We change lives in Africa by producing affordable protein and growing businesses.
We will invest in our people, modern facilities and global best practices to produce the highest quality products that our customers can trust.
Our Vision
We will be the leading and most trusted chicken company in Sub-Saharan Africa
HOW WE ACT
We pay attention to quality in everything we do or produce and we align ourselves with the best in the industry.
We take pride in nurturing our relationships with employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers and members of the community.
We share knowledge and develop skills to grow each member of our team as well as our customers and suppliers.
We strive to do the right thing 100% of the time.
We identify potential in our people and continually develop leaders.
We express our opinion and listen to those of others and always “say it in the room”.
We deal with a task or problem immediately and complete it in a timely manner.
We always test new ways, learn from others, share with others and continue to improve.
David studied his BSc (Agric) at the University of Natal between 1965 and 1968. In 1969, David worked as a trainee at the Cobb Breeding Co, Chelmsford UK before moving back to Irvine’s Day Old Chicks to work alongside his father and founder, Mr William Irvine. David took over from his father as Managing Director in 1990 before assuming his role as Chief Executive Officer for Irvine’s Zimbabwe in 2009.
David has over 40 years vast experience in all aspects of poultry production and he has transformed Irvine’s into the largest poultry producer in Zimbabwe.
David is a Director for Irvine’s Botswana (Pvt) Ltd, Irvine’s Mozambique and Irvine’s Africa (Pvt) Ltd where he is involved in the production of day old chicks and hatching eggs sold the region.
David is Chairman of Irvine’s Day Old Chicks which owns subsidiaries such as Lanark Farms, a farming company engaged in production of cattle, maize and vegetables. David has travelled extensively to the USA, Europe and South Africa on business to update on developments in the poultry industry and to sell the company’s products.
Gerald is a qualified Chartered Accountant with vast experience in various industries. He holds an MBA from Henley Business School. During the early years of his career he worked for the Big 4 professional services firm EY for 8 years.
From there Gerald has held various senior positions for Bayport which include working as the Chief Financial Officer from July 2010 and then as the Chief Executive from 2014 to 2018. He went on to work for Bayport International Group Support as a Regional Executive in charge of Sales and Operations overseeing Botswana, Uganda and Tanzania. The experience he has stems over industries such as mining, telecommunications, retail/consumer goods, stock broking and financial services.
Donovan was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, he finished his high school there and moved to Natal, South Africa. Donovan started his work career as an electrical apprentice, moved to structural steel fabrication before joining a poultry feed mill as a maintenance foreman. Donovan later moved into Broiler Breeding, which covered Rearing, Laying and Hatcheries. He moved through the ranks and was appointed to the position of Production Executive at National Chicks, responsible for the Natal coastal and inland region.
During his tenure as production executive, Donovan was also responsible for the Astral group breeder KPI’s, in Zambia, Swaziland and Mozambique. In August 2018, Donovan was appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer, Agriculture, for Astral Operations Central Region. During this time Donovan was responsible for Breeders, Hatcheries and Broiler operations that produced ± 3,5 million broilers for slaughter per week. Donovan has a Strategic Business Qualification through Potchefstroom Business School, North West University. He obtained distinctions in Strategic Management of Change and Strategic Leadership. Donovan is married to Natasha, who is a Poultry Production Planner. Together they have two children, their son is involved in value added poultry production in the Western Cape and their daughter has just qualified as a teacher in Pretoria.
Anele is a Chartered Marketer with over 15years experience in Sales and Marketing. He holds an MBA from Regent Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce Hons degree from the National University of Science & Technology.
He started his career at Unilever as a management trainee and went on to hold several senior management positions including heading up the Unilever Malawi business prior to joining Irvine’s Zimbabwe. Anele has experience in Route to Market excellence, category management and brand building from 4 Sub Saharan countries including Nigeria and Malawi. He is married to Nontando and they have 3 children.
Craig, son of David Irvine, graduated from the University of Natal with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and specialized in Poultry Science (Honors). He spent three years working for Cobb in Europe and then with Tyson in the USA, before joining Irvine’s.
Since joining Irvine’s he has been responsible for growing the Africa export market. Craig brings with him vast technical experience in the poultry industry and leads the Irvine’s Zimbabwe technical team.