Openfolde announces appointment of George Wallis as new Group Commercial Director
Openfolde is delighted to announce the appointment of George Wallis as Group Commercial Director. In this newly created position, George will report to William Gilbert, Managing Director of the Openfolde Group and will lead the Group’s commercial divisions across the UK, Ireland and internationally. George is joining Openfolde following his role at Boston Seeds, a leading independent UK seed merchant and online retailer, where he oversaw significant growth and investment in its business.
With a heritage spanning 200 years, the Belfast-headquartered Openfolde Group comprises the subsidiary UK and Ireland brands, Germinal and Germinal Amenity, and the Ecommerce brands: The Grass People and Lawnsmith. Germinal Horizon is the research division of the Group, delivering innovative forage solutions for sustainable food production.
Commenting, Openfolde Managing Director, William Gilbert said: “We are delighted to welcome George to the Openfolde Group. He is joining us following a record of significant achievement at Boston Seeds, and at an important juncture for Openfolde.
The retirement this summer of our highly valued colleague, Paul Billings, who has been so effective for many years, both with the Germinal brand and as a Director of Openfolde, has provided the stimulus for us to reconfigure Openfolde and its commercial focus across our Group businesses.
George will play an important role as we develop our strategy for growth and will work closely with our commercial business leaders, Ben Wixey (Germinal Agriculture), Richard Brown (Germinal Amenity), and Chris McIlroy (The Grass People and Lawnsmith ecommerce businesses).
This is an exciting time for us as we continue to build upon the science and product innovations we have brought to our markets, and we are delighted that George is joining and will help lead us on this journey.”
Openfolde’s new Group Commercial Director, George Wallis, said:
“Openfolde and its businesses are unique within the wider amenity, agri-food and consumer/lifestyle sectors. Its innovation, product development and technical expertise support customers and drive the wider industry forward. The demands on these sectors in the period ahead, especially around sustainable food production and emissions reduction, will only intensify and opportunities for the Openfolde Group will increase. I am very much looking forward to being part of this.”