Meet the board of directors

James is the CEO of IPN and ‘head chef’ and has been with the company as Managing Director and then CEO since 2018. He loves creating value in the business as much as in the recipes and brands we make. “Looking after IPN is like being the head chef. Just like great ingredients, by sourcing, growing and developing great people and allowing them to develop amazing healthy and tasty products, our customers reward us with their loyalty.”

“I am a Commercial Pet Nutritionist in my heart”. Having graduated from Nottingham University with a degree in Animal Nutrition in 1997 he then spent the next years as a Commercial Nutritionist, then Technical Director before leading the strategic development of pet food businesses as Managing Director from 2011.

He believes making ‘great food, more affordable’ allows IPN to increasingly provide for more healthy pets and happy owners.

James is on a mission and passionate about

• bringing fresh, human food-grade quality nutrition to pets.

• developing and growing people to achieve our vision of ‘becoming the nations most loved, most sustainable home of pet care brands’.

• Championing IPNs drive and focus for sustainability and care of our People, our Pets and our Planet.

Outside of work he can be found out walking with his family and dogs and very occasionally flying a hot air balloon!

Antony is the Chief Financial Officer of the IPN Group and has been with the company since 2008. Anthony’s finance career started as an accounts assistant at a Housing Association and then various financial roles, including at IPN, culminating in the CFO position. Anthony is responsible for his team and their development, financial strategy, governance, tax, treasury, M&A and IT. Outside of work Anthony enjoys spending time with his wife and young son, and watching football.

David is responsible for all of Inspired Pet Nutrition’s operations, spanning procurement, distribution, planning and our manufacturing facilities in North Yorkshire and North Wales. He is passionate about leading the teams that produce our great quality pet foods and ensure that they arrive on-time with our customers and consumers. David has been with Inspired Pet Nutrition since 2018, but prior to that has spent his career in a number of different industries and geographies. He has an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from Loughborough University and an MBA from London Business School.

Chris is Marketing Director at IPN, having joined the IPN business in May 2018.

Chris is responsible for creating a portfolio of strong, well-positioned, consumer relevant and fast growing brands across all pet channels and product categories. Chris also leads our Innovation and Product Development team as we seek to drive incremental growth, for IPN and our co-partner brands, from the combination of our depth of consumer insight and market leading nutritional capability.

Chris brings over 23 years’ experience in Marketing gained working on some of the biggest household name brands in the UK, from multi-national FMCG to PE backed businesses. Chris worked at Nestle for over 12 years first in the Nescafe business and then in the Rowntree Confectionery business unit. As Marketing Director of the Quorn business Chris started the transformation of the brand into a healthy protein and moved back into FMCG to Mars as Marketing Director of the UK food business, leading brands such as Ben’s rice and Dolmio Pasta Sauce and then as Global Brand Director for the Mars Seeds of Change organic brand.

Outside of work, Chris is a keen cyclist and enthusiastic golfer.

Kristian joined CapVest in 2015 and is a Principal on the team. He currently also sits on the board of Curium, a leading global nuclear medicine provider. Prior to CapVest, Kristian spent five years at Morgan Stanley in London, predominantly in the Investment Banking Division working on various M&A and financing transactions in the Basic Materials and Industrials space. Kristian obtained his MSc in Technology with a majoring in corporate strategy from the Aalto University School of Science and Technology (formerly Helsinki University of Technology) in Espoo, Finland.

Matt is an Investment Director at CapVest having joined the firm in 2018. Outside of IPN, he currently sits on the board of NextPharma, a leading European pharmaceutical contract manufacturer. Prior to CapVest, he worked at Centerview Partners, an independent advisory firm, in London. There he was involved in several transactions and strategic advisory mandates for companies across consumer, healthcare and financial industries. Matt obtained his first class Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Warwick.