Alex was born in Johannesburg and grew up in South Africa. He completed a Master of Science degree at Rhodes University in Grahamstown before moving to Cape Town. Here he worked as a Senior Consultant in the High Performance Centre at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. In 2014 Alex and his wife Clare moved to the UK. He is now based at the Vallis Group Head Office in Frome where he is the Commercial Manager for East African operations.

Alice was born in New Zealand, but grew up and attended school in the UK in Wiltshire. She took a year out before university to travel New Zealand and to work as a counsellor at Camp Half Moon in America. Alice attended the University of Greenwich where she achieved a 1st class degree in Philosophy and Sociology. Alice joined Vallis Group in August 2014 as part of the Internal Audit team. When she has a free moment, she enjoys crochet.

After 7 years in the British Army, Andrew embarked on a career in commodities in 1987 starting with 5 years as a sugar broker in London, England.

In 1992 he moved with his family to Durban, South Africa for 6 years as Export Manager for the South African Sugar Association managing the export programme of $400 million, before returning to the UK as a Commercial Director in Tate & Lyle Sugar’s trading division. After two years, Andrew then became a founding member of the website and information portal www.sugaronline.com.

He set up and spent 5 years running his own private business supplying packaging to the international fruit industry, mainly for the transportation of citrus from Central/South America and Africa to Europe.

In 2005, Andrew started the drive of the Vallis Group into Africa with its first CMA in Ghana and Mali. Since then, the company has grown to over 325 monthly operations managed through its 30 subsidiaries with operational units in a further 12 countries.

Vallis Group now has 36 subsidiaries and operations in 47 countries. Since 2005, Vallis has handled 50 million tonnes totalling $30 billion worth of goods and provided services for 130 different products . Vallis currently employs 500 staff.

Andrew is the Managing Director and a minority shareholder. He is married with two children and lives in England. His main interests are Tottenham Hotspur football club, international politics, and endurance sporting events.

Currently living in Wiltshire, Brogan was born and raised in Dundee, Scotland. After completing college in 2014 and leaving with a in higher Social Science, Brogan then travelled for 2 years where she lived and worked in many countries before returning back to Dundee in late 2016.

On her return, Brogan secured a job working with a global petroleum company where she managed engineers installing and maintaining petroleum pumps throughout the UK. In early 2018, Brogan made the move down to the South West and joined Vallis as an Operations and Reporting Assistant for the Anglo-West Africa team where she managed Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In July 2019, Brogan was promoted to Operations Reporting Manager for the Anglo-West team where she now oversees all Anglo countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria.

Charles spent his early years between the Ivory Coast and the UK, before moving out to the Philippines to complete his secondary education. After studying the International Baccalaureate at the British School of Manila, Charles read Geography with Quantitative Research Methods at the University of Bristol, graduating with a BSc honours (2.1). Charles’ interest in commodities and emerging markets drew him to Vallis Commodities Limited in June 2015. Originally a member of the West Africa team, Charles is now the Commercial Manager for VTAS Marine and Cargo Services. Charles spends his free time playing football and tennis, and is an avid scuba diver whenever he finds the opportunity.

Hi, I’m Emma.  I live in Frome with my husband and two children.  I have lived in and around Frome for over 20 years, having moved here from Kent.  As a family, we are keen campers and enjoy spending weekends away in our camper van. I joined Vallis in January 2019 and am excited to learn new things and travel.

My name is Franci Tuck and I am the Operations and Reporting Assistant responsible for South Africa, Madagascar and Mauritius. I matriculated in South Africa in 1985 and come with a wide background in office administration and have completed a course in graphic design. I emigrated from South Africa with my (English) husband, David and our son, Michael in 2007 and have been enjoying the splendour of the English Countryside ever since. In my spare time I enjoy baking and entertaining friends and family, am a keen rugby and cricket supporter and enjoy exploring the beautiful nature around us.

Ginnie moved from France to Somerset as she joined Vallis Group in April 2019, as part of the West Africa team. She studied English and Spanish at the University of Western Brittany and used to work as an administrative assistant in France.

