John Thorley OBE FRAgS
Chairman & Independent Director
John Thorley is an Independent Director and Chairman of AIMS, a position he’s occupied since 2012.
John was the first CEO of National Sheep Association and was first involved in the organisation in 1968. He became its CEO in 1969 and retired in 2006.
He was also CEO of National Cattle Breeders Association for 10 years from 1975 to 1985. Following retirement in 2006, he became founding secretary of The Campaign for Wool from 2008 to 2013. Chairman of Beef and Lamb Sector Board of Assured Farm Standards, (Red Tractor) as well as a director of the Main Board 2009-2017. He has been Chairman of The Henry Plumb Foundation (HPF) since 2017. The Foundation was created to help young people get into food and farming organisations by its Patron Lord Plumb former President of NFU and the only Englishman to have been President of the Euro[pean Parliament.
Awards
OBE. For outstanding services to the livestock in dustry of Great Britain.
FRAgS. Fellowship of The Royal Agricultural Societies. Presented by the UK Council for Awards of The Royal Agricultural Societies for services to the Livestock Industry of UK.
Norman Bagley
Head of Policy
Norman Bagley is the founder and Head of Policy at The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS). Prior to founding AIMS Norman was a livestock auctioneer. Norman is well known and respected across the industry and within Government and their agencies where he passionately defends the livestock sector whilst promoting positive change to ensure that business run efficiently and safely
Peter Hewson
Veterinary Director
Peter is the Veterinary Director at AIMS.
He joined in 2009 after retiring from the FSA, where he had been a senior civil servant in the meat area since the Agency’s formation in 2000. During that time he was responsible for negotiating the EU Regulations concerning meat hygiene in Brussels, and as a result has an in depth knowledge of those Regulations.
He is also particularly interested in the Official Control Regulations, especially those concerning charging. He is happy to assist any member who believes they are being overcharged by the FSA.
Stephen Lomax
Legal Director
Stephen, a Barrister as well as a Veterinary Surgeon has been heavily involved with AIMS since its creation in 2001. As a veterinary Surgeon his career has spanned large animal practice as well as having a deep and professional interest in Meat hygiene. He is predominantly a countryman as well as being a beef and sheep farmer based in the beautiful border country near Presteigne in Powys.
His talents and professional ability as both a Barrister and Vet mean that he’s frequently been called as an expert witness and as an advocate to defend the interests of AIMS’ members who’ve fallen foul of The Food Standards Agency. His uncompromising and accurate professional assessment of sometimes complex situations have made him one of the key elements of making AIMS the success it is. His lifetime of involvement in all aspects of the livestock and meat trade make him an invaluable asset while the common sense Lancastrian’s approach he brings to all problems faced by meat processors founded on his long and involved experience of all aspects of the business are unparalleled.
Craig Kirby
Head of Technical
Craig came to AIMS from FSA in 2015 as a veterinary advisor.
He was Head of Approvals and Veterinary Advice at FSA, and before that, an OV in East Anglia for over 10 years. Originally from South Wales, he is now based in York.
He’s interested in welfare at slaughter, international trade, and general day to day firefighting on behalf of the members. He has got experience with all species and all types of further processing. He is your first port of call for technical issues. He also does some of the CoC assessments for AIMS.
Tony Goodger
Head of Marketing & Communications
Tony began working with AIMS in late 2019 as marketing and communications advisor.
He has worked in the food industry throughout his career firstly with United Biscuits PLC and then with the Meat and Livestock Commission / Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
His main interests are in public procurement of British meat, social media marketing, reducing the impact of the meat industry on the environment and business sales and marketing improvement both in the UK and overseas markets.
Based in the East Midlands contact Tony with any issues you have. He’ll either have the answer or know someone who does.
Jason Aldiss
Head of External Affairs
A visionary business champion who for 25 years was the driving force behind the establishment of Eville & Jones as what was the world's largest specialist provider of elite outsourced veterinary services.
The Yorkshire-based company became the provider of choice for national governments and industry alike.
Jason employed over 750 personnel internationally and led the diversification programme for the business, significantly expanding its range and scope of services.
The Eville & Jones Group of companies delivered a vast assortment of commercial offers and outsourced Government controls across Europe and Australasia. When Jason was in charge The Group defined world-class standards and stood alone in all aspects of quality, value for money and organisational integrity.
He is now delivering advanced technical solutions to the agri-food sector including working with Government and industry to find solutions to Brexit related challenges using AI and Machine Learning.
Jason has held numerous Board positions over the course of his career including with the British Veterinary Association, the Veterinary Public Health Association, Leeds Trinity University, Workforce Now and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
He has represented his profession in Europe for over 20 years and serves as Secretary General of the Union of European Veterinary Hygienists, representing the interests of more than 300,000 vets.
Jason has extensive hands-on experience of crisis and change management, governance systems, peer-level consultancy and international service delivery within the food, animal health and animal welfare sectors.
Away from business, he has long been active in the voluntary and charitable sectors, and is a Provincial Grand Knight of the Knights of St Columba.
Jason held an array of senior positions within the UK Conservative Party but resigned in July 2019 following the election of Boris Johnson as Party Leader.
In 2017, he was awarded the British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service.
Policy Advisor
Simon joined AIMS in 2020 after retiring early from the FSA in 2019.
At the FSA he was a senior civil servant whose responsibilities included meat establishment approval and audit teams, contract management and delivery of agency animal welfare strategy. He also led the joint FSA/FSS 2017 review of cutting plants and cold stores, commissioned by Board Chair and CEO and initiated the FSA’s operational transformation programme in 2018.
Simon Dawson
Ian McLeish
Veterinary Assessor
Ian came to AIMS from the FSA in 2015 as a veterinary advisor.
He was Veterinary Manager for FSA Scotland and previously an OV contractor with the Meat Hygiene Service, working in Scotland, East Anglia and the Midlands.
Ian has previously worked in the USA, Belize (where he was an USDA inspector), Southern Somalia and the Sultanate of Oman.
Interests are welfare at slaughter and training and assessment of Plant Inspection Assistants for the poultry industry.
He has experience with all species (including camels!) and undertakes some of the WATOK CoC assessments for AIMS.
Christopher Dickinson
Poultry Sector Adviser
Chris is a from a mixed farming family from North Cumbria with Beef, sheep, goat poultry and arable enterprises. He spent 7 years at the NFU as national poultry advisor lobbying on behalf of poultry farmers across the UK on key issues such as Avian Influenza, religious slaughter and labelling.
Over the past 7 years Chris has set up a business supplying goat meat to high end wholesalers and restaurants with plans to add his own ready meals and an on farm Vending Machine. He also has been a critical part of the growth of the UK Wagyu industry.
Finishing wagyu cattle on the family farm and a Director of the British Wagyu Association and World Wagyu Association. He is also a past recipient of a Henry Plumb scholarship, a OFC inspire programme participant and a judge for Cumbrian Farming awards.
Chris has an extensive knowledge of the poultry industry through having birds on the family farm for over 20 years and also having the UK dealership for Facco laying poultry equipment, one of the worlds largest equipment companies.
