The Programme

Mike Peters

Group Milling Advisor, Whitworth Bros Ltd and President, UK Flour Millers

Mike Peters is Group Milling Advisor for Whitworth Bros. Ltd. He's been with the company since 2004 and was Managing Director from 2016 to late 2024. He was elected Vice President of UK Flour Millers in 2024 and President in 2025 at the AGM, which took place in Belfast the day before the conference.

Dave Rose

Founder and CEO, Voltloader

Dave Rose spent his early career at Accenture and was one of the initial group of Partners at Baringa Partners – now a £300 million management consultancy. The initial part of Dave’s time at Baringa was focussed on the UK and European energy markets and he later grew the commodity supply chain sector, mostly advising on process and technological transformation. In 2018, Dave took on the COO role at Hectare Agritech, a growth business focusing on digitising farming marketplaces, and supported a significant fundraise process. Through this role, Dave built significant exposure to the physical UK agricultural cereals market and a deep fascination for decarbonising food and agriculture supply chains.

David Crozier CBE 

Director, Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC) 

David Crozier CBE is Director of the £16.3 million Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC), a joint venture between Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). Previously, he was CEO of Software NI, representing the £1.7 billion software industry having spent over a decade at QUB’s Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) as Head of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement. He was appointed to the DSIT (previously DCMS) College of Experts in 2021, the NI Cyber Security Steering Group in 2018 and was, until recently, Chair of SpecialisterneNI. He was awarded a CBE in the 2024 New Year's Honours List for services to the economy.

John Campbell

Economics & Business Editor, BBC Northern Ireland (invited) 

John Campbell is Economics & Business Editor at BBC Northern Ireland. He led BBC coverage of Brexit's Northern Ireland impacts. He has also been a TV, radio, and digital producer.

Nathan Ward 

Business Unit Director (Usage Foods & OOH), Kantar Worldpanel 

Bio pending

Dr Rory Deverell 

Black Silo 

Dr Rory Deverell brings over 15 years of hands-on experience in the commodity markets, with an extensive background in trading, risk management, and market analysis. Raised on a farm, Rory’s deep connection to the land has given him an innate understanding of agricultural cycles and how they impact global supply chains. 

His early career began with a PhD, focusing on biofuels and their influence on commodity markets which paved the way for key roles at leading physical trading and financial services firms. These roles enabled Rory to work closely with a wide array of clients across the agriculture, biofuel, and energy sectors, honing his ability to identify market risks and opportunities. 

Throughout his career, Rory has remained committed to helping businesses and traders make informed, data-driven decisions. His practical knowledge of the interconnected nature of commodities — from grains and oilseeds to biofuels and energy — gives him a unique perspective that drives Black Silo’s in-depth reports. 

With a passion for helping others navigate the complexities of these markets, Rory is dedicated to continuing the legacy of the Fryer’s Reports, ensuring Black Silo provides the same high standards of insightful analysis and actionable intelligence that businesses have come to rely on.

Professor Nigel D. Scollan 

Institute of Global Food Security, Queens University Belfast 

Prof Nigel Scollan is Director of The Institute for Global Food Security and Professor of Animal Science at Queens University, Belfast. The Institute addresses key challenges around (1) Farms of the Future: developing paradigm shifts in agricultural practices to enhance profitability and sustainability without compromising biodiversity and ecological function; (2) Global Food Integrity: use of state-of-the-art approaches (analytical, molecular, computational) to improve the safety of global food supply chains and prevent fraud and (3) Nutritional challenges of the twenty-first century: better understanding of how human diet impacts a range of health outcomes and development of intervention strategies to maximise wellbeing. ​

Professor Scollan conducted his PhD at The University of Edinburgh, followed by a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada before joining Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth in 1993 and subsequently Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) Aberystwyth University in 2008. He held a numbers of posts at IBERS including Waitrose Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Professor of Public Engagement with Science at Aberystwyth University, group leader Animal Systems and Director of Enterprise. ​

Professor Scollan’s research is primarily related to designing improved systems for ruminant livestock, through the use of improved nutrition and genetics to enhance the sustainability and efficiency of the production systems. Improving nutritional quality is an important aspect of the research. Professor Scollan works closely with producers and other key stakeholders across value chains. ​ ​

Nigel is a Past President of the British Society of Animal Science and a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society in the UK and a Director of the Oxford Farming Conference.

Stephen Kelly 

Chief Executive, Manufacturing Northern Ireland 

Stephen Kelly, as CEO of Manufacturing Northern Ireland, represents the interests of the sector to Governments in NI, UK, the EU, and the US in areas which impacts on Northern Ireland’s position as a location to create, grow, and sustain a manufacturing business. He is at the forefront of NI’s business community’s actions on Brexit. He was a member of the UK Government’s Board of Trade, UK National President of Junior Chamber and the BBC’s Broadcasting Council and is currently on the Board of a local arts based social enterprise as well as a Visiting Professor in Ulster University’s Business School. In March 2024, Stephen was appointed by the Northern Ireland Economy Minister to Chair the Taskforce to double number of students at Ulster University’s Derry ~ Londonderry campus.