With an enduring interest in the environment and sustainability, George brings extensive marketing and management expertise to Terravesta. He has over 20 years experience in owning and running major food and drink retail and manufacturing operations and has seamlessly transferred these skills to the agricultural sector. George has a natural pioneering spirit, an unflinching tenacity and a strong belief in his cause, and these qualities have been a major driving force in the continued success of Terravesta.

To speak to George click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE DRINK

Dambusters Ale

BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT

I’m still alive!

HIDDEN TALENT

Harmonica

Hamish Bichan has enjoyed consultancy, advisory and executive management roles in agriculture for over 25 years. He is an active member of the Terravesta management team, assisting with strategy implementation, budget forecasting and reporting and helping to maintain an effective supply chain, from farmers right through to end users.

To speak to Hamish click here

Alex plays a vital role in managing day-to-day operations. His strong relationships with growers help him strive to deliver a consistent, reliable service and his commitment to Miscanthus market development has been pivotal to the company's growth. Having been with Terravesta since its inception, he's helped to establish a clear presence in the agricultural community, ensuring Terravesta and Miscanthus remain at the forefront of the UK energy crops market.

To speak to Alex click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE FOOD

Home made pasta

GUILTY PLEASURE

Gardeners' Question Time

MOTTO I LIVE BY

Never assume anything

Debbie manages the vital link between our growers, hauliers and end markets. She's pivotal in ensuring that the collection and delivery of bales from farm into energy plants and processing facilities runs smoothly and is all accounted for. Debbie also manages the growers and haulier's invoices and payments.

To speak to Debbie click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE DRINK

Jack Daniels and diet coke (with ice please)

HIDDEN TALENT

I can touch my nose with my tongue

MOTTO I LIVE BY

Treat people as you wish to be treated yourself

Affectionately known to the Terravesta team as ‘Squancey’, Michael is an IT genius who overcomes any technical challenge we throw at him. He has a vital role in overseeing our internal management systems, our newsletter, the website and our data. He’s also heavily involved with our plant breeding research and records real harvest and crop handling information. Michael not only brings IT expertise, but has an in-depth understanding of Miscanthus, having formerly worked on the 'GIANT LINK' seed breeding project we ran with Aberystwyth University.

To speak to Michael click here

Fun Facts

I’M AFRAID OF

The internet going down at Terravesta

HIDDEN TALENT

Playing the keyboard and cornet

GUILTY PLEASURE

Table top gaming

Sam's role is crucial to the future development of miscanthus crops. Sam co-ordinates the large-scale Miscanthus field trials with existing varieties and new hybrids to assess complex plant traits and various environmental interactions between different sites. His practical knowledge is invaluable in examining annual crop performance, but also in future miscanthus breeding development.

To speak to Sam click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE DRINK

Ribena

BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT

My masters degree

GUILTY PLEASURE

Taylor Swift

David looks after our Miscanthus domestic fuel range and has big ideas about it becoming a household name with a national presence. His background is rooted in farming and marketing and he has an HND in both agricultural engineering and business and marketing. Previous jobs have included marketing in horticulture, packaging brand management for major retailers, engineering sales account management and new product development…the perfect practical and creative mix for developing a unique identity for our Miscanthus BBQ Briquettes, Fire Logs and Firestarters.

To speak to David click here

Fun Facts

GUILTY PLEASURE

A Toblerone all to myself

SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME

I'm a qualified lifeguard

MOTTO I LIVE BY

Evil prevails when good people do nothing

Alison has now been managing and supporting Terravesta growers for 2 years, handling virtually all the contracts we produce and liaising daily with our processing plants. She is the first port of call for any grower or collection enquiry and is a vital cog within the operations team.

To speak to Alison click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE DRINK

Dry white wine (can I have one now please?)

GUILTY PLEASURE

McDonalds

SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME

I used to play the bagpipes when I was a teenager (wouldn’t have enough puff to play them now)

Tracy manages the day-to-day invoicing and grower payments and ensures reconciliations are carried out accurately and on time. She provides invaluable support to the department.

