David founded The Kerfoot Group jointly with his wife Elizabeth in 1980 using £300 capital which grew to sales of over £80 million on a global basis exporting to over 50 countries. The company process, pack and distribute vegetable oils on three sites in the Port of Goole with a subsidiary in Poland and a sales office in New York. The group’s main markets are food manufacturing, cosmetics and aromatherapy, its head office being in Northallerton. The Group was sold to French agricultural giant Avril in 2015.
He is a passionate social entrepreneur and has a long history of community service. A founding member of the LEP for York, North Yorkshire and the East Riding, he was Deputy Chair for five years and chairman for 3 years until April 2021. Chairman of Pendragon Community Trust for 20 years which he helped found to build a facility for the multi disabled, trustee of Hambleton Foodshare, patron of the Samaritans and Clean Slate Solutions and founder of an initiative called Smile for Moldova which supported people in the poorest country in Europe. A lifelong activist in the Prison Service as well as being a trustee of Breadline. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire and was High Sheriff of North Yorkshire for the year 2020-21.
David has done many things in his life including being full time president of the student’s union at Sheffield Polytechnic (now Hallam University), speaking at the United Nations in New York and over the last three years giving evidence at Parliamentary Committees on subjects such as small business and growth prospects for our region. He is passionate about helping small business and developing the region.
He is an honorary life member of Sheffield Hallam University Students Union, an honorary life senator of Junior Chamber International, Hambleton Champion 2014-15 and was awarded the MBE in 2009 for services to business and the community in Northallerton and HM Prison Service. In 2022 he was awarded the CBE for services to rural business, charity and the voluntary sector.
His hobbies are collecting political memorabilia from 1780-1914 which he wants to write a book on, gardening, trying to play tennis, Sheffield Wednesday FC and rock music.