Our people & story
Two farmers become the unlikely heroes on a quest to address the climate crisis. Watch the award-winning Grassroots documentary to see how Guy Webb and Mick Wettenhall’s journey led to the creation of Soil Carbon Co.
Soil Carbon Co. was founded in 2019.
Co-founder & CEO
Guy Hudson
Guy Hudson started his working life on a dairy farm in the south of England. After university, he worked in London on new business models in clean technology and sustainability, initially in a small social enterprise, and later with corporates, governments and multi-lateral organisations. He ran climate change initiatives with organisations such as the UN, World Bank and World Economic Forum.
Co-founder & CPO
Tegan Nock
Tegan spent her early career working on the family farm in Bogan Gate, NSW, before building broad experience across national government policy, agricultural research and development, and industry communications. She has a background in agricultural sciences, understands the drivers behind practical agricultural processes and brings a deep understanding of how to pair them with new technology.
Co-founder & COO
Frank Oly
Frank Oly joined Mick and Guy as a director of the SoilCQuest research institute in 2018. Originally from Amsterdam, Frank moved to Australia and became an enthusiastic cattle breeder. He has more than 20 years of business experience in media production and advertising, with degrees in marketing and business law.
Managing Director SoilCQuest
Guy Webb
Guy Webb has been the driving force behind SoilCQuest since its launch. His grit and determination drive the research institute forward. Guy has a strong background in agronomy, and a deep understanding of the scientific principles of soil health, microbiology and sustainable land management.
Dr Ray Riley
Ray has been a leader in agricultural research and development for decades. At Pioneer and Syngenta, his roles spanned the establishment of a global seed supply chain, seeds R&D management, and Biotech R&D oversight. Ray holds degrees in agronomy and agribusiness from the University of Wisconsin Platteville and Masters and PhD degrees in Plant Cytogenetics and Quantitative Genetics from the University of Nebraska.
North American Lead
Adrianna Marchand
Adrianna was involved with the world's first soil project to obtain carbon credits counting toward the Paris Agreement. She has worked with farmers, researchers, government and corporate sectors to improve agriculture from the ground up, using an ecological and systems approach to soil science and management.
Carbon Specialist
Dr Raghvendra Sharma
Raghvendra's PhD focused on potential novel wheat genes for resistance to stripe rust using advanced molecular tools. His work in genetics is varied, from investigating the role of abiotic stress in rice, to understanding agronomic trait development in soybean. He holds a Master of Science (Biotechnology), and a Bachelor of Chemistry and Biotechnology.
R&D Scientist
Microbiologist
Dr Ahsan Haque
Ahsan is a microbiologist specialising in the areas of plant pathology and applied technology. His PhD at the University of Queensland focused on assessing the potential of fungi biological control agents for prickly acacia, leading him to work on commercially focused fungal technology. Ahsan has worked for the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute in the plant pathology division, and most recently for Charles Sturt University.
Lexi Sturrock
Lexi studied agriculture at Sydney University with a particular interest in animal welfare. After graduating, she oversaw the wellbeing of livestock for an exporter in Darwin, before travelling and working in Canada. Upon her return, she worked in various government roles in Sydney and Orange.
Operations Officer
Bio-processing manager, US
Cassandra O'Brien
Cassandra studied Biological Sciences at the University of Connecticut, where she also worked in a plant phylogeny lab. She went on to work on conservation projects in national parks, including Yosemite. Since then, she has spent her career in biotech, specialising in solid substrate fermentation of filamentous organisms, quality control, and manufacturing. She previously worked at Genzyme and Indigo Agriculture.
Director SoilCQuest
Mick Wettenhall
Mick Wettenhall is an experienced grains and cotton farmer and grazier on the Macquarie River near Trangie. He is focused on how the work of the research institute can be integrated into the wider agricultural system. He believes that agriculture has a major role to play not only in food security but also in sustainable environmental management and climate change mitigation.
Abed has a distinguished career in biological sciences. He completed his PhD at the University of Oregon and has worked with a number of organisations including MIT, CSIRO, and Syngenta. Abed is renowned for his work in genetics, and his passion for the microbial world.
Dr Abed Chaudhury
Head of Scientific Innovation
Jeremy specialises in endophyte research, fungi for soil regeneration and bio-herbicides. His work has been recognised by the Australian government, through the NSW Landcare Award for innovation in sustainable farming practice development. He has been active in sustainable soil education and research for many years. He and his wife Cathy run a small mixed farm enterprise that focuses on soil health.
