Management Team

Lachlan McKinnon was appointed Chief Executive Officer in January 2020 and Managing Director in May 2020.

Lachlan has significant international sales and marketing experience at a senior level. Prior to joining PET, he held various management roles with Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) in Australia, Europe and North America over almost 30 years, most recently as country manager for Canada and head of business development for the Americas. Nufarm is a leading global agricultural chemicals business (FY2018/19 Sales $3.8 billion) with manufacturing and marketing operations across five continents.

He holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from La Trobe University, Melbourne; a Graduate Diploma of Business (Agribusiness) from Monash University Melbourne; a Master of Enterprise, School of Enterprise, Melbourne University; and the Harvard Business School Short Course – Agribusiness.

Matthew Parker was appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary in May 2020.

Matthew has extensive experience in all aspects of international financial management, control, planning and analysis, including with ASX listed companies Gale Pacific (ASX:GAP; global marketing and manufacturing) and Paragon Care (ASX:PGC; healthcare).
Prior to joining PET, he was Group CFO for Private Equity owned (Marlin Brands) where he led significant programs in financial restructuring, debt raising and general governance management. He has also held key international finance roles at Ford Motor Company and Cadbury Schweppes.

A Certified Practising Accountant, Matthew holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting and Finance) and a Bachelor of Arts (Japanese) from Swinburne University of Technology. He is a registered member of CPA Australia and an affiliate of the Securities Institute of Australia.

Simon Greaves joined PET in January 2022 as Group Executive – Operations.

This role is responsible for all sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, distribution, supply chain, and HSE across the global businesses of PET. The role also has a coordination function to ensure all global applications are delivered to agreed global standards.

In his 27-year career, Simon’s roles covered warehousing, logistics, supply chain, manufacturing, and the functional leadership of HSE and Process Improvement teams across regions including Australia, New Zealand, and Chile. He was a member of Business and Group leadership teams for 16 years, playing a key role in 10 business acquisitions and integrations and the divestment of Ixom from Orica.

Kate Waters-Hart joined PET in 2019 as Freshwater Aquatic Ecologist and was appointed Group Manager for Aquatic Science in early January 2022.

This is a critical role for the business globally. This role oversees and coordinates all the science behind our products, applications, and data management. Kate also manages the relationship with Limnological Solutions Incorporated (LSI) as part of this role.

Kate is based in Dunfermline, Scotland, and she has worked within the scientific research community and within the public and private sectors. She has recently completed her PhD at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Edinburgh and the University of Stirling. Her research investigated the recovery of aquatic macrophytes following Phoslock application and covered whole-lake applications and laboratory experiments.

Michael Doyle joined PET in January 2022 with responsibility for leading Global R&D and ANZ Commercial activities.

Prior to joining PET, Michael has worked for over 30 years in various Technical, Commercial, Strategy and Management roles across a range of industries including Chemicals, Coatings, Agriculture and Mining.

Michael holds a PhD (Chemistry) from Monash University and a Masters of Bus Admin & CMA from Monash Mt Eliza Business School.

Viktor (Xiaoming) Li joined PET in October 2021 with responsibility for leading commercial and manufacturing operations throughout China.

An experienced senior manager with expertise in engineering, international trade, investment and mining, Victor has worked across many countries including four years in Germany.

His 30-year career has included China state-owned enterprises and joint ventures, as well as leadership roles in multinational corporations such as Finnish company Normet (Shanghai) Trading Limited, Cedar Holdings, China Coal Elgin Mining Machinery Company Limited, and Australian mining, manufacturing and service company FLSmidth Ludowici.

An Australian permanent resident, Viktor has degrees in mineral processing and international trade and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is based in Shanghai.

Damian joined the company in September 2021. He has more than 25 years’ experience within the utilities sector (water, wastewater, environment) in the UK and internationally, covering municipal and non-municipal markets. He has a strong managerial background at senior leadership levels; his most recent position was Head of Industry – Water at Bilfinger UK Limited.

Prior to this, Damian held senior positions at several water engineering services and technology companies including Xylem Water Solutions, MultiTrode, Germanischer Lloyd (DNV) and with Evides Industry Water.
Damian is based in the UK.

Bush Joined PET as General Manager USA in September 2022 after several months of being contracted to co-ordinate the company’s local business operations in Casper, Wyoming.

After serving in the US Army, Bush started a career within the energy sector in the United States. He spent 18 years travelling and working with major companies developing and exploring an array of sustainable energy production methods. During the last several years in his role as Operations Manager, Bush focused on working with senior management on improving all business activities, HSE and ever growing ESG. Bush has served on several boards for investment diversification and those that also provided research for improved ESG industry wide

Harry Knight joined PET in January 2021, with responsibility for commercial operations throughout the United States. His extensive industry experience covers more than 30 years in roles with companies including Pentair, The Lake Doctors, Lonza and – most recently – with Nutrien.

An aquatic specialist, Harry brings years of experience across several markets, including industrial, applicator, governmental, aquaculture and retail. He is responsible for growing the company’s presence and opportunities throughout this important region.
Harry is based at Cullman in Alabama.

Greg Wagner joined PET in September 2022 as the Technical Sales Representative for the Great Lakes Region – USA.

He is a career water treatment sales professional with 24 years of experience in the Industrial and Municipal segments, working for both regional and international companies. In these roles he has developed a strong technical background and the ability to use this knowledge to develop sales by bringing solutions to customers.  He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Chemical Technologies. Greg is based in Napoleon, Indiana.