Our people - Control Union UK

Max is the Managing Director of Control Union UK. With a strong focus on client service and developing new opportunities, Max works to grow and strengthen Control Union UK’s already well-established certification business across our core sectors: textiles, timber, marine, agriculture, plastics, biofuels, food safety and social compliance. In addition, he supports our industrial inspections and commodities inspections services.

Max joined us in January 2023 from the UK based Consultancy company, Macalister Elliott and Partners Ltd (MEP), who are part of the same parent company – Royal Peterson Control Union. At MEP he operated as Managing Director for the past six years covering all areas of fisheries and aquaculture consultancy. Prior to that Max was responsible for the creation of one of the first accredited certification bodies in the UK against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard and it was during this role that the link with Control Union was developed.

Toru has over 10 years’ experience in fisheries science, devoting most of his attention to the improving and mitigation of migratory freshwater fish species through rivers in the UK and abroad, such as Sweden, Brazil and Chile. He was also a Police officer for Hampshire Constabulary for 7 years finishing as a Detective Constable.

Toru completed his degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology in 2002 before completing a PhD specializing in coastal engineering and improving coastal habitats through the better understanding of salt marsh and coastal mudflats ecosystems.

He joined Control Union in 2018, to be the scheme manager for one of the well-recognised standards in wild capture fisheries, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), where he led the certifications team to develop a global portfolio of certified fisheries well over 70 certificates ranging from small scale artisanal fisheries to industrial fleets. His responsibilities grew to diversify the fisheries certification portfolio to include other fisheries standards such as Naturland -Wild Capture fisheries, Fairtrade USA, and ASC/MSC Seaweed.

Beyond this, Toru has broadened his remit in certifications to develop and manage other products and services. Such as reduction or elimination of plastics (PlasticFree), verifying biofuel certifications (RTFO, ISCC), food safety standards (BRC, RSPO, RFA) and social responsibility (ETI, SMETA).

Toru is now part of the Control Union UK Senior leadership team becoming Director in 2023, overseeing the certification programmes.

Charlotte joined CU UK in 2017. She studied Law at the University of Bournemouth and previously worked in sales and marketing.

She is currently the Fisheries Schemes Manager for Control Union UK.

Tom joined Control Union UK in 2014 after studying Marine Biology at the University of Southampton.

He is responsible for the day to day management of the Chain of Custody schemes including MSC and GGAP. In addition, as a lead auditor he has completed over 1,000 audits against a range of supply chain standards. Tom has audited clients in over 30 countries spanning 6 continents and has extensive experience auditing all aspects of the supply chain.

His previous experience in financial auditing and food retail is invaluable in understanding how our client’s businesses operate.

Tracy joined Control Union UK in 2013 as Global Proposal Manager.

She is responsible for putting together proposals and teams of experts for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) projects. Tracy has an extensive background in sales and relationship management in the finance/securities sector.

Nayana joined Control Union UK in February 2023 as the Textiles Department Manager to coordinate the Control Union UK textile certification programmes for GOTS & the Textile Exchange.

He has worked in the fashion and clothing manufacturing industry since 2016, as a fashion designer and a technologist, Nayana has more than 7 years of experience working with his own label as well as under reputed garment manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka. In addition, he has worked as a fashion and textile lecturer and consultant, giving him both breadth and depth of experience and knowledge in the textile industry.

Nayana studied in University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka where he obtained his Bachelor of Design (Hons) degree in fashion design and product development.

Jennie joined CU UK in 2018 and is responsible for overseeing CU UK’s MSC Fisheries, ASC-MSC Seaweed and ISO17065 accreditations, as well as MSC, ASC-MSC Seaweed and UKCA certification systems, to ensure the ongoing compliance of our business. She focuses on high quality and strives to continually improve the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of CU UK’s quality management systems.

Jennie has a broad set of skills and experience which has included programme management, HR, finance, sales, marketing and business development. She obtained a MRes in Coastal Engineering for Climate Change from the University of Southampton.

Hugh obtained his PhD in Australia investigating the bioaccumulation of mercury in estuarine food webs and the effects on human health, following a BSc. (Hons) in Marine Biology from Plymouth University.

