Our Team
Angela Porchez
General Manager
Angela Porchez started her career with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and originally comes from a blue-chip and finance background. She has been working within agriculture and the co-operative sector since 2013 and is currently General Manager at Angus Growers Limited. In addition to supporting Growers with programme objectives, she is also actively involved in helping Members to work together on customer compliance, group investments, technical research and innovation.
As part of her role, she collaborates with other agricultural co-operatives within the UK and works with Scottish Government as an industry representative. She has a particular interest in sustainable farming, regenerative agriculture and raising consumer awareness of how food is grown and produced.
Angela holds a certificate in Co-Operative Management from Saint Mary’s University Nova Scotia and is affiliated with the Scottish Agriculture Organisation Society (SAOS) council and horticultural working groups within National Farmers Union in Scotland (NFUS).
Alix Stewart
Agronomist
Alix joined the company in 2016 after completing her BSc in Agriculture at SRUC Craibstone. She initially worked across both the technical and agronomy teams before transitioning to a full-time position in agronomy at the start of the 2017 season. Shortly thereafter, she successfully passed her BASIS (horticulture) and FACTS exams, becoming a member of the BASIS professional register.
A key part of her role involves advising on strategic agronomic practices, including irrigation and fertigation strategies, climate control in our polytunnels, plant physiology, varietal direction, as well as crop forecasting and planning for our growers’ businesses. She also provides guidance on pest and disease control through an integrated pest management (IPM) approach.
In addition to her agronomist duties, Alix manages the Angus Soft Fruits trial site at East Seaton, Arbroath. Here, she oversees the procurement and testing of new soft fruit varieties, evaluating attributes such as yield, appearance, flavour, and shelf life to compare them against current supermarket favourites. If a new variety performs as well as, or better than, the established ones, it may be considered for future use.
Outside of work, Alix enjoys socialising with friends and family, including the family chocolate Lab, Bruno. She is also a regular attendee at agricultural shows, loves traveling to sunny destinations, and very much enjoys gin and tonic.
Erin Stewart
Accounts Manager
Erin Stewart joined the company in 2018 as an Office Administrator. She completed her AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting in 2022, followed by her Diploma in Professional Accounting in 2023, which led to her promotion to Accounts Manager.
In her role, Erin handles a variety of day-to-day finance tasks, including managing accounts, monitoring cash flow, running payroll, reconciling financial records, preparing reports, and ensuring invoices and payments are processed efficiently. She is highly skilled in Sage 50 Accounts, Sage Payroll, and Microsoft Excel, having achieved her Excel Expert certification in 2021.
Outside of work, Erin enjoys spending time with family and friends, especially her beloved dog, Keira. She loves holidays, attending concerts, sipping cocktails, and cherishing moments with her niece and nephews.
Miryana McKay
Senior Agronomist
Miryana McKay started her career as a radio DJ and TV presenter in a cable television in Bulgaria in 1999 and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree (Hons) from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria in Agriculture and Economics in 2005. While finishing her degree she worked with the Angus Soft Fruits’ breeding programme as well as monitoring and assessing of various R&D projects. Her keen interest has always been pest and disease monitoring and IPM with a focus on researching different biological and cultural management methods to reduce the need for pesticide application.
In 2004 Miryana joined Angus Soft Fruits as a trainee agronomist and in 2005 and 2007 respectively she gained her BASIS and FACTS (horticulture) qualifications and is now a full member of the BASIS Professional Register.
A senior agronomist at Angus Growers, Miryana is now providing advice to growers on crop protection and nutrition, sourcing and procurement of plants; preparation of crop budgets as well as forecasting and planning of cropping profiles.
Steph Sturrock
Trainee Agronomist
Steph joined Angus Growers in May 2024 after graduating with a First-Class Degree in Agriculture. During her studies, she was honoured with two prestigious awards: Top Final Year Agricultural Student and Dissertation of the Year.
Steph also holds her Foundation Award in BASIS and is currently working toward her BASIS in Crop Protection Award.
Outside of work, she enjoys walking her dog and unwinding with a glass of wine.