SoilPoint Humic Co has appointed Alan Forrester as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Forrester joined the Company’s leadership team in 2022, as Chief Operating Officer (COO), and helped oversee the launch of SoilPoint’s flagship product Soil Booster in the US.
As CEO, he will be responsible for launching SoilPoint Soil Booster in the UK, and then in subsequent European markets. SoilPoint says that its Soil Booster can help farmers boost yields, by up to 30 per cent, and repair damaged topsoil without having to use environmentally damaging nitrogen fertilisers. As a natural product, approved by the UK Soil Association, SoilPoint Soil Booster is certified for use in organic and conventional farming. It is proven to boost nutrition levels, increase water retention, sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from current farming practices.
Forrester has considerable knowledge of the complex and demanding fresh food and flower production and fresh distribution sectors, as well as strong international management experience. For the past seven years, Alan has been President of the UK Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC), the leading industry body for fresh produce and related sectors. He recently received the prestigious Fresh Produce Lifetime Achievement Award. The award specifically recognised the voluntary work undertaken by Alan in ‘giving back’ to the industry and the positive changes impacting agricultural labour wages, conditions, and Fairtrade.
Prior to joining SoilPoint, Forrester was Managing Director (UK) of Greenyard Fresh, a global market leader and supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables. As leader of the UK division, he was responsible for bringing in revenues of £210m at peak. During his time at Greenyard, he spent five years working on the Fresh Executive Committee team, defining strategy and retail business development plans for Greenyard’s €3.2bn fresh produce business from Germany to Italy and the UK.
Gus Robayna, President of SoilPoint, said, “Alan has an excellent track record of growing high-performance companies in the UK, Europe, and Asia, and has a vision to transform the agricultural landscape for the better. Having worked with Alan closely in recent years, we have absolute confidence that he is the man to lead our European expansion. Few have deeper knowledge of the fresh produce industry and the challenges the agri-business faces globally with climate change and soil depletion, as well as the opportunities these present for companies like SoilPoint.”