Management
Mr Robert Schuitema
Managing Director
BCA, CA, NZCIA
Mr Schuitema was appointed a Director of PET in April 2005, and shortly thereafter assumed the role of Executive Chairman. In January 2007, he took over the role of fulltime Managing Director, and at the same time stepped down as Chairman.
Mr Schuitema brings to PET a wide range of business and commercial skills. In addition to the day to day responsibilities of running PET businesses globally, he is responsible for investor relations, stock exchange listing and capital raisings. Mr Schuitema is also a Director of PET’s Joint Venture manufacturing company in China, IETC.
Mr Schuitema is a former Managing Director of investment bank Chase Manhattan Bank and later JPMorgan Chase where he was global co-head of the Mining & Metals group and responsible for the Asia-Pacific region and also had extensive involvement in the bank's southern Africa business. He has extensive experience in a range of investment banking disciplines including equity issues, project finance for standalone projects, US$ bond issues, trade finance, acquisition finance and mergers & acquisition advise. During his investment banking career he was involved in either advising companies or raising debt for over 50 separate Mining & Metals and Oil & Gas projects with a value in excess of US$30 billion.
Mr Schuitema is a member of Phoslock Environmental Technologies’ Nomination committee and secretary of the Audit and Remuneration committees.
Mr Lachlan McKinnon
Chief Executive Officer
Mr McKinnon was appointed PET Chief Executive Officer in January, 2020, based in Sydney. Mr McKinnon will be responsible for PET's International businesses and overview of PET's China business.
Mr McKinnon has worked for Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) in various management roles in Australia, Europe and North America since 1994. Nufarm is a leading agricultural chemicals business (FY2018/19 Sales $3.8 billion) with manufacturing and marketing operations based in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Mr McKinnon has significant overseas sales & marketing experience. He was most recently (2016-19) country manager for Canada and head of marketing for the Americas. Previously, Mr McKinnon has spent four years leading and developing Nufarm's Northern Europe business,
Mr McKinnon holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from La Trobe University, Melbourne; Graduate Diploma of Business (Agribusiness) from Monash University Melbourne; Master of Enterprise, School of Enterprise, Melbourne University; and Harvard Business School Short Course - Agribusiness
Mr Nigel Traill
General Manager – Europe and North America
MA, BA
Mr Traill joined PET in 2000 as a Business Development Manager for its bentonite business. He was part of the PET team which secured the Phoslock license from CSIRO in 2001. Mr Traill assumed a senior commercialisation role for the Phoslock business in 2002 and has been responsible for establishing licensee arrangements in Europe, South Africa and Asia
Mr Traill opened PET’s representative office in Europe in November 2005 and continues to be based in Europe.
Mr Traill was previously Deputy Commissioner and Marketing Manager with the Queensland Government's Trade and Investment Office in Tokyo, Japan between 1992 and 1999. Prior to joining the Queensland Government, he worked in the Trading Division of one of Japan's largest food retailers and for Japan's National Broadcasting Network, NHK. He holds a Masters of Arts in Japanese Interpreting and Translation from the University of Queensland.
While working for 12 years in Japan, Mr Traill developed a large network of contacts in Australia, Japan and many other Asian countries in both the government and commercial sector. Mr Traill's background in international trade and investment covers a broad range of industries and brings expertise into the company in a number of key areas including agribusiness, export and sales and marketing.
Mr Andrew Winks
General Manager – Operations based in Brisbane, Australia
Mr Winks joined PET in March 2005 as Deputy General Manager of Chinese Joint Venture manufacturing company based in Kunming, China. He has overseen major changes to the manufacturing facility during 2005-06 focusing on debottlenecking and streamlining production. In late 2006 he returned to Brisbane, Australia where he assumed the role of Group Operations Manager.
Mr Winks is responsible for all major Phoslock applications in Australia and internationally, where the licensee requires assistance or in countries where there is currently no licensee.
Prior to joining PET, Mr Winks was Production Manager at a bentonite operation (which PET had an economic interest in) near Miles, Queensland.
Ting Shan Liu
General Manager – Phoslock Beijing
Mr Liu graduated from Changsha University of Science & Technology with a bachelor degree in engineering. Mr Liu has worked in the environmental industry in China for over 20 years. During his tenure in the environmental industry since 1993, he had held various positions in marketing, engineering and operational management. Prior to joining the Group, Mr Liu was the General Manager of Beijing Clean Environmental Technology Development Company Limited.
Mr Zhao Peng (Jason) Hai
General Manager – Changxing Factory
BEng
Mr Hai joined our Group in May 2017 as a Factory Manager in Changxing, China. He took fully charge of setting up the new PET facility and ramp up to a good rate. His current role is to provide management for Changxing facility operation including all kinds of internal functions.
Prior to joining the Group, Mr Hai was a senior manager of Celgard, world leading company in lithium battery separator industry. Mr Hai brings more than 10 years operation experience in the Fortune Global 500 companies, like Corning, TSMC. Mr Hai has worked in the USA and Japan for a short time.
Dr Sarah Groves
Manager – Technical based in Sydney, Australia
PhD (UNSW), B.Sc (Hons), B.Sc (Geology)
Dr Groves joined PET in May 2007 as Technical Manager. She brings a wealth of experience to PET in hydrochemistry, nutrient dynamics and aquaculture (water quality, chemistry, nutrition, and nutrient and algal dynamics particularly relating to prawn aquaculture). Her PhD work was based on "A hydrogeochemical investigation on the water quality of marine aquaculture associated with acid sulfate soils, southern Queensland, Australia".
Dr Groves previously worked for the CSIRO in the Marine and Atmospheric group in Brisbane, Australia. Her research to date has been particularly focused on nutrient dynamics, trace elements and heavy metal cycling in the environment, water quality in aquaculture ponds and its effect on farmed animals and the surrounding environment, groundwater and surface water geochemistry – both natural and anthropogenically influenced, the geochemistry of coal fly ash by-products, and the interaction of biological/chemical processes on the chemistry and quality of groundwater and surface water.
Dr Groves plays a leading role in PET’s research and development work including registration, toxicity, liaising with universities and government institutions, reviewing new products and scientific testing. While at PET she has managed and has been heavily involved in projects that focus on nutrient dynamics and the hydrogeochemistry in seawater and freshwater environments.
Mr Yan Fai (Chris) Hui
Group Accountant and Company Secretary
BEng, MBA, CA, CPA, FCCA
Mr Hui graduated from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with a bachelor degree in civil engineering and with an accounting degree from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Mr Hui is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of the United Kingdom. Mr Hui is also a CPA of CPA Australia and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Mr Hui has extensive experience in financial & management accounting, consolidation accounting, financial analysis and project management of a wide variety of businesses, including construction, property development, securities, healthcare and textile manufacturing. Prior to joining the Group, Mr Hui worked for an international pharmaceutical company in Sydney, responsible for overseeing the operation of ANZ & Pacific Region.
