Our Team

WE ARE BELLTOWN FARMS

Belltown will operate farm “hubs” across the US, each with a minimum of 1,000 to 2,000 acres, and ideal size at 3,000 to 4,000 acres allowing for optimisation of crop rotation, management and machinery. Building an initial 5-8 hubs will allow Belltown to diversify weather and disease risk, produce a wide variety of crops, and build supply chain with multiple regional customers. The Hudson Valley hub will be a ‘showcase’ farm where new regenerative methods can be trialled, farming staff can be trained and the message to consumers can be refined and delivered.

Michael Kaplan

Founder – Belltown Farms | mkaplan@belltownfarms.com

Michael is one of the founders of Belltown, responsible for fundraising and deal sourcing. Prior to Belltown, Michael was a partner at Albion Ventures LLP where he helped to establish Albion as one of the pioneering investors in the UK’s community-scale renewable energy sector. Prior to Albion, Michael worked at The Boston Consulting Group and before that, the Chief Financial Officer of Widevine Technologies, a security software company (sold to Google in 2010). Michael has a BA from the University of Washington and an MBA from INSEAD.

Tom Hill-Norton

Founder – Belltown Farms | tom@belltownfarms.com

Tom is one of the founders of Belltown, responsible for deal sourcing, execution, and managing the transaction team. His career has focused on investing in sustainable infrastructure projects since the end of 2006. 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 The Boston Consulting Group. Tom has an MA (Hons) from The University of Edinburgh and an MBA from INSEAD.

Isabelle Regent-Ngwata

COO

Andrew Smyre

Chief Farming Officer

Eddie Clevenger

Regional Manager

Taylor Stewart

Regional Manager

Michael O’Donnell

Regional Manager

Caleb Ayers

Regional Manager

Shirley Cooper

Finance Director

Matthew Webb

Financial Controller

Brian Halweil

Partnerships and Product Consultant

Charles Webster

Legal Counsel

Isabelle Regent-Ngwata

Chief Operating Officer

Prior to Belltown, Isabelle was Head of Operations and Strategic Design Director for Designit UK, an innovation firm that brings together strategic design, technology and business strategy to help companies transform their business. Additionally, Isabelle has experience in programme management, organisational design, and financial sales and operations. Isabelle has a BA in be Chemical Engineering from Columbia University and an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD.

Andrew Smyre

Head of Agronomy and Marketing

Prior to Belltown, Andrew ran his own consulting business, Precizion Ag, which advised 30+ farming operations on organic conversion, agronomy, and crop distribution strategy. From 2017, Andrew also worked at Anchor Ingredients as an Organic Grains Merchandiser signing organic grain trading contracts with over 100 farming operations and end-users in 12 states and provinces. Prior to this, Andrew worked at Perdue Agribusiness as an agronomist working to convert American farmers to organic farming. Andrew has a bachelor’s degree from Delaware Valley University in Agronomy and Soil Science. Andrew is the Vice President of PCO, one of the largest Organic Certification bodies on the East Coast.

Eddie Clevenger

Head of Operations

Eddie has been farming all his life beginning with his family farm in Virginia where they had vegetables, fruits and cattle. He later managed large conventional farms in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and New York growing grains, fruits and vegetables. Farming has changed over the years and Eddie was changed by farming throughout his career. He came to realize that creating and nourishing healthy soil is how to produce the best tasting grains, vegetables and fruits, and that in turn will keep all who eat what he grows healthy, too. The last ten years of his farming career have been devoted to organic and regenerative practices as well as passing on his experience and knowledge to the next generation of farmers. His most recent position was the Director of Farm Operations for 1500 hundred acres of grains and vegetables grown organically in New York for the Hudson Valley Farm Hub. Eddie Clevenger and his family live in Wellfleet, Nebraska.

