Graham Wilkinson is the new chief executive officer at AHDB

Graham brings a wealth of experience from his time at Arla Foods as global vice president of agriculture. During his time at Arla working in both Global and UK roles, he has successfully supported over 8500 cooperative farmer owners and managed the delivery of innovative commercial milk concepts on farms.

He has also worked in the retailer-side at Tesco PLC, where he strengthened the sustainability of agriculture supply chains in its dairy, beef, pork, and poultry sectors.

Having worked throughout the supply chain for his whole career, agriculture has always been part of Graham’s life, working with his grandparents and parents on the family farm in the north east of England.

Chair of AHDB, Nicholas Saphir, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Graham to AHDB with his passion for farming, his impressive leadership skills and vast industry knowledge.

“We believe he is the ideal candidate to lead AHDB into the next exciting phase of our growth, putting levy payers at the heart of our work and maximising the impact of the work we do. Thank you to Arla for supporting a smooth transition.”

Graham Wilkinson said: “I am excited to join AHDB, an organisation that I have a deep appreciation for and huge respect for its fantastic team.

“My passion is working with farmers, for farmers, and with my experience, I see this as a great opportunity to drive greater impact and success for all levy payers to help create a world class food and farming industry.”

Graham Wilkinson is set to leave Arla in the New Year, with the exact timing to be agreed between Arla and AHDB in the coming weeks. He replaces Tim Rycroft, who leaves AHDB in December 2023.