New members welcomed into the Hall of Fame

Six well-known and well-respected industry leaders were inducted into the Pest Control News Hall of Fame at the dinner immediately following PestTech 2012 on 7 November.

The Hall of Fame was introduced in 2007 byPest Control News to recognise those individuals whose contributions have been ‘over and above the call of duty’ and so have made a lasting impression on the European pest control industry.

Jonathan Peck (seen below), managing director of the Killgerm Group, was delighted to welcome six new members, but unfortunatly one of the recipients, Roger Sharples of BASF, was unable to attend for the presentation.

Diana Al Zaidi
Having worked in the construction industry, Diana joined Russell IPM in 1995 in a sales role. She was responsible for pest control products in the UK and Europe, rising steadily through the ranks, to become a director by 2003. She was instrumental in Russell being awarded two Queens Awards (in 2011 and 2012) and is champion of fund raising efforts for Leukaemia and Lymphoma research in the UK.

Nigel Batten
Having begun his pest control career at Rentokil in 1973, Nigel progressed through numerous roles with Rentokil and also worked for several other servicing companies. But Nigel is now best known for his association with birds. At Network he invented his own sobriquet of ‘Network Nigel’ but his more recent move from P+L Systems to Killgerm rather spoils his line! Today, Nigel offers specialized bird training and support.

Dr Richard Burton
Having gained a degree in biological sciences, Richard went on to also gain his doctorate. Various teaching posts followed, until he joined the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) in 2000 which led to his appointment as head of qualifications development. His work with RSPH and the pest control industry, has resulted in qualifications which have become the industry standard. He is also a member of the BASIS PROMPT committee.

Tony Harman
Tony has been active in pest control for over 57 years. Having spent time in the Army where he was a firearms instructor, Tony acquired his practical firearms experience. He joined Boxhill & Headley Rabbit Clearance Society in 1963, taking over the company in 1974. This he later sold to Terminix in 1996, remaining as their wildlife development manager for nearly five years. He now owns Meghun Wildlife and Environmental Services & Consultants. Tony is a past president of BPCA and also served as chairman of BASIS PROMPT from 2007-2012.

Roger Sharples
Having acquired his degree in applied biology, Roger joined Sorex in 1978 as a biologist and in 1988 was promoted to become their regulatory affairs manager – the area Roger has now made his own. In addition to the Sorex, and most recently, BASF responsibilities, Roger was a member, then chairman, of the BPCA’s legislative affairs group and also a founding member, and now chairman, of the CEFIC Rodenticide Working Group.

Rob Simpson
Having gained his degree in applied zoology, Rob worked for several years as a fieldsman for several companies in the crop protection industry before joining BASIS in 1998. Having initially worked as its technical manager and operations director, Rob has acted as managing director for the last eight years. Rob was instrumental in the setting-up of PROMPT in 2001 and is also involved with RAMPS.

Previous inductees into the Hall of Fame are:

2011 – click here to view
Andy Adams, David Cross, Juilie Gillies, Raymond Harrop, Roger Quy and Graham White

2010 – click here to view
Richard Bevan, John Charlton, John Davison, Kevin Higgins, Iain Turner and Shirley Wilson.

2009 – click here to view
Ed Allan, Paul Butt, Dr Gareth Capel-Williams, Dr Graham Dodd, Dave Oldbury and Dr Gai Murphy.

2008 – click here to view
Dr Alan Buckle, Bruce Blything, Clive Boase, Dave Pinnigar, Frances McKim and Fiona Murphy

2007
Dr Moray Anderson, Xavier Bonnefoy, Malcolm Hadler, Tony Hudson, John Kay and Adrian Meyer