Meet Our Leadership Team
Roger Bracewell
Chairman
Roger attended Millfield School in Somerset and then spent his “gap year” running the family farm after the Farm Manager took early retirement. He then spent three years at The Royal Agricultural College, studying Rural Estate Management, before working as a young Land Agent in Bolton.
In 1984, he returned to the family land agency business and qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1985. He joined his father as a partner in the family farming and land agency business in 1986. The farming business started to manufacture dry extruded pet food in 1992, which was shortly before the death of Roger’s father, Tom Bracewell, in 1993.
As Chairman, Roger is responsible for the administrative side of the business, particularly the legal, environmental and IT developments, as well as continuing to look after the farming business.
Dr. Andy Kettle
Managing Director
Andy joined GA Pet Food Partners in January 2012 as Joint Managing Director with responsibility for manufacturing and logistics. Andy, who holds a doctorate in materials science, has 15 years’ experience in FMCG production, principally in the food sector.
He has held various site management and board-level positions and has demonstrated considerable success in creating lean and responsive organisations. He is a proud father of 3 girls and his interests outside of work include tennis and travel.
Giles Bracewell
Director
Born and bred in Lancashire, Giles has been on the board of Golden Acres since its formation nearly 30 years ago.
Having qualified as a Chartered Surveyor, he has spent his time in the Leisure business before returning to take an active role at GA Pet Food Partners. Apart from Charitable causes, his interests lie in Wildlife & Conservation.
Jim Whittingham
Operations Director
Jim joined GA Pet Food Partners in 1991 after leaving Agricultural College. Initially, he worked on the farm side of our business, but as the pet food division expanded, Jim moved over into a production and operational role and is now responsible for both the manufacturing & distribution sites.
Over the years, Jim’s position has grown in line with the company, and he was promoted to the board in 2011. In his spare time, Jim enjoys cycling, skiing and running his family smallholding.
Diane Metcalfe
Cost Director
Diane joined GA in 2002, where she started in the Accounts and Administration team. In more recent years, she has focussed solely on the financial welfare of GA Pet Food Partners, and in 2014 Diane was promoted to Cost Director with the responsibility of controlling costs and budget across the company.
Alongside her role at GA, Diane is a wife to John Metcalfe and a proud mother to two daughters. In her spare time, Diane enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading and camping (weather permitting). She is also a devoted leader of her local village Beaver Scout group.
James Bracewell
Sales Director
James started working at GA Pet Food Partners from an early age; he spent his school and university holidays gaining experience in different parts of the business. After graduating with a BSc(Hons) in Rural Land Management at The Royal Agricultural College in 2012, he worked for a number of national agents before returning home to the family surveying business and qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor.
Managing the family farm and property business, James made the move into GA full-time after working for a large veterinary group and completing his MBA at Manchester Business School in 2017.
William Bracewell
Production Director
Will Bracewell joined GA Pet Food Partners in January 2012 as Meat Kitchen Manager. Still, his association extends back to 2006.
Will gained experience within Extrusion while working towards his Master’s Degree in Food Production Management, acquiring expertise in Food Safety and Lean Manufacturing Principles.
Outside of GA life, Will can be found working on the farm with his wife Pippa and two children Harry and George.
Georgina Sims-Stirling
Communications Director
Georgina Sims-Stirling has been with GA Pet Food Partners for 10 years, starting as a Field Account Manager in the South East and more recently Partner Experience Manager managing the digital transformation within GA.
Georgina is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and hopes to be fully Chartered next year and gain her Fellow membership status. She has also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in B2B digital marketing in 2020 and is looking to undertake her MBA in Brand Management.
She is a passionate supporter of Women in Business and a member of several supporting networks.
Outside of GA, Georgina enjoys spending every spare moment with her young family and her border terrier Dotty.
John Hewitt
Technical Services Director
John Hewitt joined GA in 2017 as Partner Brand Marketing Manager and then went on to lead the team of Technical Services, comprising of Marketing & Design, Nutrition, Research & Development and Projects, before becoming Technical Services Director.
John has a degree in Marketing. His background includes working at Nike at their European headquarters in the Netherlands and being a lecturer in Business management at Runshaw Business Centre. John is a proud father and enjoys cycling, camping and travelling.