He has a broad background in marine research including publications and reports on ecotoxicology, environmental risk assessments and fisheries research. Prior to joining Control Union UK he was employed by the University of Tasmania as a fisheries scientist in the development of an empirical harvest strategy for the commercial abalone fisheries and fisheries assessments of estuarine bivalves. This included work on population metrics (recruitment, growth), harvest dynamics (catch rates, market selectivity), and the use of fine scale geo-spatial techniques as performance measures to assess stock sustainability.

He is a contributing author to the Status of Australian Fish stocks for Tasmanian abalone and shellfish fisheries. Hugh currently works as the Principal Fisheries Assessment Manager for Control Union UK.

Tobias joined Control Union UK in March 2021 as an Organic Auditor for both producer and processing companies. Before joining Control Union UK, Tobias worked as a manager in the mixed agricultural industry, handling internal audit procedures particularly around the farming standards such as Red Tractor, Organics and GGAP. After moving to Control Union UK, Tobias specialised in other commodity sectors particularly around Chain of Custody audits such as Regenagri, Plastic Free, GGAP, FSA, Wildfarmed, FSI, Biofuels and ISO22716. Combined he has completed over 250 audits.

He has experience in the development of sustainable audit schemes, and he is currently undergoing a soil science study while successfully managing the agri-department. He is a certifier for a regenerative agricultural scheme and Tobias is a ISO19011 and 9001 qualified lead auditor.

Originally from Australia where he completed his BSc., Paul joined the certification division of Control Union (UK) in 2010 as an FSC and PEFC chain of custody auditor. He progressed to become an FSC and PEFC certifier before switching to the inspection division and taking over as Manager of the Agricultural Commodity Inspections team in 2014.

As head of Control Union (UK)’s GAFTA approved superintendents he is responsible for providing 3rd party, non-biased, accurate reporting and issuing of certificates for grain and feed shipments to our clients at ports across the UK and Ireland.

Paul gained an MSc in Forest Management from University of Aberdeen and was previously a member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters. With 30 years of experience in the forestry industry, he worked in commercial timber harvesting and marketing, and set a up and co-managed a UK FSC forest management group scheme.

He has worked worldwide as a FSC forest management and FSC / PEFC chain of custody lead auditor since 2006 and was engaged by Control Union between 2006-2010 to develop the provision of these schemes in the UK and has worked as an external auditor since then. He is also qualified as ISCC biofuels Lead Auditor since 2013.

Paul re-joined Control Union UK in January 2023 to manage the timber and biofuels team.

Hannah joined Control Union UK in April 2023, having previously worked for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as a Senior Fisheries Standard Manager. At the MSC Hannah was responsible for the Fisheries Certification Process and associated quality assurance processes. She also led on the development and delivery of new policies and initiatives to support the fisheries certification program, including the Capacity Building Program and the ‘In Transition to MSC’ Program. During her time at the MSC, she was also a member of the FisheryProgress.org Technical Oversight Committee. Prior to joining the MSC, Hannah worked as a Senior Fisheries Consultant in the UK working on a range of projects including MSC pre-assessments and action plans, environmental and social impact assessments, traceability and supply chain assessments, and fishery, IUU and aquaculture risk assessments. Hannah has an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a BSc in Environmental Science from Nottingham University.

Deirdre joined Control Union UK in March 2022 as Fisheries Assessment Manager and is now a Senior Fisheries Assessment Manager. Before joining Control Union UK, Deirdre worked with LRQA in the capacity of Senior Fisheries Technical Officer and later Fisheries Manager. With LRQA, Deirdre was responsible for the implementation of the MSC assessments as well as establishing LRQA activities related to the RFVS and Marin Trust. Prior to working on the CAB side of certifications, Deirdre gained experience on the client side while working with an Indonesian NGO (MDPI), whose focus was improvements and recognition for small-scale Indonesian fisheries (primarily handline yellowfin but also mud crab, pole and line and mini purse seine fisheries). As Program Director for the MDPI, she led activities related to FIP implementation, traceability developments, Fair Trade certification and MSC certification of small-scale fisheries as well as being responsible for ensuring communication and collaboration with a variety of stakeholders. Deirdre was also a consultant to IPNLF, developing a prototype policy scorecard for handline and pole and line fisheries. Deirdre was on the Steering Committee for the Asia-Pacific FIP Community of Practice 2019 workshop, on the Fair Trade Fisheries Advisory Council as well as the MSC Fish For Good council in Indonesia.

