Alex Rudan-Smith is a Regional Director at Farrelly Mitchell. Based in our UK office, Alex delivers highly strategic support to clients throughout the agrifood sector. With extensive international experience across various industries, including agricultural commodities, energy, FMCG, and retail goods, Alex has developed a keen understanding of global market dynamics and supply chain complexities. He excels at leveraging his technical knowledge, business development acumen, and corporate financial skills to analyse and develop portfolios.
Career background
Alex has developed global experience throughout his career, having worked on projects in the UK, North America, Asia, and more. Before joining Farrelly Mitchell, he held key positions at Associated British Food (ABF), where he worked as a Business Performance Manager and Strategy Analyst.
In these roles, Alex contributed to the strategic direction and performance of several key business units, managed extensive capital investment pipelines, and developed the North American joint venture strategy with ADM. Additionally, he played a key role in developing ABF Sugar’s ESG strategy, creating carbon reduction roadmaps and exploring green energy investment opportunities.
Before ABF, Alex also held roles at ED&F Man, where he began with an international management trainee position. This role involved various secondments in India and the UK, where Alex managed large-scale projects and developed new logistics chains. Alex quickly advanced to more senior roles in the USA and Singapore, focusing on CAPEX investments, project management, and commercialisation of new products.
Skills
Alex is a highly skilled strategy and business development specialist with extensive international experience across various industries, including agricultural commodities, energy, FMCG, and retail goods. The driving motivation behind Alex’s career is fostering collaboration both internally and externally to create comprehensive, well-rounded solutions and presenting these solutions at the highest corporate levels.
Professional achievements and expertise
Throughout Alex’s career, significant achievements and expertise have been demonstrated in various areas:
Strategic leadership at ABF: Managed global performance updates for top executives, developed capital investment strategies, and led the creation of AGM and investor presentations.
ESG and M&A initiatives: Played a key role in developing ABF Sugar’s ESG strategy, leading M&A activities, and exploring green energy investments.
Project management at ED & F Man: Successfully managed multiple CAPEX investments, commercialized new products, and developed business cases for large industrial operations.
International experience: Extensive experience in managing projects across different countries, including developing new logistics chains in India and upgrading refinery efficiency in the Middle East.
