Our Team

Tom is an enterprise leader with deep knowledge and understanding of international agribusiness. He has held various leadership positions at Monsanto, Bayer, and Nutrien across a range of domains, including sales and marketing, technology development, supply chain operations, corporate strategy, and business transformation.

John has experience in strategy, finance, and continuous improvement. He has held roles at NZX, Goldman Sachs, JB Were, MediaWorks, Elevation Capital, and Spark.

George has 30 years of experience as a leader in agriculture, animal and human health, and FMCG. Formerly, he was the Marketing Manager for Farm Animal at Elanco and Bayer Animal Health, and also worked at Bayer Consumer, Colgate, and SC Johnson in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.

David has more than 15 years of international R&D experience in agriculture, human, and animal health. He formerly held various leadership roles at Bayer Animal Health and Boehringer Ingelheim in Germany and New Zealand, with a particular focus on drug discovery, product development, and marketed product defense.

Bishal brings over a decade of experience in pharmaceutical research and product development. He previously worked at Argenta and has a deep understanding of the innovation behind drug delivery and formulation.

Chris has four years of research experience in polymer chemistry at the University of Auckland, studying topics ranging from gel-based 4D printing to self-assembling nanoparticles. He brings expertise in design and development of polymer materials, as well as synthesis and characterization.

Kirsty has experience in the start-up biotech industry, with a background in agritech R&D. Besides her research communication, data organisation, and analysis skills, she has a strong track record in leading and managing clinical trials and field studies.

Caitlin is an established registered Trans-Tasman Patent Attorney with broad commercial experience across numerous technologies and jurisdictions. She handles the complexities of leveraging intellectual property rights, including patents, trade marks and brand strategy, copyright, registered designs, and trade secrets, across both IP and common law.

Abi has a degree in Animal Science (1st Class, University of Edinburgh, 2002), a degree in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (University of Glasgow, 2006) and a PhD in Veterinary Parasitology (University of Glasgow, 2011). She is an experienced production animal veterinarian with a strong focus on research. Abi has worked as a clinical veterinarian in both the UK and New Zealand. More recently she held the Livestock Performance Advisor role for Synlait Farms and following that position, Abi spent 8 years as the New Zealand Livestock Technical Product Manager for Boehringer Ingelheim, working with veterinarians and farmers on sustainable anthelmintic treatment for production animals on pasture. Abi joined Ruminant BioTech as the Veterinary Scientific Affairs Manager in mid-2024.

David has over 30 years of experience in chemical product development and innovation. He is committed to technological progress and thrives on the challenge of taking new ideas from concept to commercialization, for which he has a proven track record.

Craig is a veterinarian with 24 years’ experience in New Product Development and Regulatory Affairs. He has worked in startup companies (Slow Release Implants), ran his own Veterinary Regulatory Affairs consultancy business and worked with major Animal Health Companies (Novartis Animal Health, Elanco Animal Health and MSD Animal Health). Craig has led the regulatory approval of over 20 new products in Australia and New Zealand. He worked in a Global Animal Health role for several years leading the Regulatory Strategy in companion animal therapeutics. Additionally, he has served on Animal Ethics Committees and worked in Pharmacovigilance.

Meryem has a background in agronomy, field research, and data analysis, holding a PhD in Soil Science from Lincoln University. Prior to joining Ruminant BioTech, she served as a field research assistant at Lincoln Agritech. Since her arrival in 2023, she has contributed significantly to data analysis, database management, and reporting.

Hossein has eight years of academic and industry experience in formulation and product development, as well as research and design of novel drug delivery platforms based on hydrogel polysaccharides.

Verity is an Associate Chartered Accountant who takes care of all our financial management, keeping the numbers and processes in order and providing support to the CFO.

Wayne has 16 years of experience in pharmaceutical GMP and R&D labs, with a focus on analytical chemistry. He is proficient in laboratory operations, including method development, quality control, regulatory compliance, and waste management.

Claire is a veterinarian who started her career in clinical work in the UK. After relocating to Australia 8 years ago, she has been involved in technical product support and business development for veterinary pharmaceutical companies across Australia and NZ.

Charlie grew up on a large sheep and beef farm in Te Akau. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Science, majoring in Medicinal Chemistry, from the University of Canterbury. Charlie works with our senior formulation scientists developing new protypes.

Catherine has over 10 years of experience in analytical chemistry within the food and pharmaceutical industries. Throughout her career, she gained diverse experience working in both manufacturing and commercial laboratories across multiple countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand. She began her career as a technician and has since advanced to the role of Scientific Analyst, sharing her time between operational and technical role in a chemistry lab setting. With this rounded background, she brings innovation and creativity to the R&D team at Ruminant BioTech.

Ash has a background in farming as well as as strong background in research science and has hit the ground running with the Lactating Safety study and Dose Confirmation studies in full swing for daily sampling.
In her role as Research Technician, Ash is responsible for field data collection, sample management and operational improvements for the field office and systems, as well as taking care for Greenfeed machines. For her role at Ruminant BioTech, she is based in the field office in Te Rapa.

Stefanie has over 10 years of experience in chemistry laboratories. She brings expertise in process development, material functionalization, and laboratory health and safety. Her previous work experience ranges from start-up companies to crown research institutes, with projects focused on improving the circular economy and environment.

Llew has 25 years of experience in Supply Chain, across multiple industries. Llew holds qualifications in Supply Chain/ Operations Management as well as Molecular Biology. Llew has held leadership roles at Fletcher Building, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, Flextronics International, and others in New Zealand, Australia and Asia.

Jun holds a bachelor’s degree in Science with a major in Chemistry and has two years of hands-on experience in a food testing lab, focusing on analytical chemistry.

Tiffany is a scientist with over 15 years of experience in analytical development and mass spectrometry, with expertise in drug metabolism research and regulatory aspects. Her strong collaboration skills drive successful external partnerships, enhancing interdisciplinary teamwork and fostering innovation.

Ian has broad experience in business development, market entry, and fundraising across a variety of geographies. Previously, he was coordinating initiatives to bring enteric methane solutions to market in the United States and Canada.

Mark has been a veterinarian and industry consultant for international and start-up companies in regulatory affairs for over 30 years. His areas of expertise include GMP manufacturing, product development, and the planning and conduct of GLP and GCP clinical trials for veterinary medicines. These trials were conducted for bolus solutions registered and sold in New Zealand and Australia.

Jia is an experienced laboratory technician who has been working in RBT for over 3 years. She has multiple talents in the lab and is always happy to help others.

Erica has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and agriculture fields, specialising in analytical method development, validation, and product specification. She has extensive knowledge of product characterisation, cGMP, and ICH guidelines. She holds a master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Auckland.