Rolawn takes strides forward with three new senior appointments

The UK’s leading producer of turf and topsoil, The Rolawn Group, has expanded its team with three new senior appointments to support its growth plans.

Ken Brewster joins the Yorkshire based company in the new role of Group Marketing Director, with Neil Spiers joining the business as Head of Commercial for Rolawn’s new sub-brand BioScapes®. As part of the BioScapes brand, which has recently launched, Terry Smithson has been appointed as Biodiversity Manager. 

Brewster joins Rolawn from Husqvarna Group and brings with him a wealth of expertise in the marketing industry. With over 15 years’ experience at Marketing Director level, he has developed an invaluable insight across various marketing sectors, including outdoor power equipment, DIY, and outdoor leisure.

Throughout his career, Brewster has worked to understand the needs of clients and consumers in developing successful business strategies that achieved high levels of growth and market share.

Spiers has more than 25 years’ of business management experience with major brands across multiple sectors, successfully delivering new products to market globally. He brings demonstrable commercial skills that he is presently utilising to support and develop the BioScapes brand. In a previous position, he achieved the Queens Award for International Export.

His passion for the countryside and nature, combined with his knowledge of building new business concepts, has seen the successful roll out of BioScapes’ new range of products.

A qualified ecologist, Smithson boasts extensive experience in nature conservation and has helped to develop the BioScapes sub-brand and subsequent products. 

Smithson has spent a career of more than 30 years guiding various stakeholders in ecology and environmental management to achieve biodiversity net gain. With over 15 years in Director level roles within Wildlife Trusts, he has led significant programmes of work to deliver economic regeneration and landscape restoration.

All three acquisitions add further knowledge and experience to the Rolawn team. 

Jonathan Hill continues in his role as Sales Director for the group, with specific focus on growing sales and market share in the core turf and topsoil business with the Rolawn and Hallstone brands. 

Managing Director of Rolawn, Paul Dawson, said: “At Rolawn we pride ourselves on maintaining exceptionally high standards in every product and service we offer, so it is important to us to bring people into the organisation who can not only align with those, but also push them up. There is no doubt that Ken, Neil, and Terry fit this mould.

“It’s tremendous to have them involved in our organisation. They have joined at an important time, with all three hitting the ground running to help prepare the launch of our new BioScapes brand, championing an important message about biodiversity.”

Brewster said: “I’m delighted to have joined Rolawn, a company with a reputation for setting consistently high standards across the gardening and horticultural sector. 

“To help shape a number of new projects for the company in addition to driving growth of existing products is really exciting and I’m looking forward to what the company can achieve this year.”

Spiers said: “When I was approached to discuss the prospect of joining BioScapes, after reviewing the products’ biodiversity capabilities, I wanted to be part of the journey helping everyone own a nature haven, at home or work.  

“BioScapes is revolutionising the way we look at biodiversity and how we can all get involved.” 

Smithson said: “The need for people to get closer to nature and to act to restore biodiversity has never been more apparent. BioScapes provides a simple and effective way for people to do this, and I am delighted to be able to help.”