Matthew Dobbs

Practice Lead Digital Technology

Matt is the Practice Lead for Digital Technology as of February 2020.

After a couple of years in mixed practice in Dorset, he took a role as visiting registrar at the University of Sydney. Matt ran the farm animal teaching practice at the University Rural Veterinary Centre and provided a service to the large dairies supplying the Sydney market alongside delivering the final year livestock curriculum.

In 2000 Matt returned to the UK to take the role as lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College, running the Farm Animal Teaching Unit and delivering the Farm Animal undergraduate curriculum. In 2001 he was awarded a Nuffield scholarship to look at future models for the delivery of veterinary practice and spent the year working at UC Davies (California), Colorado State University and Cornell University. In 2004, after completing the RCVS certificate in Cattle Health and Production (Cert CHP), Matt left the RVC to set up Westpoint Vets, a specialist Farm animal practice group. Under his leadership the business grew quickly, developing the UKs largest pharmacy (www.faramcy.co.uk), multiple greenfield branches, a research business and farmer training company. During this time, as an international dairy consultant, Matt provided services to leading dairy businesses in Australia, Saudi Arabia, the USA and the UK. In 2010 Matt was awarded the Bullock award for Innovation in Agriculture, in 2011 the Queens Award for Services to Agriculture and in 2013 completed a law degree at the University of Law, London. In 2013 he led the re-financing of Westpoint with private equity firm, August Equity, who at the time, also owned IVC. As CEO, Matt continued to grow Westpoint through acquisition and organic growth to become the UK’s leading mixed vet group, covering all farm species, lab (Biobest), farm data/technology (Kingshay) and companion animals. In late 2015 he led the split of Westpoint, creating vetPartners (companion focus) and Origin (farm focus), remaining with the Origin group to create a unique production animal group. The group continued to grow and in 2018 Origin was acquired by vetPartners, as part of the sale of the August Equity’s vet portfolio businesses to BC Partners. Matt joined the vetPartners farm board.

Matt is currently the Chief Medical Officer, for Destination Pet, a new global pet healthcare, based in Denver, with assets in the US and Europe. Alongside this role, Matt provides consultancy to a number of leading Animal Health Pharmaceutical companies and AH distributors around the world, with a specialist interest in new models of veterinary service delivery and technology.

In the UK, Matt is on the board of AgriEPI, the government funded Agritech strategy business. He is also on the board of Hectare, the Europe’s largest online livestock trading business. He is Chairman of Agsenze, a quickly growing Agtech focusing on sound and vision livestock technology.

Matt is the founder and director of vetYou, a vet focused fintech and founder of Vet Pursuits, a vet recruitment app helping to address the changing labour issues in the profession.

Matt is a Named Veterinary Surgeon and he continues to provide consultancy to vetPartners, spending a day a month delivering first opinion veterinary services to Sussex farmers! He is also a trustee and treasurer of the Animal Welfare Foundation, the charitable arm of the British Veterinary Association and Director of the Surrey Agricultural Society. qualifying from Royal Dick in Edinburgh in 1997…..enjoying the journey on the way to the destination to becoming MRCVS! Matt holds honorary lectureships at the Royal Veterinary College and the University of Surrey.