Ashley Gilman
Head of Agricultural Strategy
Cranswick 

Ash Gilman is the Head of Agricultural Strategy for Cranswick plc. The company is focussed on premium fresh pork, poultry, convenience and gourmet products, and is 30% self-sufficient in pork through its owned pig farming operations. At the heart of the business is Cranswick’s sustainability strategy, Second Nature.  This is made up of five key pillars with farming being one of them; and the Cranswick farms have a clear objective to be carbon neutral by 2030. Ash works alongside the in-house farming operations, interfacing with customer agri teams, overseeing UK supply chain assurance, R & D and mitigating risk to the supply chain are amongst his main responsibilities

Prior to joining Cranswick 4 years ago, Ash was the Group Business Manager for a national farmers’ cooperative, and prior to that, Farms’ Director for Maurice Crouch Growers, a leading fresh produce business. He started his career with Velcourt plc as a Farms’ Manager. He has a BSc from Wye College and an MSc in Advanced Farm Management from Cirencester. Ash has extensive experience in managing vertically integrated supply chains. He is on the Red Tractor Pig Sector Board, NPA Pig Industry Group and Soil & Water Business Board for East Anglia.