Corporate Team
Ken Brooks
Chairman
After graduating from Keble College with a first-class honours degree in Modern History, Ken attended Guildford Law School before becoming a commercial partner at Linnells in Oxford. As a founder of Brookstreet des Roches, a specialist commercial law practice, he is now a commercial legal consultant. He has extensive commercial and management experience, and a strong track record in deal brokerage and mergers. He is a director of several other companies covering fields such as business consultancy, manufacturing, property, plastic merchanting, recycling and licensing.
Tim Griffiths
Chief Executive Officer
Tim has a track record of successfully building companies from inception. After helping in the foundation of Ximed Group plc (formerly Energiser), he joined Medpharma plc in 1997 as Managing Director. While there, he served as a director of several medical and clinical sector consultancy companies.
After rejoining Ximed in 2003, Tim restructured the company to focus on developing commercial applications for the company’s intellectual property bank. At this time, the company name was also changed to Eden Research. Tim has wide executive and managerial responsibilities, especially in the negotiation of licence and corporate agreements with companies worldwide.
His business development skills and experience in leading academically and technically talented teams through challenging decisions are a valuable asset to Eden..
Clive Newitt
Marketing Director
Clive joined the Board in September 2007 and was previously a Non-Executive Director of Eden Research Europe Limited.
Clive has over 30 years of experience in the agrochemical business. He is a former Chairman of the British Agrochemicals Association (BAA) public relations committee, a role in which he served between 1997 and 1999. He is Managing Director of Agri-Nova Technology Ltd, which is an agricultural consultancy business specialising in marketing and commercial development for clients in that field.
Alex Abrey
Finance Director
Alex joined the Board in September 2007 and is a Chartered Certified Accountant with a BSc in Applied Accounting. Alex has ten years experience in practice and industry, including being Chief Accountant to Eden for the past four years. He works closely with a number of larger accountancy firms both in the UK and abroad.
Alex is also financial director to a number of other businesses involved in activities such as IP licensing, waste recycling and business advisory.
Sir Ben Gill
Non Executive Director
Sir Ben Gill, CBE MA (Cantab), is a member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Having started his career as a farmer he first became involved with the National Farmers Union in the early 80s and was elected its President in 1998. During his 6 years in office he had major issues to deal with such as Foot and Mouth Disease and BSE as well as the renegotiation of CAP. He was also appointed President of the Confederation of European Agriculture from 2000 - 2004 which saw the enlargement of the EU from 15 to 25 countries; and global influence as a member of the Executive Committee of the World Body: International Federation of Agricultural Producers.
Sir Ben retired from NFU in 2004 and has since established his own business Hawkhills Consultancy Ltd which specialises in advising agrifood businesses on food and farming and also into renewable energy where he has a particular interest and expertise in the use of biomass. In 2005, Ben chaired the Government's Biomass Task Force which produced a comprehensive set of recommendations (which have been largely adopted by the Government) to improve the uptake of biomass as a renewable energy source.
Stephen O'Brien
Non Executive Director
Stephen O'Brien was appointed Shadow Minister for Health in December 2005 and has been the Member of Parliament for Eddisbury since the summer of 1999. Previously he has held roles as Shadow Minister for Skills, Shadow Secretary of State for Industry and Shadow Minister for the Treasury.
From 1988 to 1998, Stephen was Group Company Secretary and Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs Redland PLC, the FTSE-100 global building materials producer (acquired by Lafarge SA in early 1998). In 1998, he established his own international business consultancy specialising in corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions. Between 1992 and 1999 he served as a syndic (non-executive director) of the Cambridge University Careers Service.
Since April 2000, he has been Parliamentary Advisor to the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (of which he has been a member since 1988 and appointed a Fellow of the Institute in 1997). Stephen qualified as a Solicitor in 1983 and practised until 1988 at solicitors Freshfields in London.
Robin Sims
Company Secretary
Robin is a qualified Chartered Secretary with over 25 years of experience working in company secretarial roles in public and private companies. Since 1997, he has specialised in corporate consultancy activities involved in turnaround management, fund management, flotations, and the acquisition and sale of businesses.
He is also Company Secretary of Environmental Recycling Technologies plc and is actively involved with a number of private companies in an advisory role.