Ep47. Shelagh Hancock, Chief Executive Officer, First Milk Ltd The Leader Insights Series Podcast

For this episode I spoke with the wonderful Shelagh Hancock, the Chief Executive Officer for First Milk, the wholly British farmer-owned Dairy co-operative.

Having graduated with a Degree in Agricultural Biochemistry & Nutrition, Shelagh went on to complete a Masters in Animal Nutrition before embarking on a career within the Dairy industry spanning over 25 years. Shelagh’s successfully worked with the likes of Glanbia Foods, Milk Link, Medina Dairy and for the past 5 years as CEO of First Milk, who we’ll learn more about in the upcoming episode…

Shelagh and I have a great discussion… we talk about:


Her career journey, including the traits & attributes that have been most helpful in progressing her career so far
The great growth journey she’s taken First Milk on since joining as CEO back in 2017
The changing landscape of Dairy and how Shelagh and First Milk are creating not just sustainable but regenerative farming practices
What Shelagh believes Farms of the future will look like

Shelagh’s clearly very passionate about the Dairy industry and calls out the purpose-driven nature of Co-Operative Farming as one of her main motivators.

Finally, be sure to check out The Mentors Club - launched earlier 2022! The mentoring initiative where you can connect with the industry's most inspirational leaders all in the name of charity. To find out more, support the initiative and book your session just visit: www.leaderexecutive.com/thementorsclub

Our continued thanks to our sponsor Obvious Candidate. To take advantage and get your free Obvious Candidate Insider Guides and Career Scorecard just visit: www.obviouscandidate.com

Thank you for listening and as ever, if you'd like to get in touch for any reason you can reach me at Jon@leaderexecutivesearch.com

Enjoy!