Chemical and Biological Engineering Industry Advisory Board
Meet our Board members
General Manager Technical, Visy Pulp & Paper
Vesna holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering / Bachelor of Arts from Monash University. She is currently Technical Product Development Manager at Visy Pulp and Paper, a privately-owned packaging and recycling company. Her work includes working within the business at national level on managing development of new products.
Prior to working in product development, Vesna spent 5 years working as National Technical Manager at Visy, being responsible for Technical processes, Product Quality and Process Improvements in Visy’s Paper Mills. Vesna also worked as a Product Specialist in Plasterboard Liner sales team and her main responsibilities were Customer technical support and product development of PBL. Prior to that Vesna worked as a mill chemist as part of the mill operation team.
Having worked in the industry for 20 years, Vesna has developed her passion for continuous improvement and effective cost reduction.
Vesna was a President of Appita (Australasian Pulp and Paper Technical association) from 2017-2018 and previous to that she was part of the executive committee of the same association.
Consultant/Business Advisor
Russell has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the engineering services and project development industry following a career start in the petrochemical industry. Russell was Chairman of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (Australia) Pty Ltd from October 2013 until October 2015 following several years as CEO of ThyssenKrupp Uhde’s global Oil & Gas Business Line. Prior to this appointment, Russell was Managing Director of Uhde Shedden Australia Pty Ltd, headquartered in Melbourne and Managing Director of Uhde Asia Pacific Pty Ltd, with responsibility for all the Uhde companies operating in the Asia Pacific region out of offices in Australia, Thailand, China and Mexico.
In 2012, Russell relocated to London to oversee the acquisition and then integration of a new upstream oil & gas company, ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions Oil & Gas Limited, into the ThyssenKrupp Group. Russell was Chairman of the company from acquisition until October 2015.
Before joining the ThyssenKrupp Group (Uhde Shedden) in 2000, Russell held Director roles with Kinhill Ltd and Davy McKee Pty Ltd with a career start at Altona Petrochemical Company (now Qenos).
Russell holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) Degree from Monash University and is a Fellow EA, a Fellow of IChemE and a Fellow of RACI.
Russell has held various roles with IChemE in Australia and the UK over a number of years and was elected international President of IChemE in May 2012. Russell was President (2013/15) of the Asian Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering (APCChE) and was a member of the World Chemical Engineering Council.
In 2013, Russell was voted the Alumni of the year by Monash University’s Engineering Faculty and in 2016 Russell was awarded the Chemeca Medal, the most prestigious award in the chemical engineering profession in Australia and New Zealand.
On Australia Day 2018, Russell was made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant service to chemical engineering through leading roles in developing and improving professional education.
Senior Advisor, Adjunct Associate Professor Monash University
Scott is senior advisor to the Smart Energy Council, a peak industry body. He is an expert in renewable energy, green hydrogen, energy transition, natural resource management and climate change.
As Executive Director Renewable Energy for the Victorian Government, he led the delivery of renewable energy policy across Victoria. He has been a Strategy Advisory Panel Member of the Australian – German Energy Transition Hub and a member of the Monash Energy Materials & Systems Institute (MEMSI) Industry Advisory Board. Scott is now a consultant to governments, businesses, and community groups. He is a non-executive Director of not-for-profit company Hi Neighbour Ltd helping workers transition in the Illawarra region.
Scott works with colleagues at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Monash Energy Institute on researching renewable hydrogen and energy transition pathways for a sustainable future. He relishes the opportunity to help foster and facilitate meaningful interdisciplinary research in collaboration with trusted industry partners in the smart energy sector.
His book Sold Down The River – How Robber Barons and Wall Street Traders Cornered Australia’s Water Market, traverses the energy, waste and water nexus. He writes regularly for The Mandarin and other publications.
Senior Manager Technology and Applied Science, Simplot Australia
Arjan is an accomplished R&D executive, renowned for driving consumer-focused innovation and topline growth in the food industry across Europe and Oceania. With a strong track record of leadership, he excels in motivating cross-functional teams and navigating uncertainty.
Arjan serves as a mentor to food start-ups in multiple countries, contributing his expertise to foster industry-wide disruption and advancement. His exceptional blend of technical expertise, strategic vision, and entrepreneurial mindset continues to leave a lasting impact on the global food landscape.
Innovation Advisor, Woodside Energy
Claudia is an energetic Partnership Advisor, passionate about bringing people together to collaborate on research. She brings a unique blend of engineering skills and humanities qualifications with 10+ years of experience in different industries.
