Businesses playing their part

Alison Hands - Chief Executive Officer, Lincolnshire Coop 

Alison is Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority’s Economic Advisory Panel. Alison has more than 34 years’ experience in a diverse mix of retail environments. She started her career in store management at Marks and Spencer and spent more than 20 years with the company. She has held numerous roles at Boots Opticians, Walgreens Boots Alliance and The Body Shop before serving as managing director at Wilko. She joined Lincolnshire Co-op in April 2023.  Lincolnshire Co-op is an independent co-op society, owned by its 300,000 members and operating in Greater Lincolnshire and surrounding counties. As well as a diverse trading mix including food stores, pharmacies, funeral homes, travel agencies and post offices, the society has a large property portfolio and an extensive community support programme. Alison also serves as a trustee of Lincoln City Foundation, which aims to inspire, empower and help individuals and communities to improve their physical, social and mental wellbeing. 

Professor Neal Juster - Vice Chancellor, University of Lincoln

Neal has been Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln since October 2021. He has extensive experience in university management and has worked as the Senior Vice-Principal and Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Glasgow and Dean of Faculty of Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. Neal is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). He is a trustee of the Lincoln City Foundation, Active Lincolnshire and Historic Lincoln Trust, and Chairs the Members of the University of Lincoln Academy trust (a seven-school trust in South Lincolnshire). He is a director (previously interim Chair) of Humber Freeport Company Limited. He is also a director of the Universities and Colleges Employer Association (UCEA). From April 2023 until devolution, he was Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership which aimed to drive economic growth and be the voice of the business community in the county. 

Julian Knight  - Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Fairman Knight and Sons UK Limited

Fairman Knight and Sons are developers of the UK’s largest commercial-scale insect farming facility and Julian is a former RAF pilot-turned environmental finance pioneer. He helped shape early Gold Standard carbon credit frameworks and has spent more than 30 years advancing sustainable business innovation.  Under his leadership, Fairman Knight transforms food waste into insect protein, bio-oil and regenerative fertiliser, cutting more than 30,000 tonnes of CO₂e annually. Julian serves as a Climate Commissioner for Lincoln and champions circular economy models that align waste upcycling and innovative bio-tech with commercial success. He advised both HM Government's under respective Prime MInisters, David Cameron and Tony Blair. 

Steve Maxwell - Chief Executive Officer at Worldwide Fruit Ltd  

Steve serves as CEO of Worldwide Fruit Ltd which is headquartered in Spalding. The company supplies apples, pears, avocados and stone fruit to leading UK supermarkets. After graduating from Stirling University in 1990, he began a career in sales within the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sector before joining Worldwide Fruit in 1998.  He has been CEO since 2014, leading a business jointly owned by Fruition Producer Organisation- representing UK fruit growers - and T&G Global, based in New Zealand.  In addition to his role at Worldwide Fruit, he is Managing Director of Enza Continent, an apple sales business located in Belgium, as part of T&G Global’s international operations.  

Andrew Dawes - Regional Director (Humber) with Associated British Ports 

Andrew is a seasoned maritime executive with almost 30 years of experience working within the port sector. He joined ABP as Regional Director (Humber) and member of the Executive Board in October 2024 with responsibility for the ports of Grimsby, Immingham, Hull and Goole. He began work in 1995 at what was the Southampton Container Terminal (now DP World) and has progressed his career throughout the global ports and terminals industry with companies such as DP World, APM Terminals and International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI). 

Katrina Pierce - Regional Stakeholder and Business Manager for the East Midlands Federation of Small Businesses 

Katrina is the Regional Business and Stakeholder Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses, supporting the self-employed and independent businesses across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. She helps SMEs, sole traders and start-ups across the county to access on-demand advice, funding, guidance, care, events and other growth opportunities. She acts as the primary lobbyist for the independent business community, campaigning for better support and economic conditions for local businesses. As a communications and PR specialist by trade, Katrina is the former head of communications of a large international membership body and brings more than 20 years’ experience in corporate and consumer communications.   

James Birch - Chief Executive Officer and Co-owner of Doddington Hall and Gardens, near Lincoln 

James has run Doddington Hall for the last 15 years, growing it into a diversified visitor attraction with more than 150 staff looking after three catering venues and five shops as well as the historic house and gardens. In the last four years Doddington has stopped arable farming and has become the largest re-wilding site in the East Midlands. James is a former President of Historic Houses and Chair of the Lincoln Diocese Board of Finance.  Previously, James had a career in finance including more than 20 years at Goldman Sachs in London, New York, Mumbai and Hong Kong. James has an economics degree from Cambridge and was briefly an Army officer. He represents the visitor economy on the group.

Andrew Ward -  Owner of Roy Ward Farms Ltd

Andrew is an arable farmer and also grows the only commercial crop in the UK of a British bred variety of haricot beans to produce baked beans. He is Lincolnshire’s representative on the NFU National Council, lifetime member of the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society and the founder of the Charity Forage Aid which helps livestock farmers in times of need. Andrew is a McDonald’s Flagship Farm, has hosted three national Cereals Events, won Farmers Weekly Arable Farmer of the Year, the NFU/Farmers Weekly Farming Champion award for setting up Forage Aid. Andrew is a big believer of promoting farming and food production in Lincolnshire through his You Tube channel, Wardy's Waffle and works closely with two Lincoln schools to help children understand where food comes from. He received an MBE in 2014 for services to Agriculture.