Our Leadership Team

Rob joined Calix as Business Manager – bioactive materials in 2015.

Rob has a technical and commercial background, initially working at CSIRO and then with ICI / Orica Limited where he invented, developed and then successfully commercialised a then novel water treatment chemical in Australia.

Rob has since supported the development and commercialisation of several advanced water treatment technologies in the global water treatment sector directly or via technology licensing or joint venture; a fully incorporated JV with a Chinese SOE has developed infrastructure which now provides clean and safe drinking water to millions in Jiangsu province.

He brings significant expertise in fundamental and applied chemistry, product and application development, technology commercialisation and business management.

Within Calix, Rob manages the Biotech business line, focused on the development and commercialisation of bioactive materials applied in crop protection, marine anti-fouling and in future, human and animal health applications.

Rob holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (chemistry) from Swinburne University of Technology.

Dan was appointed the CEO of the “LEILAC Group” in 2021 – Calix’s CO2 mitigation business: providing hard-to-abate industries with solutions to decarbonise, using its new type of low-cost carbon capture technology.

Dan joined Calix in 2014 to investigate how Calix’s technology could be applied to the cement and lime industries, and developed and coordinated the first and second LEILAC projects: using Calix’s novel ‘Process enhancement’ technology to deliver a step change in the cost and efficiency of capturing CO2 emissions. The success and promise of this technology lead to the creation of the LEILAC Group to further its development. See www.project-leilac.eu for more information.

Dan has a MA in history from St Andrews in the UK, and worked in the electricity industry. Keen to contribute to global decarbonisation efforts he joined the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI) as a regional representative for Europe based in France. During that time he ran the European CCS Demonstration Project Network, which contained 7 large scale projects.

He is greatly enjoying working with the dedicated and enthusiastic staff within the LEILAC Group, Calix and project partners – which include leading industrial, engineering, R&D and consulting organisations.

Emma Bowring joined the Calix team in January 2020 as Project Manager of the Low Emissions Intensity Lime and Cement (LEILAC) project in Europe, being delivered under the Horizon 2020 program. In this role Emma will be responsible for the delivery of the project and leading the management team.

Emma has 15 years experience in Project Management and Business Development having worked across a number of industries including international development, infrastructure, oil and gas, health, justice and commercial sectors. Originally from Australia, Emma has lived and worked around Australia, the Pacific Islands, Asia,Russia and now the United Kingdom for the last 12 years.

Notably, as Project Manager, Emma successfully delivered a complex AUD50m managing contractor EPCM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management) project, involving construction and capacity building programmes in the Solomon Islands. Teams managed included a PMO (Project Management Office) support team in Malaysia, partner organisation in Melbourne, head office team in Sydney, various design/engineering teams in Australia and a large in country delivery team in the Solomon Islands. Emma admits to loving the challenge of working virtually with a focus on developing capability and enhancing team performance.

Michael Wheatland is an Internationally Chartered Engineer turned commercial manager who is passionate about sustainable outcomes through carbon reduction technology, improved processing, and clean energy projects.

Joining Calix in 2012, Michael was instrumental with the concept and design of the unique carbon negative mineral technology core to the Calix Flash Calcination process, Michael has led commercialisation initiatives of this home-grown Australian technology that is now being exported around the world to reduce environmental impact and improve processing cost and efficiency.

Michael is now responsible for the global rollout of the Calix Flash Calciner technology across multiple global markets including Alumina, Lithium, Magnesite, Iron and Steel, Vanadium and Rare Earths.

Michael has successfully implemented multi-million-dollar projects with Rio Tinto, BHP, Alcoa and now with Calix Sustainable Processing, all of which contribute to his vision of a more sustainable world.

Dr. Kelley is a Ph.D. Chemist with 32 years of research & development experience in water and wastewater treatment technologies.

Doug graduated from Iowa State University in 1990 with a Doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry. He worked with Nalco for 14 years in basic research and new product development.

He is also the co-inventor on numerous patents related to scale and corrosion control in boiler and cooling water environments.

As President of Inland Environmental Resources (IER), Doug has spearheaded the development of proprietary, safe, environmentally-friendly, and cost-effective chemical products based on Magnesium Hydroxide.

Dr. Kelley is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Water Environment Federation, and numerous WEF state and regional associations.

Bill joined Calix in May, 2018 to develop and run the sales teams and processes in support of Calix’s growth plan.

After graduating from university, Bill joined Shell, and over a 9-year career there gained a significant depth of experience in the sales and marketing of fuels and lubricants to a broad range of market segments through multiple channels. Key roles included membership of the Oceania Executive Team and a lead role in Shell’s transformation of its sales and marketing function across 160 staff and 40,000 customers, followed by consulting to similar transformation programs across other operating units in Shell globally.

Bill then joined Bluescope Distribution as Sales Transformation Manager for ~2 years, followed by another ~3 years as General Manager Wholesale at United Petroleum, delivering double digit growth atincreased margin.

In addition to his corporate career, Bill started up and grew private company Self-Drive Pty Ltd over 18 years into a multi-million-dollar turn-over business, and remains a director there.

Bill holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (University of Technology, Sydney).

Darren joined Calix in 2011 and as CFO has responsibility for overseeing finance, admin and IT and is also the Company Secretary.

