Tim Rycroft to stand down as chief executive of AHDB

AHDB chief executive Tim Rycroft is to step down from his position at the end of the year after a challenging two-year spell at the organisation – a period that has seen the AHDB shrink in size, relocate and refocus its work to meet levy payer priorities.

Mr Rycroft joined the organisation in August 2021 from his previous role as chief operating officer at the Food and Drink Federation – replacing former AHDB chief executive Jane King.

See also: See our interview with Tim Rycroft about the five-year sector plans 

He arrived at a time of considerable upheaval, not long after potato growers had voted to end their contributions to and involvement with the AHDB (in March 2021) – following in the wake of horticulture growers who had made the same decision.

With a significant hole in the budget and a reduced AHDB workload, Mr Rycroft and his team oversaw the “Shape the Future” consultation in the spring of 2022, designed to identify levy payer priorities for the four remaining sectors – cereals and oilseeds, dairy, beef and sheep, and pork.

The results of this exercise were revealed last November, as individual sector councils published their five-year plans.

‘Focused’

At the time, Mr Rycroft told Farmers Weekly the aim was for the AHDB to be much more tightly focused in the work it undertook.

Meanwhile, the organisation had already embarked on major change to its structure, including its reporting lines, culture and cost base – culminating in the relocation of its Stoneleigh Park headquarters to smaller premises near Coventry earlier this year.

Most recently, the organisation has started the process of trying to secure a levy rate increase to bolster its depleted funds.

Mr Rycroft is said to be departing for “personal reasons”, with his mission “now nearly accomplished”.

“Thanks to great work from the whole team, the AHDB has navigated a period of significant change and is now back where it needs to be: facing into the future and clear about how best to serve levy payers and the wider agricultural sector,” he said.

AHDB chairman Nicholas Saphir said Mr Rycroft had been instrumental in helping to refocus the organisation.

“Throughout his leadership, Tim has demonstrated a deep commitment to delivering for all levy payers and has embedded a culture that fosters collaboration,” he said.

Farmer reaction on social media to Mr Rycroft’s departure has been more mixed, with some questioning the role of senior management in general for the loss of high-calibre staff from the organisation in recent times.

The process for finding a successor to Mr Rycroft will begin shortly.