Guy Singh-Watson will share his expertise on organic farming and ethical business at our annual conference in Blackburn in January (January 22 until 25, 2023).
Founder and creator of Riverford
The founder and creator of Riverford, an organic farm and UK-wide organic vegetable box delivery company, will discuss topics covering business, entrepreneurship and sustainability on Tuesday, January 24.
A day for strategy
We’re delighted that Guy Singh-Watson will be joining us on the Tuesday, which is always our day for strategy. He champions a more human and imaginative approach to business and will be sharing why he believes this to be the winning formula for companies today.
During the past 30 years, Guy has taken Riverford from one man and a wheelbarrow delivering homegrown organic veg to friends, to a national veg box scheme delivering to around 80,000 customers a week.
We hope that it will be really inspiring for our attendees to hear how he combined elements of business, sustainability and the environment, to create a positive and ethical company, and how that works with our members’ long-term goals, while being commercially viable too.
Guy’s background
Tired of meetings, brands and the assumption that greed is our predominant motivation, Guy converted Riverford to employee ownership in 2018. He used the proceeds to buy a small farm and return to growing organic vegetables.
Guy is an advocate of using business to shape a part of the world, however small, to be kinder, more considerate and sustainable; more like the world most of us want to live in.
His weekly newsletters connect people to the farm with refreshingly honest accounts of the trials and tribulations of producing organic food, and the occasional rant about farming, ethics and business issues he feels strongly about.
Guy will be joining our other keynote speakers on the Tuesday to discuss business, the economy and challenges faced by companies in the future. Over the years garden centres have become real community hubs, so we’re delighted that Guy will be sharing his ideas about how firms can become even more personal to the areas they serve.
How to book
If you haven’t booked your place at our annual conference yet, log in to our members, area here GCA | Garden Centre Association and you’ll find the booking pages.
If any organisations would like to sponsor our speaker slots at the conference, please get in touch.