During her early career, Claudia excelled in Product and Project Management roles which provided a strong foundation to pursue a Doctorate degree in Web Design for people on the Autism Spectrum where she applied her passion for Digital technologies to improve other people’s lives.
Business Manager Catalysts & Adsorbents, BASF Australia Ltd.
Jan is responsible for developing the BASF Catalysts business in Australia & Oceania. With over 15 years at BASF he knows the organisation intricately well, and creates meaningful connections between clients and partners and the network of BASF technology experts globally.
Supporting local innovators with cutting edge chemistry solutions draws Jan into incredibly exciting discussions about sustainable chemistry and climate protecting solutions.
Jan brings the latest and best chemistry to his clients in the mining, gas processing, chemicals, manufacturing industries and beyond with deal sizes ranging from five to seven figures. At any given time Jan manages a complex portfolio of opportunities, projects, deals and academic engagement that fill his diary fast.
Jan loves his job and stands for the BASF motto: we create chemistry for a sustainable future.
Business Development Manager, Lycopodium
Graduating from Monash University with a Chemical Engineering Degree Rick has over 30 years’ practical experience in process design, manufacturing systems, business operations, and engineering consultancy.
With local and overseas experience in Europe and Asia, Rick has managed multi disciplined teams engaged in engineering design, project delivery, manufacturing and distribution operations. He has diverse experience in the chemical, agricultural, pharmaceutical, scientific and manufacturing sectors.
Currently, Rick serves as the Business Development Manager for Lycopodium Process Industries, where he is also a key member of the leadership and development team.
Director, EngCor
Monica Montanaro, BSc & BEng (Hons), leads the Building Operations and Services (BOS) team at the CSL Melbourne facility. The BOS team are responsible for the direct management of IFM Services, Facility Support Services and Technical (Engineering/M2U) Services. Additionally, Monica is indirectly responsible for the management of QC Testing Services, CAPEX Services, Execution System Services and Validation/Revalidation Coordination.
Monica completed a double Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and Pharmaceutical Science with Honors at Monash University, graduating in early 2015. After completing university, Monica went on to work in the food and dairy industry for an engineering design and consulting company. During her time consulting, she gained valuable experience in project management, automation system design and a deep technical understanding of utility systems.
Monica joined the Seqirus Capital Engineering team in 2018 for 12 months before transitioning to a full-time role within the Pilot Scale Operations team as an operations engineer. In late 2019, Monica transitioned to work on the CSL Melbourne project, Project Hawara. In September 2022, Monica appointed into the Building Operations & Services lead role.
Head of DePollution, Veolia Australia and New Zealand
Dr Lucas is Head of DePollution at Veolia Australia and New Zealand. He has had a distinguished 30+ year career in parallel, within both academia and industry, particularly in the treatment of hazardous industrial wastes. Using his deep knowledge of coupled heat and mass transfer processes, he has played a key role in understanding the thermal breakdown of organic compounds, and in particular, the reformation (and avoidance) of dioxin in high temperature environments.
Most recently he has been involved in the full-scale demonstration of PFAS treatment in Thermal Desorption systems. Lucas has developed and commercialised Thermal Desorption processes in Australia, and has played a key role in the regulatory approvals in NSW and Victoria, he is considered a Subject Matter Specialist in the Australian hazardous waste Treatment Industry.
Senior Principal Research Scientist Research Group Leader, Thermal and Electrochemical Technologies CSIRO Energy
Dr. Giddey is a recognized authority in the hydrogen and fuel cell sector and sits on the Standards Australia committee, contributing to the adaptation of industry standards in this domain. Professor Giddey has led several multi-million dollar industrially focused projects, forging valuable collaborations between CSIRO, industry partners, international organizations and Monash University.
His visionary approach to technology commercialization has led to the successful spin-off of two companies (Endua and Hadean Energy) in the electrolysis (hydrogen production) space, involving various industrial and commercial partners. He has widely published in these areas, and these can be gleaned from https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=5_pyfKsAAAAJ&hl=en.
As the Head of R&D Technical Open Innovation, Juraj Durco focuses on forging strategic partnerships and harnessing agile innovation to expedite development within our core portfolio. With a commitment to open innovation, he has established a global hub that leverages collaborations with startups, governments, venture funds, and other external entities, driving forward our plant protein innovations for a broader audience.
Juraj's leadership in building the global plant protein innovation hub is underpinned by a strategy that integrates future food trends with our product portfolio, fostering an agile and responsive R&D ecosystem. These efforts have not only enhanced our strategic project development but have also ensured that delicious, plant-based food options are accessible to many, aligning with our mission to nourish the world with wholesome and sustainable choices."