Deirdre obtained a PhD from Queen’s University Belfast in 2014 (Fisheries Management), an MSC from Plymouth University in 2010 (Applied Marine Science) and a BSC from NUI Galway in 2008 (Marine Science). She is fluent in French, with a working proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia. Deirdre has also completed the required MSC online modules.

Chanuk joined Control Union UK in 2021, having worked for the two years prior at Control Union Sri Lanka. There he worked as an International Inspector, and delivered more than 200 audits across Myanmar, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Kenya.

Within Control Union UK Chanuk works as a Senior Textiles auditor on GOTS and Textile Exchange standards. He is also the scheme manager for the Sustainable Fiber Alliance CoC standard.

Chanuk has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Textile Technology from RMIT University Australia, gained in 2020. He also completed the SA8000 Social Accountability auditor training course and ISO 14001:2015 Lead Auditor course in 2020.

Bhagya has over seven years of experience in the certification industry. She joined Control Union Sri Lanka in 2016 and has experience in working with many certification schemes such as organic agriculture, food safety and fisheries. Bhagya is a qualified lead auditor for ISO 22000, HACCP, GMP Food & Vegan. She has many years of experience in working as a certifier for organic & food safety certification schemes.

Bhagya joined Control Union UK in 2022. She is currently working as the programme manager for regenagri chain of custody module, and the management of Rain Forest Alliance scheme in the UK. She is a lead auditor for Rain Forest Alliance program. Bhagya is working as the certifier for Plastic Free Scheme too.

Bhagya graduated from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka with a B.Sc. in Animal Science & Fisheries (Hons) in November 2015. She is currently reading for a MSc in food Processing Engineering in the UK.

Andrew (Dougal) Read joined Control Union UK as a Senior Inspector in 2008.

He has worked with ships since 1981 and as a Cargo Superintendent/Inspector since 1986.

His primary role is the supervision of loading/discharging of grain and pulses to and from vessels within the UK. Occasionally doing warehouse stock takes and PSI’s if required.

Previous experience includes inspecting coal, wood chip and liquid shipments as well as working alongside DEFRA during the BSE outbreak.

Anwen joined Control Union UK in 2020 and provides administrative support to the MSC/ASC Chain of Custody team.

She has 20 years’ experience in various business support, customer service and sales roles in both the public and private sector.

Anwen obtained her French degree from Aston University Birmingham and enjoys using her language skills to support her clients. In her spare time, she enjoys cheering on her son’s football team.

Devin joined Control Union UK in 2023 as a Timber Auditor and is working on FSC & PEFC standards. He worked at Control Union Sri Lanka as a Lead Auditor for three years and delivered audits across India, UAE, Singapore etc.

Devin graduated from University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka with a B.Sc (Hons) in Applied Sciences (Forestry & Environmental Management).

He is also working on GSTC standard & environmental services. Devin completed the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System Lead Auditor course in 2020.

Mathias obtained his PhD from the University of Southampton looking at the “impacts of anthropogenic sounds on fish behavior” following an MSc in Marine Ecology and Environmental Management (Queen Mary University of London) and an MSc in Applied Ethology and Animal Behavior (Linkoping Universitet – Sweden). A French citizen, he also spent 3 years at the University of Toulouse where he obtained the French equivalent of a BSc in “Biologie des Organismes, Populations and Ecosystemes” (Universite Paul Sabatier – Toulouse). Mathias has a broad knowledge of both freshwater and marine ecosystems and he has been involved in several projects dealing with the conservation and management of various species in addition to fish. For example, he worked on: the Parc Marin International des Bouches de Bonifacio (Corsica – FR) as a field researcher; the Centro Ricerca Delfini (Caprera – IT) on monitoring bottlenose dolphin populations, and finally as a field researcher for Birdlife Malta on storm petrels and shearwaters populations management.

Eduardo joined Control Union UK in January 2024. Prior to joining Control Union UK, he worked with Bureau Veritas as a Fisheries Assessor and also undertook freelance fisheries evaluation projects within the MSC fisheries standard framework. During this period, Eduardo has been involved in various fisheries, primarily as an expert in Principle 1 and Principle 3, but he has also worked as a Principle 2 expert.

Before entering the fisheries certification field, Eduardo worked at FAO (GFCM), focusing on fishery management and assessment, mainly in the Mediterranean Sea. He also contributed to research at the Universities of Vigo and Santiago de Compostela, exploring various areas related to the fishing sector. His notable research includes integrating macroeconomic mechanisms in fisheries assessment and management, addressing Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, estimating the volume of illicitly caught fish in Galician shell-fisheries, developing Input-Output Tables for the Galician fishing and canning industries, and evaluating the cost-effectiveness of implementing genetic mechanisms in stock assessment and parameter estimation for fisheries assessment.

