MEET THE NEW CEO OF HOLSTEIN UK
May 2015 marked a new chapter in Holstein UK history with the arrival of a new chief executive. Chrissie Long gets to grips with his ideas and aspirations for the organisation
R
ichard Jones has by his own admission, empathy for this industry, but has a vision and a determination to get the organisation back to where it was 20-30 years ago, that of being a voice for the members of Holstein UK, if not the whole dairy industry. With farming rooted in his own back pedigree, he has memories as a fi ve-year-old watching his grandfather milking by hand. Added to which, his degree and masters has given him a fi rm grounding in economics before continuing a path of management at board level in a variety of sectors. During his seven years with the Financial Times he worked in London, Hong Kong, New
York and Tokyo and then broadened his area of expertise into marketing, tourism and economics working in Cardiff and South Yorkshire. Most recently he was company secretary at the National Library of Scotland.
This accomplished CV means Richard brings to Scotsbridge House a skill set of management and leadership techniques and business vision. It’s clear from the outset of this interview that he is committed to his new job and has clearly identifi ed this position as a 10-20 year role. “Holstein UK is and, therefore, should be viewed as a major player in the UK and international dairy sector, but for me it reaches far wider than just the dairy industry. “It’s faced major challenges over the years and with the economic position of the sector, now more than ever UK Holstein breeders need the Society to be the voice of the membership.”
You’ve worked in a vast array of industries, what attracted you to Holstein UK?
“For me this job represents four key things that mean a lot to me. It’s membership driven,
it’s business focused, it has huge potential for building international links and it’s in an industry that I have empathy for.”
Holstein UK has gone through a tough few years fi nancially, but is on the up. Where do you see immediate improvements needing to be made? “My immediate focus is on the internal workings of the organisation, focussing on
effective working practices. IT is an area needing a massive overhaul – Holstein UK needs to be at the forefront of the industry by being effi cient internally. The more effi cient we can be for our members the more chance of reducing membership fees. “It’s all about better marketing and explanation of our services - getting the key messages out there on the benefi ts of becoming pedigree. With the fi gures we have from CDI demonstrating a better yield from cows with a higher classifi cation score, we have the basis of an excellent development plan for membership. But we need to develop this
8 THE JOURNAL AUGUST 2015
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