Following the acquisition of Tallage / Stratégie Grains in January 2021 and the disposal of our UK agricultural media division in August, AgriBriefing is pleased to announce the appointment of a new European Managing Director.

Julien Hardwick joins from CME Optimisation and was previously Managing Director (Global Key Accounts) at S&P Capital IQ where he looked after long-term partnership strategies with S&P CIQ’s largest clients worldwide.

Julien will take full P&L responsibility for Feedinfo – the leading price reporting agency (PRA) and market intelligence service for the animal nutrition industry, Agrimoney – a premium news service covering investors’ link to the food chain, and Tallage / Stratégie Grains – our agro-economic forecasting and research business focused on grains, oilseeds, animal feed, biofuel and agri bi-products markets.

Emma Penny, Managing Director of GDS – the parent of Feedinfo and Agrimoney is leaving the company to pursue other interests.

Commenting on the appointment Rory Brown, CEO of AgriBriefing said: “I am delighted to welcome Julien to the AgriBriefing team. As we chart the continued evolution of the company, we are excited to bring new talent into the business.

“We are building the largest pureplay pricing, consulting, forecasting and market data business in agri-commodities globally.

“Julien’s deep commercial background, combined with a focus on delivering greater content and value to our clients, will be hugely important as we enter our next phase.

“I would also like to pay tribute to the massive contribution Emma has made to the business over the years. From her time as Editor of Farmers Guardian, her key role as Group Head of Content for our combined businesses and latterly in her role as MD of GDS, Emma has been an influential member of our senior management team. We wish her the best in her new ventures.”