After spending several years travelling and working in New Zealand, U.A.E and Australia, she decided to move to the UK permanently. During those years, she had a variety of jobs such as pizza maker, hotel receptionist, flight attendant and assistant buyer for a sports company. She has a passion for exploring the world and working with people from different countries. Therefore, she was attracted to the exciting opportunity to work with Vallis Group.

During her free time, Ginnie enjoys going to the gym, exploring her new surroundings and eating way too much chocolate.

Grant grew up and studied in Monmouth, South Wales, achieving A levels in English Literature, History and Psychology. After leaving school, he attended the University of Bath and graduated in 2016 with a 2.1 in Politics with International Relations. Immediately after finishing finals, he undertook an internship in the operations department at Etherlive, helping to build communication networks for some of the most prestigious events in the UK and France. In May 2017, Grant joined the Anglo West Africa team reporting on Liberia. Grant spends his free time Djing, producing music and supporting Swansea City FC.

Jack was born and grew up in the east of England before moving to Burgundy with his family until 18 where he learnt French. He later settled on Bath University in the UK where he completed a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. Jack joined Vallis in August 2018 as he was looking to make use of both his French language and analytical skills acquired at university to find a job that would be stimulating and fresh. In his spare time, Jack can be found wargaming, playing Handball and cross-country running.

Jack attended Welbeck Army 6th College where he gained both military training and academic qualifications. Upon completion, he changed course and after a brief spell as a chef, moved into the publishing industry, working for Parragon Publishing  based in Bath. Starting as a Junior Production Coordinator he worked his way up to Senior Project Controller, coordinating the publication of over 1,000 titles including the prestigious Beano Annual along the way. Working with major licensees such as Disney and Nickelodeon, and with people from all over the globe,  Jack developed a thirst for international business. Jack joined Vallis Commodities in November 2013 and enjoys focusing on the African market, having dealt primarily with the Asian market in print. Originally working as Commercial Manager for West Africa, he then spent 2 years as the Country Manager of Egypt before returning to the UK to take up the position of Commercial Manager for the Fuel and MENA markets. In his spare time, Jack enjoys watching motorsports such as F1 and BTCC.

Joe grew up in Totnes, Devon and subsequently studied English Literature, Geography and World Development in the city of Exeter. He joined the Vallis Group as Compliance and Finance Assistant midway through 2018, having graduated in the same year with a 2.1 Bachelor of Science from Brunel University London after reading International Politics, subsequently receiving full Honours. Outside of work, he writes for his own political commentary website focussed on reflecting on historical political theory and its relevance in modern day political climate. Joe is also an avid outdoorsman, having overcome challenges such as Dartmoor’s Ten Tors.

JJ grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and attended the University of Cape Town, where he completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting. Having completed his degree, JJ played professional rugby in South Africa and Italy. JJ represented the USA in Rugby Union from 2008 to 2011 and in 2011 participated in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In 2013, JJ moved to the UK with his wife. He joined Vallis in their Head Office in December 2013. He managed the East Africa desk for 4.5 years and in July 2018 moved across to lead Vallis Supply Chain Assurance Services.

Prior to joining Vallis Commodities in August 2016, Kenny enjoyed a full career in the British Army. In addition to serving on operational deployments around the world, he also spent two and a half years in America as the Training Officer teaching tactics to American officers and soldiers. Since leaving the army in 2012, he has found new adventures running a marine conservation centre in Montserrat for a year, supervising and assessing Duke of Edinburgh training, as well as leading numerous expeditions to South East Asia, North and East Africa. Kenny is relishing his role as an Internal Auditor and is looking forward to doing even more work in Africa. In addition to being a CIPD qualified Training Needs Analysis (TNA) practitioner, he is also a Skiing and Diving Instructor and qualified Mountain Leader. In his spare time Kenny enjoys trekking in the mountains, kayaking and Canadian open boat canoeing; he is also learning French (very slowly)!

Kieran was born in Durban, South Africa, where she attended school and University. Her love for sporting activities, especially on the hockey field, gained her a place in the Junior South African team as well as many other Provincial sports' teams. Kieran worked in the steel industry for 8 years, 3.5 of which were spent in Johannesburg. In December 2017, Kieran, her husband, and their 3-year-old little boy moved to the UK. She joined the Vallis head office in February 2018 as the Compliance Manager.

