The second of four films showcasing board members’ stories and how they ensure a long-term focus for their companies.
Growing up on his dad’s farm in Devon, Guy Singh-Watson has been surrounded by agriculture for as long as he can remember. He founded Riverford Organic Farmers in 1986 when it became apparent, after a short stint as a transatlantic management consultant, that farming was where his heart lay
He’d learnt, however, both in theory as a consultant and in stark practice watching his dad “on the verge of bankruptcy for decades” selling milk to supermarkets, that he did not want to be a commodity producer. As he points out in the film, anyone who thinks that just by being the most efficient producer will guarantee their future is wrong. “There is always someone who can produce it cheaper somewhere in the world. And the only security really comes from being in control of your own market.”
Fired by this knowledge, Singh-Watson set about creating an organic food company and being a big part of creating the now established organic market in the UK. He descrbes how he has grown the business to where it is today with annual revenues of over £100 million.
He also talks about the big decision he faced when he wanted to take less of an operational role in the business. Rather than sell to the highest bidder – likely a private equity firm – he chose employee ownership. Inspired by the chair of the John Lewis Partnership who he spoke to around the time of the decision, along with long-developed beliefs about what was best for the business, he signed the agreement in 2018.
This move, along with appointing a far more diverse board and going through cultural change has helped to move the business to a new phase. There are times, he says, right at the beginning of a business, “when you need mavericks like me who are willing to tear everything up and do it in a different way.
“But as the business develops and normally the market you’re in develops and matures, it becomes more about incremental, iterative improvement and, at that point, the likes of me have to know when to step aside.”
This new culture is fusing a different way of doing business with a commercially-driven focus on the long term. “If you ask most of the co-owners of Riverford,” says Watson, “they would say it’s better than it’s ever been.”
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