Taylor Stewart

Regional Manager

Taylor has been growing food organically since his first foray into gardening as a child; inspired by his Great Grandmother, an early adopter of organic practices. He has worked on, developed, or managed farming operations in Nebraska, New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan; each move further expanding his understanding of the practical application of organic crop and livestock production systems. Taylor has developed several farming operations from the ground-up and has a wide range of experience in the agricultural industry, including a short stint spent in an academic research support role at the University of Illinois. Taylor is passionate about his work and excited about the future of the organic industry. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Farm Management. He lives with his wife in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Michael O'Donnell

Regional Manager

Michael O’Donnell serves as a Regional Manager with Belltown Farms supporting farming operations in New York and western Nebraska, while residing in gorgeous Muncie, Indiana. He has worked with several farms in the organic and regenerative space including a large-scale diversified organic grain operation in northwest Indiana, his own small family farm that produced fresh market vegetables, a diversified livestock and grain operation in west central Indiana, and a mid-scale organic vegetable operation in Austin, TX. He served the agriculture community in Indiana for nearly a decade through Purdue Extension as a county-based agriculture Extension educator and statewide organic Extension specialist. He currently serves as the president of the board of Partners IN Food and Farming (PIFF)--an Indiana statewide organization connecting the farming community with eaters and food advocates--and serves as vice chair of the national steering committee of the Organic Agronomy Training Service (OATS). He holds his Certified Crop Adviser license in Indiana.

Caleb Ayers began his career in Agriculture in the Christmas tree and hay fields of Oregon’s Willamette valley at a young age and has stayed in the industry ever since.

Caleb has overseen the transition of over 20,000 acres of operation from conventional to organic. Managing Organic vegetable acres in Az, Ca, Oregon and Western NY, as well as conventional and organic grains in Idaho and a custom harvest operation of alfalfa in Arizona has given Caleb valuable experience farming across a broad range of varying conditions.

Caleb Recently graduated from the Nebraska LEAD program found by the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council, In cooperation the Agricultural Builders of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In his role as a regional manager with Belltown Farms Caleb supports the 3 hubs in South West Nebraska totaling 8,000 organic acres in both organic certification and organic transition. Caleb lives outside of Wallace NE with his family.

Shirley Cooper

Finance Director

Following a degree in International Finance at the Queen’s University of Belfast, Shirley 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. Now settled with her family in Philadelphia, Shirley oversees Belltown’s Finance function.

Matthew Webb

Accountant

Matthew is responsible for the day-to-day financial management of the farming operations. Matthew joined Belltown Group in 2017 as a portfolio accountant, responsible for various renewable energy portfolios. Prior to Belltown, Matthew worked at RBS in their Corporate and Commercial Portfolio Management division shortly after graduating with an Accounting and Finance with Management degree.

Brian Halweil

Partnerships and Product Consultant

Brian is a New York-based food and agriculture researcher and trend spotter. He is working with Belltown Farms to establish partnerships with food and farming organizations in the United States, to select organic crops most in demand by food and beverage manufacturers, and to build the business plan for a showcase farm in the Hudson Valley. Prior to working with Belltown, Brian was the editor-in-chief of Edible Brooklyn, Edible East End, Edible Long Island, and Edible Manhattan magazines. Brian also works with investment funds, including TPG Rise and most recently Almanac Ventures, to support sustainable food and agriculture companies. He is the author of Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, and he lives in Sag Harbor, New York, where he and his family keep a home garden and raise heritage breed ducks.

Charles Webster

Legal Counsel

Charles is a corporate lawyer with over 10 years’ experience in the UK and abroad. He has worked in private practice in Australia and the UK, including as part of the corporate legal team at Withers LLP in London for four years. In 2012 Charles became General Counsel of Green Hedge which developed and financed over 20 utility-scale solar farms. Charles joined Belltown as General Counsel in 2016 and manages Belltown’s legal affairs. He is also involved in project development, acquisitions, financings, and disposals, as well as assisting with asset management and investor relations. 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.