CULTURA CONNECT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Recruitment Consultant
Becky Erskine is Cultura Connect's Recruitment Consultant. Becky's farming pedigree is unparalleled; having grown up on a robotic dairy farm in Cheshire she fully understands the demands of the industry - and perhaps most importantly fully understands the solutions that are required.
Whilst at Harper Adams University, Becky won the esteemed accolade Cheshire Farms Competition 'Young Farmer of the Year', and as part of her BSc in Agribusiness, studied at Beijing Agricultural University. After graduation, Becky continued to work in the industry, gaining experience in livestock feed, rural education and third party trade. Exposure to different facets of agribusiness not only underpinned Becky's knowledge but allowed her to grow and develop relationships and connections within the industry.
Job Titles:
- Director of Agribusiness Resourcing
Hugh Pocock was born into an agricultural family, and from a very young age developed a love of farming. After completing a degree at Harper Adams and working on several farms to fully understand the industry, Hugh attained a position with Cogent Breeding Ltd (when part of the Wheatsheaf Group). Hugh spent 16 years with the company and experienced a variety of roles at a senior level, including Livestock Procurement, National Sales Manager and Business Development. Hugh also became a Board Director of a sister company, and gained invaluable experience in both Acquisitions and Mergers and International Development. On leaving Cogent Hugh developed his own farming business and provides consultancy for several agribusinesses.
Hugh has a unique perspective - having worked at a senior level in the agricultural industry he has employed many staff, and has huge experience of the recruitment industry from a client's position. This insight allows Hugh to anticipate and negate many of the frustrations found with typical recruitment agencies, and ensures that the client and the candidate are at the very heart of the business.
A graduate of the great establishment Harper Adams University, Joe graduated with a BEng Agricultural Engineering in 2008.
Joe spent the early years in his career working on arable, sheep and beef farms in Northumberland and North Yorkshire as well as for an agricultural contractor in Somerset before racking up an impressive 13 years experience in Trade association management, working on Technical Guidance writing, auditing, health and safety and British and European Standards committees.
Joe & his family have their own farming enterprise, a flock of outdoor lambing North Country Cheviots and early lambing Oxford Downs. He aims to continue increasing the performance, quality and size of the flock and enjoys learning more about pasture and flock management and good practice.
Joe has a deep rooted passion for farming and rural life and brings a huge amount of commercial experience to the Cultura Connect team.
Kate Pocock was born into a dairy farming family, and was brought up with the values and ethics that are intrinsic to the business. This foundation in farming inspired Kate to pursue a B.Sc in Agricultural Economics at the University of Reading, and post graduation she applied her knowledge to sales and marketing roles within the agri sector. More recently, Kate has focused on the huge potential of social media in agribusiness.
Agrecruiting founder, Katy Davies, started the business in 2019, creating the first specialist recruitment consultancy in the forestry sector. The business has grown from strength to strength, creating long-term partnerships with its clients.
"After making the tough decision to move away from recruitment for personal reasons, I am confident that the team at Cultura Connect will be able to further nurture and develop the business and work closely with the industry to help it grow," Katy said. "The forestry recruitment sector has provided me with incredible opportunities to learn, and I'm grateful for the professional relationships I have built," Katy concludes.
Kim Marsh was born on a dairy farm in Cheshire, and a childhood spent around livestock and wildlife instilled in Kim a lifelong love of animals and nature. After completing A-Levels, Kim secured a position at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the first steps in a career which enabled Kim to experience various departments; from Livestock Subsidies right through to Organic Farming. The accumulation of this knowledge allowed Kim to greatly expand her awareness of the industry, and provided the foundations for a robust understanding of both the benefits and the challenges it offers.
After several years Kim moved to London, to work within the International Animal Health Division at the DEFRA in Westminster. Following a successful career within the department, Kim relocated back to Cheshire to start her own smallholding with husband Tom.
After returning to Cheshire, Kim began her recruitment career with an agency in Manchester, and for 15 years has been devoted to helping individuals and businesses secure their dream roles and perfect candidates. During this time Kim has not only gained vast experience in determining which individuals make the best candidates for businesses, but has gained a wealth of 'best practice' knowledge which she now applies at Cultura.
Kim's extensive experience of both agriculture and recruitment puts her in the exceptional position of being able to counsel both candidates and clients. The ability to clearly see the needs of both parties ensures that Kim is an integral part of the Culture team.
We are delighted to welcome Laura Morris to our Recruitment team. Laura graduated from the University of Reading with a BSc Rural Resource Management and since has gathered a great deal of commercial experience in her career to date.
An ex-Ludlow Young Farmer, Laura started her professional career in the Fresh Produce sector, her experience in marketing, sales, and customer-facing roles, followed by three years in agricultural recruitment, makes Laura a huge asset to our team.
Laura lives on a dairy and beef farm and is still actively involved in the practical side of farming alongside her position in the Cultura Connect team.
Pam is yet another Harper Adams alumni bringing both commercial and practical agricultural experience to the Cultura Connect Recruitment team, having graduated in 2001 with a BSc Agriculture Food Marketing & Business.
Pam has a wealth of experience in the fresh produce and retail sectors as well as being from a dairy farming and cheesemaking family in the heart of Cheshire. Pam's account management and retail experience, along with her deep-rooted knowledge of the sector is undoubtedly a big asset to Cultura Connect.
"I am really enjoying bringing together my experiences of fresh produce, food manufacturing and farming to help people and businesses be successful in this amazing industry."
Sally Ball has joined Cultura Connect as a Recruitment Consultant, bringing with her extensive experience in the Fresh Produce sector and food supply chains. Sally was brought up in Staffordshire on her family's dairy farm and farming has wholeheartedly been part of her life ever since.
Being our 6th Harper Adams alumni to join the team, Sally will bring all her commercial & sector experience to help our client base resource exceptional candidates to help grow their businesses.
Having had a few years working outside of the agricultural & food sector she is excited to get back to working in the sector that she loves, working amongst her extensive network and making new connections.
After completing a degree in Psychology at London Guildhall, Tom Marsh began casual work with a recruitment agency in London. Impressed with Tom's diligence and attitude, the agency asked him to work for them, and so began Tom's career in recruitment. Tom moved on to a Finance and Accountancy agency where he comprehensively learned his craft - fully appreciating the level of commitment needed to be successful in recruitment; including learning about each vacancy in minute detail and thoroughly establishing the requirements of both clients and candidates.
Tom was with the agency in London for several years before moving to Manchester. After setting up his own Finance and Accountancy recruitment agency Tom chose to diversify, which enabled him to learn about multiple sectors; from exploration and geology in the mining industry in Africa, to more localised positions. This experience taught Tom that no job is too big or too small, and developed an innate drive to get the best possible candidates matched with the best possible clients. With extensive knowledge of targeted headhunting, an impeccable track record in recruitment, and a passion for farming, Tom talks the agribusiness language.