Meet the Team

Jim comes from a family farm background in Co Kildare. After leaving school, Jim went to UCD School of Agriculture and achieved a B Agr. Sc (Hons) in 1985. For 13 years Jim worked in a leading Agricultural Merchant as General Manager.

In 1998, Jim joined Forage Systems as Managing Director and continued to grow the business which later became Specialist Nutrition with the development of moist and liquids feeds market. Specialist Nutrition is now the leading supplier of high-quality feeds and supplements to progressive dairy and beef farmers in Ireland and the UK.

Jim is a member of the Agricultural Science Association, Irish Farmers Association and Irish Holsten and Friesian Association.

John was born and raised on his family’s dairy farm in Amsterdam, NY, and now operates his own farm, Ashwood Dairy, with his wife Sara and their three sons. After earning his B.S. from Cornell University, and his MBA from the University of Albany, he applied his combined formal education and farm experience to excel in management roles within the animal nutrition industry.

He has extensive experience in the area of business management and operations John is also a board member of the Dairy Calf and Heifer association and farm credit east customer service counsel. He also has two patents and continues to focus on bringing value to the US dairy industry. At Specialist Nutrition, he looks forward to continued change, and offering products and services to our customers that can assist and improve their operations.

Mia is Group Head of Marketing responsible for delivering marketing strategy across the Arvum Group of companies. Mia has previously held senior marketing positions with some of Ireland's top brands, creating award-winning campaigns for …

Originally from a family business in Co. Wexford, Mia is a strategic thinker bringing a market-driven approach to deliver profitable growth within our companies. With a deep consumer and customer understanding, she brings her unique perspective to the delivery of our marketing strategy.

Mia is a member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland (MII) and Irish International Business Network (IIBN).

Pat joined the Arvum Group as CFO in 2009. He holds an honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from the National University of Ireland (UCC) and is a Member and Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

He has twenty five years’ experience in senior finance and managerial roles across agri-business, high volume manufacturing and property sectors.

As well as finance, Pat takes a leading role in the information technology, compliance and legal aspects of the group’s various businesses.

Samantha Shapess has joined our growing US team as Operations Manager based in Syracuse, NY. While Sam is new to the New York dairy scene, she isn’t new to the New York farm scene, growing up in Phoenix, NY working on her families produce farm. Sam holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration as well as a MBA in Finance, achieving both degrees from SUNY Oswego.