Our Board

CHAIRMAN AND CONTROLLING MEMBER DIRECTOR

UNIVERSITY DEGREE - Economics and Business Administration

Michael is Head of Business Unit Cane Sugar Nordzucker Group and Head of Business Development Nordzucker Group. Michael has a degree in economics and business administration and a banking background.

For more than fifteen years Michael has been responsible for a significant number of sugar projects for Nordzucker Group on a global scale in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia. He has over 25 years business experience in various industries, including almost 20 years in positions as Managing Director and General Manager. During his career Michael has gained broad experiences in various industries such as agriculture, FMCG, consumer electronics, retail and banking.

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN - GROWER DIRECTOR

GAICD

Lee was appointed as a Grower Director in October 2014. He has been a grower for more than 30 years and has been managing the family farm and harvesting business since 2002. Lee is the Chairman of the Eton Irrigation Cooperative Ltd, and Deputy Chairman of Mackay Area Productivity Services.

He is a former Director of Sugar Research Australia Limited, Queensland Commodity Services Pty Ltd, Mackay Canegrowers Limited and a former member of the Canegrowers Mackay Area Committee.

CONTROLLING MEMBER DIRECTOR

Dipl. Ing (Food Process Technology)

Sven has been working for Nordzucker since 1995 in various positions including Head of Sugar Factory in Uelzen. He currently holds the position as Head of Operations and Head of Lean Optimisation Nordzucker Group.

He has a degree in food processing technology with a focus on sugar and cereals from the Technical University of Berlin. He has experience in the cane industry in Costa Rica (working campaign), Brazil and as a consultant for an engineering consulting company (cane and beet sugar industry worldwide).

Sven served an apprenticeship as a confectioner. He is a member of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists and a board member of the European Society for Sugar Technology (ESST).

GROWER DIRECTOR

GAICD

Jeffrey has been a cane farmer for more than 35 years in the Racecourse area and has been managing the family farming operations and harvesting business for more than 30 years. He was a Mackay Sugar Board member from July 2017 - October 2018 and he was also a director of Mackay Area Productivity Services over that same period. He was also previously a member of the Kinchant Dam water users association incorporated.

Jeffrey is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

CONTROLLING MEMBER DIRECTOR

B. Fin. Admin., Grad. Dip. Adv. Acc, Grad. Dip. Applied Finance

Robert brings over 35 years’ experience in banking, finance and funds management services, agriculture and energy sectors with senior executive roles focusing on finance, retail and operations. His experience covers mergers and acquisitions, capital funding, strategic financial advice, liquidity management and corporate and financial risk management.

Robert has held executive positions of Chief Financial Officer and/or Chief Operating Officer at some of Queensland’s leading companies, Queensland Sugar Limited, Queensland Investment Corporation, Bank of Queensland Limited, Energex Retail Limited, Tarong Energy Limited and Suncorp Group Limited. In addition, Robert served as the Chief Financial Officer of NatWest Markets Limited, the investment banking arm of National Westminster bank

Robert is a non-executive director of Cash Converters International (ASX :CCV), Humm Group Limited (ASX :HUM) and Raiz Invest Ltd (ASX: RZI).

Robert is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD), Senior Fellow FINSIA (SF Fin), Fellow Certified Practicing Accountants (FCPA) and Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (FCA).

CONTROLLING MEMBER DIRECTOR

Degree Agri Engineering, MSc and PhD Agricultural Economics

Samuel works closely with the Agri Analysis department at Nordzucker AG and supports mergers and acquisition cane activities within the group.

Samuel has a solid agricultural economics background with extensive sugarcane and beet production experience. He has worked on international sugarcane projects for Nordzucker Group, assessing and evaluating the cane supply of different targets. Samuel has visited farming systems in more than 20 countries and most of the sugarcane-producing regions. With his experience in farming businesses, he understands the dynamics of raw material sourcing and the relationship with growers. Samuel has special experience in sugarcane production and farming economics.

GROWER DIRECTOR

Frank was appointed as a Grower Director in March 2024. He is a third generation farmer from the Kuttabul / Mt Blackwood area. Frank completed a fitting and turning apprenticeship at Marian mill and an Associate Diploma in mechanical engineering at the same time. Frank worked as a draftsman for Mackay Sugar and at local design and engineering firms for several years prior to starting on the family farm in 1997. During the difficult farming period of the early 2000s, Frank went back to working as a draftsman, including at Mackay Sugar on the Co-generation plant. In 2009 Frank returned to work on the farm.

Frank has been an elected Grower Representative and Board Member for over 15 years of Canegrowers Mackay. Frank has also previously been Chairman of Mackay Productivity Services and a director of Reef Catchments.