Our People
Operational Team
Laura Ryan
Laura is an expert in building global networks and driving transformational change across the agri-food sector and up until 2019 was Sector Strategy Director for Beef & Lamb Board at Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). In 2023, Laura was named in the Grocer's Power List.
She has subsequently grown a global portfolio of work across the meat sector through the launch of Lavenpark, her own consultancy business which works with levy boards, government and commercial companies to achieve greater success through improved industry insight, connectivity, business development, marketing, and communications.
She is co-founder of the trailblazing Global Meat Alliance initiative and is also the founder and Global Chair of Meat Business Women which has been recognised by the United Nations as one of the solutions to the global Sustainable Development Goals.- Email:
- [email protected]
Harriet Wilson
Harriet joined Meat Business Women as Partnerships Director in August 2023. Here, she is focused on adding value to partners and increasing engagement across our wider community, to truly make meaningful change to the meat sector by attracting and retaining female talent. She won the first Meat Business Women ‘One to Watch Award’ in 2018 and was part of the UK&I Committee for three years.
Her career so far has involved Head of Agriculture & senior CSR roles for quick service restaurant chain McDonald’s and retailers ALDI and Co-op Food, with industry placements at Sainsbury’s and McDonald’s whilst at university. She graduated from Harper Adams University in 2014 and during her studies was a columnist for the Farmers Weekly.
With her background and passion for Agriculture, Harriet is a previous member of the NFU’s Next Generation Policy Forum, advisor to the Prince’s Countryside Fund Farming Group and sat on the Red Tractor Board for Beef and Lamb standards.
Harriet is based on her partners’ arable farm in Shropshire and also helps on her family’s beef & sheep farm in Staffordshire. Previously an active Young Farmers’ member, she enjoys coaching younger members in public speaking and stock judging, as well as organising various charity events.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- +44 7969 659 032
Expert Advisory Panel
We have an advisory advisory panel of highly experienced and influential global industry professionals who are active advocates for the industry and support the development of our global strategy in line with our vision and mission.
Jackie Carter
Jackie obtained a B.Sc in Agricultural Animal Science from Leeds University and then went on to receive an M.Sc in Meat Science from the Meat Research Institute, now part of Bristol University. She joined Cranswick’s sole manufacturing site in 1992 as a quality assurance operative. Her career progressed within the technical team as the company grew, becoming Group Technical Director in 2018, and she is now responsible for the safety, legality, quality and authenticity of all the various delicious food products supplied from their 22 manufacturing sites across the UK.
Over her 30+ year career in the meat industry Jackie has seen the positive influence that women can bring to the workplace and is passionate about ensuring that this great industry continues to be one in which females can develop and thrive.
“There is nothing better than seeing a young lady that you have encouraged or mentored go on to achieve great things within their own career”.
Jackie is married with four children and in her spare time enjoys travelling, reading, gardening and walking the dog.
Elaine Willis
Elaine is currently the M&S & Ocado Account Director in ABP Linden, part of the ABP Food Group, which supplies red meat products to major retailers and Food Service businesses.
Elaine Willis has over 25 years of experience in the Agri-Food Processing Industry. She graduated from Loughry College with a BSc Hons Degree in Food Science and Technology.
Her career so far has involved being the Retail Director where she had responsibility for two food processing sites; with a total of 400 employees.
The role encompassed everything from sales and marketing strategy for key retail customers to Operations, Technical, Health and Safety, Planning, Supply Chain and Purchasing, New Product Development and Innovation, People Management, Training and Development. She was also the Head of Innovation and Business Development at Linden Food Group.
With her background and passion for Agriculture, Elaine is currently a member of the CAFRE College Advisory Group (CAFRE CAG) and a Board Member of the Livestock & Meat Commission (LMC).
Karen O'Connor
Karen leads the Meat, Fish & Poultry business at Sainsbury’s and is focused on creating a competitive, differentiated and compelling offer for the many millions of customers who shop meat, fish and poultry at Sainsbury’s each week. Having started her career at E.ON Energy across a number of commercial project and strategy roles, Karen joined Sainsbury’s in 2012 and took on the mantle of the MFP category in June 2021.