Matt has lived in Dorset his entire life and recently graduated from the University of the West of England with a First in Human Geography. He was attracted to Vallis because of the prospect of working in international finance and dealing with physical commodities. Capital markets are his passion and he thoroughly enjoys trying to understand the global macroeconomic environment as well as micro economic equity analysis. He also enjoys travelling and experiencing alternative cultures and climates whether that be an expedition across China, an adrenaline fuelled ski trip or business travel in Africa. In his free time, Matt enjoys reading and going to be the gym, being a firm believer in the healthy body, healthy mind philosophy.

Maya studied in Southampton, graduating in 2016 with a Media, Culture and Production degree. She spent the summer of 2017 summer working in America as a camp counsellor, before returning to her home town of Trowbridge where she joined Vallis as an Operations and Reporting Administrator as part of the East Africa team. In her spare time Maya loves travelling, live music and drawing.

Natasha grew up in Wiltshire and graduated from The University of Exeter with a BSc Anthropology and Psychology and Politics in 2017. She spent her third year abroad at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Natasha’s interest in commodities, emerging markets and the potential to travel drew her to Vallis Group Limited in January 2019, after returning from 12 months travelling, Australia, Asia and New Zealand. Originally a member of the West Africa team, managing Togo, Ghana and Nigeria, Natasha then dived her time between her Marine and Cargo responsibilities and the MENA (Middle East, North Africa) team, where she took on the role of managing and overseeing Egypt and Jordan. Natasha has managed the Marine Surveying and Vessel Cargo Inspection desk since June 2021. This new opportunity has allowed her to contribute to the supervision of over 16 million tonnes in 38 operating ports, as well as managing the operations directly. Natasha has also had a significant role in the development of our bespoke in house Live Reporting application, Vallis Live and its successful launch in Africa and the Middle East.

After full time education Nicola pursued furthering her career gaining qualifications in business administration which plunged her straight into an editorial role within the newspaper industry. Nicola spent several years within administration, which also included time spent as assistant to the CEO at The Patent Office. Eventually, deciding on a career within finance, Nicola has worked in various accounting roles at Barclays Bank and in the manufacturing industry leading on to her present role in the Finance team at Vallis Commodities Ltd.

Sarah grew up in a village just outside of Frome and once she achieved her A-Levels, she threw herself into work. After a charity hiking trip to The Great Wall of China, Sarah decided to go travelling and booked a one-way ticket to New Zealand via South-East Asia, where she lived in Wellington for 2 years and worked as a Retail Manager. On her return to Frome, she started studying towards her AAT Accountancy Qualification and began working in Finance for a small local company.

Sarah joined the team in January 2017 after looking for a more diverse and challenging role, where she could put her studies into practice and broaden her skills. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys walking and camping and can be found in Devon or Cornwall at any opportunity, where she has recently started to learn to surf. 

For her A-Levels, Sophie studied Mathematics, Business Studies, IT and Psychology at Writhlington school. She then went on to complete the AAT Accountancy Qualification and worked in a local accountancy practice as a Junior Accountant. Sophie joined Vallis Commodities in March 2018 as Budget Coordinator. In her free time Sophie enjoys going to the gym and socialising with her friends.

Steve studied a degree in Engineering at the University of Liverpool. He went on to pursue a career in accountancy and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Kidsons Impey in Birmingham in 1993. He left practice in 1994 and furthered his accountancy career as Financial Controller and Finance Director in a variety of businesses in sectors including plastics, food, further education and textiles. In 1996 Steve moved to Somerset following a Management Buy In of a manufacturing business in Frome. He left accountancy in 2011 and qualified as a teacher of mathematics. After a brief spell teaching the AAT accountancy qualification Steve joined Vallis Commodities in March 2015 as Finance Manager. He has a German Shepherd called Lily and is a keen supporter of Aston Villa FC.

Victoria joined Vallis in March 2019, moving away from sales and looking for a new challenge. Originally from the Midlands, Victoria moved south to attend university in Bristol and decided to stay. Victoria’s degree was in Forensic Science with an emphasis on Organic Chemistry and Environmental Forensics. Whilst at university Victoria was a keen Trampolinist and competed at a National level. In her spare time, Victoria likes to spend time at the gym, spending time with her dogs and watching rugby. She is also unable to function without caffeine.