CEO

Ryan Singlehurst

Ryan Singlehurst is the Founder and CEO of Verticroft Holdings. Ryan dedicates all of his time to bringing food security to the Middle East under the banner of Verticroft Holdings. Ryan has a true passion for food security and has spent years researching and developing sustainable Agri Technologies that can bring food security to Arid Climates. Ryan spends most of his time on the ground developing practical and scalable solutions to answer some of the UAE’s food security challenges. He has an in-depth understanding of these challenges and the solutions required to make farming sustainable and viable in the UAE. Ryan believes that whatever solutions we come up with to answer the region’s challenges, must be sustainable, profitable, and scalable in order for real change to take effect.

Ryan has a diverse business background with a specialization in finance, sales, and marketing. He started his career at a boutique commodity trading house in Spain after serving three years in the British parachute regiment.

Ryan quickly founded Inari capital limited, a consultancy business offering sales, marketing, and structuring services with a focus on the Agritech space in 2010. Since then Ryan has created and built sales and marketing strategies for companies enabling them to sell over 150,000,000 USD in products and services.

He is also the founder of Sample Me App which he sold to private equity in 2016 and the founder of Ofika group which is the fastest-growing subscription print company in Eastern Europe.

COO

Amine Ben

Amine has a diversified set of skills that make him a leading COO. Amine brings his diverse expertise taken from the start-up world as well as leading multinational companies; with over 12 years of experience ranging from launching companies in 4 continents to managing teams in excess of 200 people.

Amine has proven experience in building operations from ground zero that are efficient and scalable. Amine’s core responsibilities include improving operational efficiencies, procedures, strategic planning, and product development by using advanced analytics, analytical tools, creating and maintaining models, and onboarding compelling new data sets.

Amine has been with Verticroft Holdings since its inception and works directly with the CEO/Founder to ensure the support mechanisms are ready to deliver on his vision.

HR & Procurement

Marina Gorobetchi

Marina runs Procurement and HR departments.

Marina brings a wide international experience gained in 6 different countries she lived in. Prior to joining Verticroft Holdings, she has been working as a compliance officer for the European Centre of Western Union, later she applied her expertise and knowledge in the role of project manager for Euro Monitor International.

Marina earned a Master Degree in Economics from Charles University, where she was awarded the title “Student of the year 2015”, and a Bachelor Degree in International Relations from MGIMO.

Head of Agriculture

Hein Nieuwoudt

Hein Nieuwoudt, who joined Verticroft Holdings as the Head of Agriculture in 2022, has spent his life working in the development of large-scale agriculture projects. Born in South Africa, Hein studied Agricultural Economics and Large Stock Science alongside Animal Genetics and Agronomy.  Hein has a decorated career in the field of Agriculture ranging from academia as a Lecturer at the Glen Agricultural College of Bloemfontein to real-world expertise in managing large-scale farms for both private and semi-government entities across the region. 
Hein brings immense experience in animal husbandry and crop production practices with him to Verticroft Holdings with a focus on driving the group’s Agricultural development expansion plans over the next decade.

Head Grower

Matthew Doyle

Matthew Doyle is the head grower of all hydroponic crops at Verticroft Holdings.

Matt has been practicing hydroponic fodder production since the age of 8 years old working alongside his father, Peter Doyle who is regarded as the godfather of hydroponic fodder production.

Matt has 15 years of experience in designing, constructing, and managing hydroponic fodder systems in 8 countries around the world. Having built and managed projects in Australia, Spain, the USA, India, China, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates.

Matt designs and develops hydroponic systems as well as trains growers and runs the day-to-day operations of all fodder production ensuring consistent production.

Director - Corporate Finance

Abbas Mirza

Before Joining Verticroft Holdings, Abbas Mirza spent +15 years in Investment Banking, M&A, Strategy, Equity Research, fund management, etc. Prior to this, he was associated with a large single-family office as “Head of Research” spearheading the strategy, M&A, and fund management piece, managing the promoter’s family funds. Abbas began his career as an “Equity Research Analyst” and has been instrumental in managing funds worth ~$2 billion and executed M&A deals worth +$1.5 billion spread across different sectors and geographies. Abbas holds a double Masters in Economics and International Business and is an MBA in finance.

Farm Manager

Wilfred van der Linde

Wilfred van der Linde is the farm manager at Verticroft Holdings. 

 Wilfred is a graduate of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in Cape Town, South Africa. He holds a degree in Animal Production with a specialization in Livestock Feeding and Nutrition. He brings more than a decade’s experience in sheep farming, managing livestock in areas of 17,000 hectares, and running 6000 sheep in the semi-arid Karoo region of the Western Cape.

Wil is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the farm, planning, and implementation of sheep breeding protocols in line with international animal welfare and husbandry practice standards to produce lamb sustainably and ethically.

Veterinarian

Dr. Zahoor Muzafar Said

Dr. Zahoor is a qualified veterinarian licensed by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE. He has 7+ years of practical experience in livestock health management, biosecurity, and disease diagnosis treatment and control with both national and international firms.

Brand Ambassador

Mansour Memarian

The incredibly talented Executive head chef of Palazzo Versace Dubai

An Iranian chef with German origins who has 21 years of industry experience, has had stints at some of the world’s best restaurants, and he has held executive positions at many luxury brands including the Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi, as well as the award-winning Chedi Andermatt in Switzerland. Before this, he was the Chef de Cuisine at the Burj Al Arab’s signature restaurant, Al Mahara.

Before arriving in the United Arab Emirates in 2010, Memarian, the first Iranian Michelin starred chef, rose steadily up the ranks working in some of the most prestigious hotels and dining establishments in Europe. He earned his first Michelin star in 2006, at Jagdhof Glashütte in Germany, in just eight months as Head Chef. After this successful story, Memarian moved to Innsbruck, Austria, to open a Pavillon restaurant, and shortly he added the second Michelin star to his culinary career.

In 2008, he was named the “Best International Chef” in Austria and his cookbook “Gourmet Raffinessen” was voted Best Cookbook in the same country.

Independent Advisor

Amro Zakaria Abdu

Financial Services Industry strategist with over 19 years of global markets experience gained during his tenure as a regional and global director of multiple tier 1 publicly traded financial firms as well as his advisory role to multiple star-ups.
Amro founder of Madarik Finance, which focuses on project finance for start-ups working in areas related to one or more of the 17 UN SDGs. In 2012, he founded Market Trader Academy, a New York-based educational institute that provides training on the global markets for the financial service and banking industry.
Amro writes for Forbes Magazine and is a frequent guest on many of the leading regional and global financial media outlets such as Euro News, Bloomberg, CNBC, Al Arabia, and SkyNews. He is also a frequent speaker at industry events on topics related to the global markets, Fintech, Blockchain technology, and future economic trends.
Amro sits on the advisory board as well as lectures at several universities, as a guest speaker on topics related to the global markets, Fintech, Blockchain technology, and future economic trends. He is a member of the ACI USA Chapter, a Member of the US Association of Energy Economics, the CMT Association (USA), and the Global Association of Risk Professionals.