Our Team

Tom Hill-Norton

CEO

Tom co-founded Belltown Group in 2013. As CEO of Belltown Farms, he is responsible for overall strategy, fundraising, and investor relations.

Tom has been investing in sustainable infrastructure since 2006. Prior to Belltown, he worked with the energy investment team at Actis on renewable energy investments in emerging markets and raised and invested a series of renewable energy funds for Guinness Asset Management in the UK. Prior to 2006, Tom worked in corporate finance (with JP Morgan, Flemings, and Fredericks Michael) and strategy consultancy with Boston Consulting Group.

Tom has an MBA from INSEAD and an MA (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh. Together with his siblings, Tom manages a regenerative farm in Cornwall, raising native-breed cattle.

David Wilmerding

Managing Director

David leads Belltown’s buy- and sell-side transactions, oversees farm management, and supports the fundraising process.

Prior to Belltown, he was a Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group focusing on projects with a corporate finance component and an Associate at White Deer Energy, a middle-market private equity firm.

David has an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and an MA (Hons) in Sustainable Development from the University of St Andrews.

Shirley Cooper

Finance Director

Shirley oversees Belltown’s finance function and is responsible for financial reporting, fund accounting, and treasury management.

She began her career as an auditor for PwC before joining Gordian Knot, a London-based fund management company, where she rose to become Head of Credit. She subsequently worked as a Finance Director, first for the University of London’s branch campus in Doha, Qatar, and then at a major private wealth fund in Victoria, Canada.

Shirley has a BSc in International Finance from Queen’s University Belfast. She is also a Certified Public Accountant in British Columbia (CPA) and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA).

Charles Webster

General Counsel & Head of Compliance

Charles joined Belltown as General Counsel in 2016 and leads the group’s legal affairs. His responsibilities span project development, real estate transactions, M&A and financing, asset management, compliance and investor relations, working closely with the business across the full lifecycle of Belltown’s investments.

Prior to Belltown, he worked in law firms in Australia and the UK, including four years at Withers LLP in London and as General Counsel of Green Hedge which developed and financed over 20 utility-scale solar farms.

Charles is dual qualified and admitted as a solicitor in England and Australia. Charles has a B.Laws from the University of Technology in Sydney. He grew up on a sheep farm in Australia.

Alfred Perry

Vice President

Alfred works on Belltown’s transactions and supports farm management, stewardship, and fundraising activities.

Prior to joining Belltown, he was an Associate at Glennmont Partners (now Nuveen Infrastructure), where he worked on clean energy transactions exceeding €1bn across Europe and was a founding member of the Sustainability Committee.

Alfred has an MSt from the University of Oxford and a BA (Hons) from the University of London (New College of the Humanities). He is a Trustee of the UK’s Rare Breeds Survival Trust. His first job was working on his uncle’s goat farm in England.

Andrew Smyre

Farming Operations Advisor

Andrew advises Belltown on farming practices, having previously managed our in-house operations team.

Prior to Belltown, Andrew ran a consulting business, Precizion Ag, which advised 30+ farming operations on organic conversion, agronomy, and crop distribution. From 2017, Andrew also worked at Anchor Ingredients as an Organic Grains Merchandiser signing grain trading contracts with over 100 farming operations and end-users in 12 states and provinces. Prior to this, Andrew worked as an agronomist at Perdue Agribusiness, converting American farmers to organic farming.

Andrew has an Executive MBA from INSEAD and a B.S. in Agronomy and Soil Science from Delaware Valley University.

Tom Hill-Norton

CEO

David Wilmerding

Managing Director

Shirley Cooper

Finance Director

Charles Webster

General Counsel & Head of Compliance

Alfred Perry

Vice President

Andrew Smyre

Farming Operations Advisor

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are fundamental to the success of Belltown Farms. We are committed to creating an inclusive working environment by promoting diversity in our workforce and attracting the brightest individuals from all cultural backgrounds.

Belltown provides equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination on the grounds of race, color, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender identity, marital or civil union status, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, age, veteran status, or social class.