Darren has more than 20 years’ experience in high-growth technology companies. Prior to joining Calix he was CFO and Company Secretary of Seeker Wireless Pty Ltd and CFO and Executive Director of the ASX-listed company Altium Limited.

Darren joined Altium in 1995 and led its finance functions as it grew internationally, from operations in two countries and sales of US$5.8 million to operations in nine countries and sales of US$55.8 million. His experience included its IPO, merger and acquisition activity in US and Europe, and leading all facets of a finance function including international tax, budgeting, corporate planning, financial reporting and compliance.

He is a Fellow of CPA of Australia and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) degree (University of Tasmania).

Mark founded Calix in 2005, was re-elected as a Director in 2014 and is a member of Calix’s Technology Committee.

Mark is a qualified physical chemist with 40 years’ experience.

Mark has previously worked at the James Franck Institute at the University of Chicago, and as an Assistant Professor of the University of Rochester NY, USA, where he was awarded the Alfred P Sloan Fellowship for his work. Later he was employed by the University of Sydney as a Reader in the School of Chemistry for his research work on chemical reaction kinetics. Mark has published more than 140 academic papers in physical chemistry, and is an inventor of 36 patented inventions.

Mark was awarded the M.A. Sargent Medal of the Institute of Engineers Australia for his contributions to optical communications and the Centenary Medal of the Commonwealth of Australia for his contributions to Australian society.

Mark has degrees in Science (Hons 1st Class) and a PhD (University of Queensland). He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and a Companion of the Institute of Engineers Australia.

Matt joined Calix in January 2019 to head up its research and development (R&D) programme for batteries and catalysts materials development where he oversaw R&D focused on the exploitation of Calix’s technology and nano-active materials for electrochemical energy storage and catalyst applications. This included management of Calix’s role in several of collaborative research programs including: storEnergy: the Australian Research Council funded Training Centre for Future Energy Storage Technologies; POLYSTORAGE: the EU funded training centre developing solid state batteries; and the Calix-led CRC-P for Advanced Hybrid Batteries.

Matt was appointed General Manager for Research & Development and Deputy Chief Scientist at Calix in July 2021 and now heads up Calix’s R&D programmes, projects and activities across its core and emerging business development areas.

Before joining Calix, Matt was Acting Head of the Energy Engineering and Carbon Capture Research Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. He also held roles as a Research Associate at Imperial College London and Visiting Scholar at the University of Technology Sydney. Matt worked closely with Calix in his previous roles at Imperial College on the EU funded ASCENT and LEILAC projects. Working on the development of low-carbon and sustainable technologies that mitigate the detrimental impact of human activity on the environment that steers the world away from its reliance on fossil fuels is a key motivation for Matt. As such, the prospect of relocating to Australia to head up Calix’s new R&D program for batteries and catalysts presented an opportunity he could not pass up.

Matt holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering and Master of Research in Green Chemistry from Imperial College London, UK and a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Nottingham, UK.

Andrew joined Calix in 2012 and is currently GM Commercial, overseeing general commercial activity including technology licensing and general contractual relationships across the Calix group.

Andrew’s experience covers general business management, sales process design, contract formation and negotiation, business and technical presentations, and strategic planning. He has been involved in several international projects, with particular exposure to Asia, and has worked with a wide range of minerals and metals.

Andrew began his career at Pasminco’s Research Centre in Newcastle in 1990, where he investigated various hydro- and pyro-metallurgical processes. Andrew had a 17-year career at Outotec where he was Director, Sales and Marketing for the South East Asia Pacific region, in addition to being a member of the executive management team.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Metallurgical) degree (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University), a Postgraduate Certificate in Marketing and a Master of Business Finance (University of Technology, Sydney).

Vincent joined Calix in 2010. Since then, he has held several roles including site engineer, site safety co-ordinator, maintenance engineer, and maintenance and projects manager.

Vincent has deep expertise in the operation and development of Calix’s Bacchus Marsh site. As operations manager, Vincent oversees Calix’s sites day-to-day operations.

Vincent played key roles in the construction of the CFC850 pilot plant, the CFC15000 commercial plant, and the management of plant equipment used to manufacture Calix MHL products.

Vincent holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mech) degree from Swinburne University.

Hinne is a strategy professional bringing 20 years of international experience, where he focused on the energy, food, agriculture and other industrial sectors. He has led projects covering strategy development, performance improvement, commercial due diligence and post-merger integration.

Hinne began his career at consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton (later Booz & Company), where his clients included oil and gas, chemicals, automotive companies and private equity in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He rose through the company to become a Principal in 2014. In addition, he worked in business development for Delta Hydrocarbons, a PE-backed global Oil & Gas company.

More recently he was Head of Strategy for AB Sugar, a global sugar company with presence in Africa, China and Europe, where he led strategy and value creation initiatives including in agriculture, energy and M&A. Hinne also worked as an independent strategy consultant, serving clients in energy and retail.

Hinne holds an MBA from the Booth School of Business (The University of Chicago) and a Master of Science degree in Applied Physics (Delft University of Technology). Hinne is based in the UK, where his fluency in multiple languages and proximity to Europe will further enable Calix’s global footprint and global deal flow.