Karen describes her time leading MFP as being ‘an amazing opportunity to make a real difference through our meat, fish and poultry business at a time of huge change - and when future-proofing our supply chains and focusing on sustainability has never been more important’.
Originally from Ireland, Karen now lives in east London with her husband James, four-year-old Fiadh, and one-year old Dylan.
Our Territory Committees
Based in Meat Business Women's global territories, our committees deliver a programme of events, networking and mentoring opportunities at national level, to ensure that women across the global meat supply chain are supported at every stage of their career.
Harriet Wilson
Harriet joined Meat Business Women as Partnerships Director in August 2023. Here, she is focused on adding value to partners and increasing engagement across our wider community, to truly make meaningful change to the meat sector by attracting and retaining female talent. She won the first Meat Business Women ‘One to Watch Award’ in 2018 and was part of the UK&I Committee for three years.
Her career so far has involved Head of Agriculture & senior CSR roles for quick service restaurant chain McDonald’s and retailers ALDI and Co-op Food, with industry placements at Sainsbury’s and McDonald’s whilst at university. She graduated from Harper Adams University in 2014 and during her studies was a columnist for the Farmers Weekly.
With her background and passion for Agriculture, Harriet is a previous member of the NFU’s Next Generation Policy Forum, advisor to the Prince’s Countryside Fund Farming Group and sat on the Red Tractor Board for Beef and Lamb standards.
Harriet is based on her partners’ arable farm in Shropshire and also helps on her family’s beef & sheep farm in Staffordshire. Previously an active Young Farmers’ member, she enjoys coaching younger members in public speaking and stock judging, as well as organising various charity events.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- +44 7969 659 032
Jodie Bolland
Working for Woodhead Brothers since 2011, Jodie has covered a variety of roles in the meat sector.
Her current role sees her lead the Agricultural sourcing teams for Beef, Pork, Lamb and Eggs. She also manages the business’ raw material ingredients sourcing for Myton Manufacturing businesses in addition to heading up the Meat & Eggs sales teams. Promoted to UK Agricultural Sourcing Director in April 2024.
Jodie has a particular passion for British farming and being close to customers and suppliers to deliver high quality products that complement our great British landscape. Jodie is keen to make sure that the British meat industry is one that will be around in years to come and to ensure the future is bright.
Jodie was brought up on a dairy farm in Malhamdale, North Yorkshire where her passion for agriculture started.
Rebecca Gilligan
Rebecca is Head of Project Management for ABP Ireland and Poland where she started in this role in October 2021 and a short year later received the Meat Business Women ‘One to Watch’ Award in October 2022.
Growing up on a farm, Rebecca has a passion for all things animal related and graduated as a veterinary nurse in 2018. As a veterinary nurse one might say the meat industry wasn’t a typical career path, however, as a graduate Rebecca entered into the meat industry with Meat technology Ireland (Teagasc) supporting a diverse range of research and development projects while also supporting Lean Manufacturing.
Rebecca later moved into a Lean Management Executive Role with ABP Slaney where she embarked on and graduated with a Masters in Lean Six Sigma. It was during this time that Rebecca grew passionate about continuous improvement, establishing herself as a catalyst for positive change through engaging teams and helping them open their minds to all opportunities, ideas and fundamentally resulting in overall increased performance and efficiency.
As a Gen Z female in a management position Rebecca began to understand life for a woman in the meat industry. Through her lived experiences, combined with her passion for continuous improvement Rebecca is empowered to change the culture around women in the meat industry and to make the world a more inclusive place as whole.
With the support of ABP, Rebecca has led and executed the launch and establishment of ABP SHE for Ireland and Poland while also helping the ongoing growth of Meat Business Women’s profile across both ABPs sites and wider a field. On a more personal level, Rebecca volunteers with a Girls Rescue Centre in Africa, where she actively advocates for their needs.
Emma Hallam
Emma joined Moy Park in 2014, having held senior Sales & Marketing roles across the food industry for 18 years, moving in 2018 to a newly created role as Head of Sales – Strategic Affiliates, working closely with key customers and their manufacturing supply chain to develop and nurture these relationships.
