Home > About > Management Team

Chris Fazekas

Chief Executive Officer

As the CEO, Chris is responsible for setting the vision and strategy for Briar Chemicals along with leading the team’s engagement in their key areas of the business.

 

Chris has been in the Crop Protection industry for over 30 years working for a global company holding various sales and marketing roles based in Australia, Asia and Europe, along with experience in the American markets. He comes with an extensive track record managing relationships with major multi-national customers and suppliers. Having a broad knowledge of the international crop protection industry, Chris will be supporting the Briar Team to contribute to their continued growth in both products and geographical expansions.

 

Chris holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Agriculture from the University of Adelaide, a Graduate Diploma in Agribusiness from Monash University, and an Executive MBA (Hons) from Quantic School of Business and Technology.

Nigel Beard

Head of Engineering

Nigel is a seasoned, internationally experienced within Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Malaysia and Qatar, providing Engineering leadership.

A Chartered Engineer, and Fellow of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the focus is to support on site manufacturing and leadership by deploying best practice for the industry.

Nick Burr

Head of IT & Systems

As Transformation and Systems Manager, Nick is responsible for leading the company’s technology strategy and managing overall IT operations and customer service.

Nick has experience in IT strategic planning, project management and operations, supporting companies worldwide.

Nick holds qualifications in IT service delivery (ITIL), Project Management (Prince2) and IT security (GICSP & GSLC) as well as being an active member of the British Computer Society.

Paul Gower

Head of Finance

The Head of Finance is responsible for all financial aspects of the organisation.  Including financial planning, budgeting, internal and external reporting, financial audit and tax management.

Having started his career working in accounting practices, then moving into industry having the majority of his working career in the finance and tax areas of large multinational manufacturing organisations, Paul brings a broad range of technical and operational experience to the organisation.   Having strong financial and tax knowledge as well as having been involved with many ERP implementations and process improvement projects, Paul will be a valued member of the team to support and drive through the upcoming growth and expansion projects.

Paul has been an FCCA qualified accountant for over 20 years.​

Isaac Njorge

Head of QHSE

Isaac leads the delivery and change programs in QHSE by integrating the various elements of our risk management processes to ensure that Briar’s  business management systems across quality, health, safety, & environment are aligned and effective to meet the requirements of COMAH Regulations.

A Chartered Health Safety Environment and Biosafety Practitioner with over 25 years’ experience, working with varied and diverse risks, including complex and high hazard industries. A strong background in Risk Management, Fire Safety, Security and Quality Systems in Pharmaceuticals, Specialty Chemicals refining and COMAH.

Primary contact and representative to both internal network and external Regulatory Bodies – HSE, EA, Emergency Services and Local Authorities’.

Rosalind Porter

Head of HR & Training

As Head of HR & Training, Rosalind is responsible for Briar Chemicals people agenda; attracting and retaining talented people and building a diverse and inclusive work environment which allows employees to succeed in equal measure to deliver high business impact and performance.

With over 15 years’ experience within HR and Learning Development, Rosalind is passionate about providing HR solutions, attracting high calibre talent and building strong performing teams.

Rosalind holds a Law Degree and CIPD Level 7 Advanced Certificate in Human Resource Management.

Graham Temple

Operational Excellence Manager

As Operational Excellence Manager, Graham is responsible for all production and manufacturing activities on the site and is a member of the Senior Management Team.

Graham has over 25 years’ experience in plant management, technical support and process development through his years working for Bayer CropScience, Aventis CropScience and Rhone-Poulenc Agriculture.

Graham holds a first class honours degree in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Brighton and is a Chartered Chemist and member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Hozefa Arsiwala

Production Unit Leader

Hozefa is the Production Unit Leader, responsible for ensuring the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of his plant. His role is integral to maintaining high standards of safety and operational excellence.

Hozefa is a Chartered Chemical Engineer with many years of experience across diverse sectors, including contract manufacturing, petrochemicals, steel, and pigments. He brings a wealth of knowledge to his position, having worked in operations, engineering, and project management, which provides him with a well-rounded perspective on industrial processes and leadership.

He holds a first-class degree in Chemical Engineering from Swansea University and is currently enhancing his leadership and business acumen by pursuing an online MBA from Durham University.

Robin Cox

Production Unit Leader

Robin has over 25 years’ experience in the chemical industry, starting off as a shift chemist, working way up, via process development, to plant management. Robin has managed both batch and continuous processes, and been involved with many improvement projects, from small scale new vessel introduction, to larger scale plant expansion and modernisation.

Robin has an honours science degree, and an M.B.A.

Dale Farrow

HSE Manager

Dale joined Briar Chemicals in 2024 as HSE Manager, bringing over 30 years of experience from the Oil & Gas industry. Throughout his career, he has held a variety of technical and leadership roles, covering operational safety, process safety, regulatory compliance, asset integrity, and assurance.

A strategic and innovative thinker, Dale is passionate about challenging the status quo to develop simple yet effective solutions that drive exceptional HSE performance, tailored to the needs of the business.

Holding an MSc in HSE Management and Chartered Health & Safety status, Dale is responsible for ensuring robust processes are in place for health and safety, security, fire safety, and emergency response across Briar Chemicals

Richard Green

Logistics Manager

As Logistics Manager, Richard is responsible for the efficient flow of raw materials to site and the timely despatch of finished products around the world by land, sea or air.

Richard has over 30 years’ experience in the chemical manufacturing industry, with the last 15 years in supply chain management. Richard holds a degree in Chemistry.

Najam Hassan

Production Unit Leader

As production unit leader, Najam is responsible for safe and reliable operation of chemical manufacturing, formulation/packing plants. Developing liaison with Briar’s customers is vital part of his role as PPC lead.

Starting in fertilizer industry, Najam got 16 years of experience in manufacturing operations, engineering, resourcing and planning large scale projects. Being 6Sigma certified professional, he has contributed in numerous efficiency and reliability projects. Najam is committed to drive forward Briars capacity and capability development initiatives.

Najam holds bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and Masters of business administration from Durham University UK.

Ian Murray

Production Unit Leader

As Production Unit Leader, Ian is responsible for the safe, reliable and efficient operation of his plants.

Ian has over 12 years’ experience across engineering and operations. Starting in the industrial gas industry working for a global leader, he worked his way up to plant management, managing the technical, resourcing and planning elements of the site.

Ian holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London.

Iain Sinclair

Procurement Manager

Iain joined Briar Chemicals in 2020 and is responsible for managing all third party spend across the business including engineering, raw materials, utilities and IT.

Iain has over 30 years of Procurement experience across a wide variety of industries including Nuclear Power, Retail, Financial Services and Construction. During this time he has been responsible for the delivery of many high value change projects. Iain is passionate about developing sustainable, collaborative and value adding relationships with his supplier base.

Iain has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Leeds