Eduardo is in the final stages of his PhD at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Economics and Business), holds an MSC in Sustainable Fisheries Management from the University of Alicante since 2016, and a BSC from the same university since 2014. He has also completed various MSC online modules.

Emily joined Control Union UK in 2013 and is responsible for all aspects of the CU UK company accounts. Prior to this Emily worked in the marine industry as a naval architect and chartered engineer.

Jibin joined Control Union UK in March 2023 to work as an Auditor and Scheme co-ordinator for the textiles department. He has a background in Quality Compliance and Assurance within the Textile industry, and a demonstrable history of working the international trade and development industry as well as in supply chain management. Past roles have included working on quality management processes for Intertek. He has an MBA in International Business and a Bachelors in Textile Technology.

Julia holds an MSc in International relations (Saint Petersburg State University) and an MSc with honors in International finance and trade law (MGIMO University). Prior to joining Control Union UK she worked as a Certification Manager at UCSL United Certification Systems Limited (ex Marine certification LLC).

She has more than 10 years work experience in various voluntary certification systems – FSC, MSC, ASC, Responsible Steel, Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, The Copper Mark, being responsible for a wide range of aspects – quality assurance, QMS development, accreditation, communication with third parties, audit management, personnel management, business development.

Julia joined Control Union UK in September 2021 as Fisheries Scheme Coordinator.

Michelle has spent over 25 years as a qualified Chef and Catering Manager in various sections of the hospitality sector. She has also spent time in quality and technical functions within various categories in food manufacturing. She is in possession of an MSc in Food Safety Management from the University of Central Lancashire and is also a qualified and experienced trainer.

Additionally, Michelle is a certified Organic Farmers and Growers and Marine Stewardship Chain of Custody Auditor and holds the BRC Lead Auditor and BRC Approved Training Partner qualifications.

Mandy joined Control Union UK in 1982, yes correct 1982!!

She has had many roles over the years starting as a Telex Operator (not sure anyone will know what that was / is).

She is currently Office Manager and Quality Manager for our ISO17020 Accreditation for Commodity Inspections. She works mostly on the inspections side of the business but supports all departments.

Sue joined Control Union UK in 2019 and is experienced in finance and administration. She has worked in a variety of companies, developing her skills. Sue provides administrative support to the Fisheries, Chain of Custody and Finance departments.

Nisansala Karunarathne is a graduate of York St. John University, UK, where she earned a Master of Science in International Fashion Marketing (2023). She also holds a Bachelor of Design in Fashion Design and Product Development from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka (2016).

With over five years of experience in the textile and apparel industry—as a Product Development Technologist and Lecturer—Nisansala joined Control Union Sri Lanka in March 2021 as an International Inspector for Textile and Social Compliance Programs. In August 2022, she moved to Control Union UK, where she now serves as a Certifications Coordinator and Senior Auditor.

Nisansala is a qualified auditor for Textile, Social Compliance, and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody programmes. She is also a certifier for the Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA) Scheme and a proud member of the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA), holding CSCA status with the authorisation to conduct social compliance audits globally.

Vikki joined Control Union UK in 2016 and is part of the FSC/PEFC certification team.

Peter joined Control Union UK in January 2022 and has a professional background of 25 years in the timber industry having worked for a major timber importer, timber and building supplies merchants, timber engineering and joinery manufacturer where he specialised in managing ISO Quality Management Systems, industry specific schemes and as the Chain of Custody Manager. He represented the Wood Industries on the Board of Directors of the Sector Skills Council, sat as a member of the Timber Trade Federations Forest Forever Board for a number of years and was Chair of Governors for 12 years for one of the largest High Schools in the North of England.

He holds an Associate of the Institute of Wood Science, is a Chartered Member of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and a Member of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (MIMMM). He has been a qualified Chain of Custody Lead Auditor for FSC & PEFC since 2019 and has successfully completed ISO 9001 Lead Auditor training through IRCA examinations.

He enjoys sport, music and reading in his spare time.

Tom Fogarty joined Control Union UK in 1989.

Tom has operated as a Cargo Superintendent since then working principally in Ireland but also in the UK with occasional assignments in Jordan and Israel.

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