Our Founders
Nick Thompson CBE / Executive Chairman & Founder
Nick has over 36 years of experience in agriculture, spent mostly with New Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL). As CEO of NBPOL, Nick secured the listing of the company’s shares on the London Stock Exchange. He envisioned an expansion strategy for the business based on establishing the world’s best sustainability credentials in the sector and on getting closer to the end customer. NBPOL was sold to Sime Darby Berhad in early 2015 for $1.8 billion, representing an almost 300% increase in market capitalisation over 7 years.
Following a period as advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of Sime Darby Berhad, Nick has since undertaken non-Executive roles with companies in the agriculture sector, including SIPEF of Belgium.
Nick has a BSc Degree in Agriculture (University of Nottingham), a Masters in Tropical Crop Production (University of Reading) and an MBA (University of Bath).
In 2016, Nick received a CBE for his services to Agriculture and the Community.
Andy Worrall / CEO & Founder
Andy has over 30 years of commodity trading and general management experience with world class companies including Cargill, AAK, New Britain Palm Oil and Sime Darby Oils (SDO). He was most recently the Chief Operating Officer at SDO, heading up the global downstream transformation programme, part of which involved a business unit transformation in partnership with the consulting group Mckinsey & Co.
Andy has passionately devoted much of his recent career towards building successful, sustainable commodity supply chains in to Europe, North America, the Middle East and SE Asia. He led the development of the world’s first dedicated sustainable palm oil refining and modification business, in Liverpool (UK) in 2010 for NBPOL.
Andy has a BA degree in Geography from the University of Nottingham. For the last 4 years, Andy has been an Executive Board member of FEDIOL, the EU oil and protein meal industry association.
Meet the Team
-
Annette van Herwijnen
Director for Commercial Services (Netherlands)
Annette brings a wealth of experience including more than 15 years in commodity commercial management, supply chain development and contract structuring. Annette served as the European Sales Director for Sime Darby Oils, where she helped customers embrace more sustainable supply chains, supporting their technical and service needs along with pricing assistance.
-
Jamie Graham
Associate (Queensland, Australia)
Agriculture Operations / General Management / Sustainability
Jamie has more than 34 years of international agriculture management experience covering the oil palm, sugar, coffee, beef and rubber sectors. As well as proven on-the-ground management skills, Jamie brings invaluable corporate experience having held c-suite roles with New Britain Palm Oil and Sime Darby Plantations. Jamie is a certified Lead Auditor for the ISO 14001 standard as well as for RSPO Principles & Criteria and RSPO Supply Chain Certification.
-
David Mather
Associate (Queensland, Australia)
General Management / Business Turnarounds
David has a proven track record of delivering impact in the sector for over 30 years. Until recently David served as General Manager of SIPEF Papua New Guinea. Prior to that he was CEO of New Britain Palm Oil from 2015 to 2018 after being Chief Operating Officer from 2011-15. David’s wealth of experience in the sector has spanned a wide variety of crops and has included roles with CDC and the Western Australia Department of Agriculture.
-
George Afendoulis
Olive Sector Agronomist & Consultant (Athens, Greece)
George has over 30 years of experience within the Olive Oil complex, most notably as the Global Head of Olive Oil buying for Unilever for much of that time. As an Olive Agronomist, George has been advising clients for a number of years on olive oil sourcing, pricing, market analysis, supply chain and sustainability matters. He is also knowledgeable on tropical oils.
-
William Griffiths
Associate (Philippines)
Tropical Crop Agronomist / Project Development & Management / Smallholder outreach / Yield Optimisation
William has spent 40 years in the tropical agriculture sector, particularly in cocoa, oil palm, rubber, tea and coconuts. His experience has included senior management roles with world class organisations such as NBPOL, Cargill and CDC throughout the Pacific Islands, South East Asia and West Africa. William speaks both Bahasa and Cebuano and over the last 20 years can be credited with the publishing of numerous expert papers and reports on palm oil agronomy in his name.
-
Dominic Thor
Associate (Malaysia)
Milling & Primary Processing Operations & Performance Optimisation
Dominic (Dom) has over 45 years of experience in palm oil milling operations and management. Much of this time has been spent with Harrison and Crosfield, New Britain Palm Oil and the Sime Darby Group. His mechanical engineering and production management background is supplemented by Dom’s skills in trouble-shooting, in building management systems and in coaching leaders for improved performance management.
Our Bench strength.
New Canopy draws upon an extensive network of industry professionals from across relevant agriculture fields, commodities and geographies. They work with us either on a project basis or for longer term assignments and engagements. Their expertise spans estate management, sustainability, agronomy and seed science, smallholder engagement and primary processing operations.