Chris Browning
Managing Director
Chris joined the business in 1993 and took on the MD role in 1998. Chris is also currently a Director of Avalon Fresh Ltd and Chairman of The Avalon Growers Producer Organisation Board. More recently he has become a Director of British Apples and Pears Ltd.
Richard Stock
Head of Operations
Richard joined Cottage Farms in January 2020 in a new role as Head of Operations, with over 19 years of experience in the fruit industry and working with automation of packing lines, Richard is responsible for the Packhouse, Warehouse and Technical departments.
Karen Ellis
Finance Manager
Karen joined Cottage Farms in 2008 as Office Manager, with the expansion of the business she has progressed to Finance Manager. Karen is responsible for all company accounts, including payroll and pensions.
Carly Cuthbert
Capacity Planning Manager
Carly joined Cottage Farms in 2003. Carly began as a Packhouse Supervisor and soon progressed to Packhouse/QC Manager and then in 2014 began the role of Systems Technical Controller. Given her vast knowledge within Production, she now holds the position of Capacity Planning Manager, with her team she is responsible for the planning of all stock through the packhouse.
Sam Foreman
Operations Trainer
Sam joined Cottage Farms in March 2020. Before this he spent 22 years as a Production Manager for a heavy engineering company using industrial lasers. After a career change, in 2009 Sam started working in the fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain, gaining his vast experience in all aspects of the business where he became a trainer. He has gained relevant qualifications such as IOSH, Train the Trainer, NVQ’s and more. Since joining he has qualified as a ITSSAR instructor enabling him to deliver all the MHE training for the business.
Nick Skinner
Warehouse Manager
Nick joined Cottage Farms in March 2021 to manage the warehouse operations. He has worked in the produce industry since leaving school, his most recent role was working for an importer of produce company for 17 years where he started in the warehouse working various roles until promotion to a Shift Operations Manager, later moving to Warehouse Manager and finishing in a systems and operational project role.
Gintaras Psenaska
Operations Leader
Gintaras joined Cottage Farms in June 2020 as Operations Leader to manage packhouse operations. He has over 8 years of experience in the fresh produce industry working with Top Fruit, Berries and Citrus. Gintaras worked his way up from Line Leader to the Shift Operations Leader at one of the largest privately-owned food processing businesses in UK.
Ravi Ettamsetty
Ripening Manager
Ravi has recently joined the team as our ripening manager. This is a new and exciting development for Cottage Farms, capturing Ravi's 12 years experience in fresh produce, together with his more recent involvement of 'Ripening'. We look forward to providing this new service.