Simon Oliver

Chairman – Dairy Crest Group plc
Chairman – Pi Capital Limited

Simon Oliver founded his own foods business in 1976 after many years’ experience in the dairy industry at Unigate.

In 1984 he formed Mendip Foods Limited in which his own company had a major stake.  As Chairman and Chief Executive, he grew this into a £135 million turnover company, before selling his stake to Dairy Crest in 1995.  He was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Dairy Crest in 1997 and became Chairman in 2000.

In addition, in 1992 Simon Chaired the MBO from Grand Metropolitan of The Cheese Company (formerly Express Foods), which was successfully sold in 1995.

He has been a life-long investor in the theatre, having been an original investor in the Turnstyle Group and recently joined the Board of the Ambassador Theatre Group.  He is also an investor in a number of private businesses.

He is a trustee of two charities:  Donnington Hospital Trust and IDEALS.

He farms 670 acres of cereals in Cornwall