A self-confessed ‘foodie’, Emma has a rich culinary family heritage with her parents’ restaurant ‘Harry’s Place’ holding a Michelin star for 17 years and her uncle being Managing Director of Dickinson & Morris, a position held since 1992.
Before following her family into the food industry, Emma was a graduate of The Royal Ballet School, she had the privilege of sharing a stage with Rudolf Nureyev at Covent Garden age 11 and subsequently enjoyed a successful professional ballet career.
Andrea Jex
Andrea joined Hilton Foods in 2016 and has held various positions within Procurement before being appointed Procurement Director in 2022. She heads up a global team that is responsible for the procurement of packaging, non-protein food and indirect services.
She has over 30 years’ experience in the food procurement sector having worked for a number of major food manufacturers.
Packaging innovation and sustainability are areas that Andrea is passionate about and she is a very active member of some of the bodies that promotes these areas globally and is determined to make a difference in this area.
Andrea has a First-Class Honours Degree in Food Manufacturing and reached the finals of the 2021 Women in Meat industry awards for the Meat Businesswomen Manufacturing and Processing award.
When Andrea is not at work she enjoys clay pigeon shooting and riding motorbikes but obviously not at the same time!
Sam Tinsley
Sam serves as VP of EMEA & APAC. In her role, Sam is responsible for customer engagement and rollouts for customers across Europe and Asia Pacific. She is also responsible for implementing processes and structures to enable the smooth rollout and support of our platform at customer sites.
Sam specializes in strategic business planning, sales, marketing strategy planning and execution, business process re-engineering and continuous improvement. Prior to joining Lumachain, she served as Project Advisor at Malone Group, Managing Director at Cutting Edge Services Ltd.
Stacey McKenna
Stacey McKenna serves as the Australian Chair of Meat Business Women, having recently signed on as the Australian Territory partner, Stacey is excited to grow the Meat Business Women initiative in the Australian market.
With extensive experience in the meat industry, she brings valuable knowledge and leadership to elevate women's roles and foster inclusivity.
In addition to this pivotal role Stacey also serves as the Industry Affairs Manager for The Midfield Group, a prominent meat Australian meat processor and holds board positions with both the Australian Meat Industry Council and the Australian Meat Processor Corporation.
Stacey is passionate about industry development and actively contributes to the development of the meat industry via these positions. Her dedication to industry engagement and diverse skill set position her as a strong advocate for the red meat sector.
Stacey's academic credentials include a Graduate Certificate in Agribusiness, a Diploma in Meat Technology, and graduation from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Emma Nelson
With a decade of experience in the dynamic world of meat, Emma has held diverse roles across commercial, agriculture, and operational functions. In her current role, she leads the Morrisons retail division within Myton Food Group, focusing on driving business growth and strengthening market presence across beef, pork, lamb, bacon, sausage, and gammon categories.
Emma is deeply committed to sustainability and responsible sourcing in the meat industry, striving to balance commercial success with a vision for a more sustainable future.
From County Down, Northern Ireland, Emma maintains strong ties to her roots and her family's organic beef farm.
Our Speakers
We aim to inspire women and to help them develop at every career stage to reach their goals. Our speakers are central to the delivery of our mission - sharing their authentic experiences, insights and advice from across the industry at our high impact events.
Temple Grandin
HRH The Princess Royal
Beth Hart
Adam Couch
Maeve McCleane
Minette Batters
Jamila Gordon
Margaret Boanas
Ursula Lavery
Chris Kirke
Christine Middlemiss
Tara McCarthy
Niall Browne
Emily Miles
Karen O'Connor
Karen leads the Meat, Fish & Poultry business at Sainsbury’s and is focused on creating a competitive, differentiated and compelling offer for the many millions of customers who shop meat, fish and poultry at Sainsbury’s each week. Having started her career at E.ON Energy across a number of commercial project and strategy roles, Karen joined Sainsbury’s in 2012 and took on the mantle of the MFP category in June 2021.
Karen describes her time leading MFP as being ‘an amazing opportunity to make a real difference through our meat, fish and poultry business at a time of huge change - and when future-proofing our supply chains and focusing on sustainability has never been more important’.
Originally from Ireland, Karen now lives in east London with her husband James, four-year-old Fiadh, and one-year old Dylan.
Jo Whitfield
