previously worked at Zoological Society of London (ZSL) as Advisory Manager, working with companies and financial institutions to mitigate deforestation risks and improve biodiversity outcomes in supply chains and investment portfolios. She has previous experience as a Chain of Custody auditor and compliance services for EUTR. She is an Environmental Geochemist by background and spent her early career investigating industrial contamination in UK waterways.

Patrick Guest

Job Titles:
  • Managing Director of National Timber Group England
Patrick Guest is Managing Director of National Timber Group England's merchant & joinery business. National Timber Group is a fully integrated UK timber specialist with strong trading businesses in merchanting, timber systems and door set manufacturing. Its trading brands include Arnold Laver, NY Timber, Rembrand, Thornbridge, National Timber Systems and Intelligent Door Solutions. Patrick has 30 years merchanting experience in both the automotive, general & specialist building materials. He is also a board member of Timber Development UK (TDUK) and very active within the Supply Chain Sustainability School.

Ross Bradshaw

Ross Bradshaw has worked in the paper manufacturing industry for more than thirty years. He began his career in manufacturing by training as a paper maker in Aberdeen. Working in heavy industry while living in a rural setting, led to an early interest in the effects of the paper making industry on the environment and the positive role it plays. He has worked with a number of industry groups including the Paper and Board Association and the Stationers' Company, the City of London Livery Company for the Communications and Content industries, where he is a Liveryman. He is also a Trustee of the New England Trust, a West Sussex community woodland project. Currently, Ross runs his own paper agency business representing a number of speciality paper mills from the USA and Europe. He is PEFC UK's longest serving director having joined the Board in 2007.

Sarah Gascoigne

Sarah Gascoigne previously worked in the Student Accommodation sector as a Sales and Service Advisor and prior to that was a Business Manager for BSM Driving School for over 10 years.

Steve Cook

Job Titles:
  • National Product Manager for Willmott Dixon Construction
Steve Cook is the National Product Manager for Willmott Dixon Construction, one of the largest privately-owned main contractors in the UK. He has 30 years of varied experience in the construction industry having entered the industry as an apprentice carpenter. Steve joined the PEFC Board in 2013 and is our lead for the construction sector. During his time chairing the UK Contractors Group (UKCG) Materials Task Group, he led the development of organisational policy to improve the procurement of timber which was adopted by its members. He is also chairman of Grown in Britain, a not for profit, industry-led and government backed organisation which aims to create a more sustainable future for the UK's woodlands and forests.

Tom Hallam

Job Titles:
  • European Project Director for Packaging Consultancy at Smithers
Tom Hallam is the European Project Director for Packaging Consultancy at Smithers, a role that sits within the information division of Smithers' global business. Formerly, Tom was the founder of Brand Ethics Limited, a sustainability consultancy that helped Brand Owners and Retailers integrate better into the low carbon and circular economy. Tom has more than fifteen years experience in the paper and packaging industries in environmental, market insight and innovation roles with; BillerudKorsnäs, DS Smith and UPM Kymmene with a further five years' experience in consumer products with Reckitt Benckiser.

Tracey Reeve

Job Titles:
  • Administration
Tracey Reeve previously worked in the insolvency sector for the best part of twenty years, first at PricewaterhouseCoopers and later at Kroll Limited.