To speak to Tracy click here

Fun Facts

GUILTY PLEASURE

Cheese with salt and vinegar crisps

MOTTO I LIVE BY

Try to do something new everyday

I'M AFRAID OF

Team building days involving sailing

Nicola is a creative force at Terravesta, managing our brand, the website design, and the 'user' side of our complex new software, which organises extensive Miscanthus research data. She's highly experienced in design and is full of practical, inspired ideas. Nicola has a degree in product design from Lincoln University, and previous practical experience in web design.

To speak to Nicola click here

Fun Facts

GUILTY PLEASURE

Sweets

FAVOURITE DRINK

Cider

FAVOURITE BOOK

Anything by Martina Cole

Jacob is our Miscanthus planting man. A key part of Jacob's role is driving new market opportunities to support Terravesta's continued growth in the UK. He works closely with our farmers and has a firm understanding of growing and harvesting the crop. He is the go-to contact for farmers and supports them throughout the Miscanthus growth cycle. Jacob is often to be found out in the field 'on the ground' or presenting about Miscanthus to farmers at our events.

To speak to Jacob click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE FOOD

Pizza

SOMETHING PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME

I like the occasional salad

MOTTO I LIVE BY

You only live once

Andrzej has worked in the agricultural biofuels sector for over ten years and has a strong background in biotechnical engineering. Based in Poland but frequently in the UK, his role is to deliver high quality, sustainable and completely traceable feedstocks and maintain a robust miscanthus supply chain between Eastern Europe and the UK.

To speak to Andrzej click here

Fun Facts

GUILTY PLEASURE

Don’t feel guilty about pleasures!

MOTTO I LIVE BY

Use common sense!

I'M AFRAID OF

Stupidity

Sophie is mad about writing, the environment and agriculture, which is the perfect mix for her role as ‘the voice of Terravesta’. Her background is in agricultural marketing and PR and before joining our team she worked for a leading agricultural PR agency. Sophie writes our newsletters, our news features in the press, our marketing literature and manages the social media, in fact she pretty much has a handle on most of the stuff we put out to the world!

To speak to Sophie click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE DRINK

G&T with lemon and lime

HIDDEN TALENT

I bake a good loaf

MOTTO I LIVE BY

Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving

Mikolaj is a super hard worker, and come rain or shine, he gets the job done to a high standard. He's helping to pave the way to upscale Miscanthus planting significantly, by planting harvesting and testing new Miscanthus hybrids in the UK and Europe. He came to us from an agency and was so good we took him on full-time. He's plays a pivotal role in our Miscanthus scientific research team.

To speak to the Terravesta science and technology department click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE FOOD

Spaghetti

FAVOURITE DRINK

Apple juice

FAVOURITE MUSIC

Polish disco

Mike has some 15 years of working with the crop across Europe, most recently working with growers on behalf of Terravesta in the south of the UK. Together with running a Miscanthus propagation co-operative business for a group of growers, he is well known throughout the industry for his wealth of experience in energy cropping, bringing important support to the growers in the south of the country.

To speak to Mike click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE FOOD

‘Miscanthus’ Bolognese (not allowed to eat pasta)

HIDDEN TALENT

Ability to drink a lot of red wine and eat masses of Bolognese

MOTO I LIVE BY

I live every day as if it’s my last, one day I’ll be right

Rafal Plaszewski has a great affiliation with plants. His attention to detail is vital for the advance of new seed-based Miscanthus hybrids in our ongoing research programme. We're currently trialling new hybrids on different field sites in the UK and Europe, and his practical nous on the ground means the trials we manage and the data we collect is accurate.

To speak to the Terravesta science and technology department click here

Fun Facts

FAVOURITE FOOD

Salad and chips

FAVOURITE DRINK

Beer

FAVOURITE MUSIC

Dance music

We love pets and have regular visits from our canine and feline favourites. Pepper is an easy going Parson Russell Terrier and a wise old girl with the right idea about how to spend her day. She mostly chills out with the girls in the accounts office, where she reclines in peace with the occasional bit of fuss (and ham). Dill the golden Cocker is less wise, thanklessly bounding around to find food, or looking for Orla, her apprentice. Orla, the Terrier pup is the youngest and she and Dill are as thick as thieves. Bessie used to be more of an office regular before Orla and Dill arrived, now seldom seen, she can be found hunting in the long grass.