MILK REPLACER - Key Persons


Alan Smith

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( Scotland )

Alex Rippon - Chief Legal Officer, Secretary

Job Titles:
  • Company Secretary
  • General Counsel
  • Solicitor
Alex joined Volac in July 2017 and is a senior lawyer and company secretary, familiar with managing risk at Board level in regulated and unregulated industries, from start-up to multi-national level. He was previously General Counsel and Company Secretary for Horizon Nuclear Power (a £15bn UK nuclear project company owned by Hitachi), and worked previously with the energy company E.ON and the environmental services business, Severn Trent Plc. Recognising the vital importance of ethical business behaviour, Alex has extensive experience of corporate issues and commercial transactions in the UK and international contexts and knowledge of competition, environmental, IP and regulatory matters. Alex is a solicitor and holds two degrees from London University, an LLB from King's College and an LLM in Environmental Law from SOAS.

Couzijn Bos

Job Titles:
  • Business Development Manager ( Ruminants )

David Neville - Managing Director

Job Titles:
  • Managing Director
David is Managing Director of Volac's Animal Nutrition business. He joined Volac in 1992 and after several sales and marketing roles, turned its small agri-bio company, Interprise Ltd. into a successful forage business that continues today. He then became Animal Products director in 2000. David's passion for the industry and extensive product knowledge, combined with the customer service ethos of his team, have made Volac the market-leader across Young Animal Nutrition, Feed Fats and Forage Conservation product sectors. David also led important acquisitions including Golden Maverick and Ecosyl™ brands and has overseen the development and growth of many national and international trading partnerships. He is also Chairman of the global joint venture, Volac Wilmar Feed Ingredients (VWFI), formed in 2015 by Volac and Wilmar International Limited (Singapore).

David Turnbull

Job Titles:
  • Sales Manager Europe

David Whyte

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( South West )

Hartwin Feddersen

Job Titles:
  • Director, Performance & Dairy Ingredients
Hartwin is a dual Danish/German national and holds a Masters in International Business from Aarhus University (Denmark)/Università Degli Studi di Siena (Italy). He has participated in Executive education and leadership programs at IMD business school, Stanford University, Cranfield University, UCLA and London Business School.

Howard Gilbert

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( Eastern England )

James Neville - CEO

Job Titles:
  • CEO
James joined Volac in 1989 and became CEO in 2012, having been Managing Director for nine years. He has a real passion for the dairy industry and continues to realise Volac's global strategy, as a fast-growing international business that brings the proven benefits of dairy nutrition to consumers and farm animals. He keenly promotes the nutritional benefits of whey to the broader public. James embodies Volac's entrepreneurial heritage with a real sense of ambition and pride and inspires all staff to achieve the purpose of the company: promoting Dairy Nutrition for a Healthier World - a goal Volac is determined to achieve.

Jason Short

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( Northern England )

John Williams

Job Titles:
  • Sales Manager UK

JohnPaul Harkin

Job Titles:
  • Regional Team Leader ( North West )

Kate Oleszko

Job Titles:
  • Technical Business Manager

Ken Stroud

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( South East England )

Kyle Daniels

Job Titles:
  • Sales Executive

Liam Gannon

Job Titles:
  • Regional Team Leader ( South East )

Mark Nicholson

Job Titles:
  • Regional Sales Manager

Mike Rogers

Job Titles:
  • Head of Animal Nutrition Sales

Neil Birkett

Job Titles:
  • Regional Sales Manager - AMEA

Neville Chapman

Job Titles:
  • Director, Business Development
Neville joined Volac in 2008. He is a graduate in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Brunel University, UK and holds an MBA from London Business School. Neville was sponsored in his graduate studies by Metal Box and in his early career undertook various Research & Development and Project roles for them around the world. He previously worked for Courtaulds at its Head Office based in London. After two years he became President Director of Courtaulds' Indonesian packaging business and eventually was a member of a buy-out team which purchased the global business in 1998. Neville has also worked across several business functions during his career, including Human Resources and has significant experience of running companies across China, India and Indonesia.

Pat Cahill

Job Titles:
  • Regional Sales Manager - Europe

Paul Frampton

Job Titles:
  • Group Chief Financial Officer
Paul joined Volac in January 2019, from Chaucer Foods, where he was their Group CFO. For the past thirteen years, Paul has worked in Finance leadership roles within the agricultural manufacturing sector. He was Finance Director for British Sugar and Group CFO for ABF Ingredients and Finance Director for Greencore Malt. While most of his career has been in finance, Paul has also worked in Sales and General Management and in the FMCG sector too, spending eleven years with The Campbell Soup Company. Paul has gained international experience throughout his career and was responsible for business units in China, the US, Germany, Holland, Spain, Poland and Finland and lived and worked in Australia for three years. Outside work, Paul enjoys spending time with his fiancée Emily and daughters Isabel (15) and Grace (12). He is also a keen runner and cyclist and has participated in numerous triathlons.

Paul Fransen

Job Titles:
  • Business Development Manager ( VWFI )

Peter Smith

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( Wales )

Phil Brookes

Job Titles:
  • National Sales Manager ( All Areas )

Rebecca O'Sullivan

Job Titles:
  • Technical Business Manager

Richard Jones - Chief Procurement Officer

Job Titles:
  • Supply Chain Director
Richard joined Volac International on 1st January 2021 as Supply Chain Director. Richard holds an MA in Manufacturing Engineering from Emanuel College, Cambridge University. He is a keen cyclist and also enjoys tennis, skiing and fishing in his spare time. His focus will be on optimising operations to deliver exceptional results, supporting business growth and driving cross-functional collaboration.

Roger Coles - CHRO

Job Titles:
  • Human Resources Director
  • Volac in 2015 As HR Director
Roger joined Volac in 2015 as HR Director. He is responsible for Volac's People strategy and oversees an HR team that provides a full HR service, including Learning and Development; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Welfare and Payroll services. Roger also oversees Health & Safety and Facilities at Volac's Head Office and is a member of the Group Health and Safety Committee. Prior to joining Volac, Roger held a variety of senior HR positions over a fifteen-year period with Mars/Wrigley. He was based in Munich, Germany for eight of those years, leading the HR team for Wrigley Europe.He also worked for Alcan and Marks and Spencer before then. Roger graduated from Plymouth University with an honours degree in Personnel Management and is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Shane Brenan

Job Titles:
  • Regional Sales Manager

Sharon O'Donoghue

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( Kerry & West Clare )

Soren Pedersen

Job Titles:
  • Regional Sales Manager

Stacey Bruna

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( West Country )

Tomas O'Reilly

Job Titles:
  • Business Manager ( North East )

Una Hickey

Job Titles:
  • National Sales Manager ( All Areas )