Jeremy Bradley
Bioprospecting Lead
Dr Suresh Subashchandrabose
Suresh is a dedicated biotechnology researcher. He has a PhD from the University of South Australia and a degree in microbiology and biotechnology. He worked as a researcher at the University of South Australia and the University of Newcastle. In India, he worked in agricultural biotechnology industries in both public and private sectors. He has been widely published in both environmental and agricultural disciplines.
Snr Microbiologist
Dr Neeraj Purushotham
Neeraj specialises in microbiology for sustainable agriculture, with extensive knowledge of fungal endophytes. He has a PhD in microbiology and microbial ecology from Lincoln University in New Zealand and holds a Masters in clinical microbiology and applied microbiology. He has direct experience with agriculture, working across grains projects at the University of Southern Queensland.
Microbiologist
Dr Brooke Bruning
Brooke holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide, focusing on the potential of hyperspectral data for measuring plant biochemical properties. She developed novel data mining techniques to extract plant information. Brooke completed her Honours in remote sensing of acid sulphate soils and did an agronomy traineeship with South Australian Research and Development Institute, developing practical field robotics systems for rapid plant data collection in-field.
Research Agronomy Team Leader
Grace Scott
Grace is an early career scientist with a special interest in plants and microbes. Grace has a Research Masters from the University of Nottingham in bio-fertilisers. Her career includes working as a microbiologist at AstraZeneca, in the R&D team for pesticide products at Hort Innovation and a science educator at Fizzics education.
Microbiology Officer
Dr Venkatachalam Lakshmanan
Venkatachalam is based in Minnesota and joins SCC from the Noble Research Institute in Oklahoma. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware, and was part of a team that patented the beneficial ability of native isolate Bacillus subtilis, now licensed for commercialisation. He completed his PhD in Biotechnology at Central Food Technological Research Institute, University of Mysore in India.
Senior Microbiologist
Dr Ginger Korosi
Ginger studied horticulture specialising in entomology in Hungary, before moving to Australia to work in viticulture in NSW and Victoria. Ginger worked at Agriculture Victoria researching phylloxera, a root-feeding grapevine pest. She went on to complete her PhD in biological control of phylloxera at Charles Sturt University and Hochschule Geisenheim University.
Research Scientist
Jamila Nasim
Jamila studied biotechnology in molecular genetics, completing her Honours at the University of Modern Sciences in Dubai. She moved to Australia in 2018 for her Masters at the Australian National University, researching fungal pathogens. She has a special interest in the role of fungi in environmental sustainability.
Microbiology Officer
Senior Manager of Product Development, US
Dr Andres Reyes Gaige
Andres has a background in plant pathology, specialising in fungal diseases. Recently he worked as a Senior Project Lead, Crop Physiology and Pathology, at Compass Minerals. He completed his PhD at Kansas State University, where he investigated the invasion potential and colonisation dynamics of fusarium proliferatum. He has a Masters of Science in Biology from Wichita State University.
Product Officer
Chris Shafto
Chris studied Science (Biotechnology) at RMIT in Melbourne. After graduating, he moved to Narrabri in northwest NSW and worked at the Australian Cotton Institute researching insecticide resistance. While working, he completed his Honours through the University of Tasmania examining mite damage on cotton.
Microbial Screening and Isolation Manager, US
Rosmar Riedel
Rosmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnological Engineering from the Francisco de Paula Santander University, Colombia. She worked as the Plant Pathology Lab Coordinator at the University’s Biotechnology Agriculture Lab, and as a field agronomist.
Communications Manager
Stephanie Gardiner
Steph grew up in Orange, NSW, and moved to Sydney to work as a journalist at Australian Associated Press and The Sydney Morning Herald. She spent more than a decade working as a reporter in the city, mostly covering courts, before returning to the country.
Technical officer
Pratishtha Sharma
Pratishtha recently completed her Masters of Biotechnology and Business at Macquarie University. Before that, she completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Microbiology at Delhi University. She previously worked as an R&D intern at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in the Malaria research group.
Technical officer
Lachlan Hyde
Lachlan has a degree in Biotechnology from the University of Newcastle, with particular interest in microbiology and its uses for environmental sustainability. He is currently studying an honours research project looking at the biodegradation ability of Rhodococcus on hydrocarbons in soil and water reservoirs.
Laboratory Assistant, US
Carolyn Dye
Carolyn has a degree in plant pathology from the University of
Wisconsin—Madison, where she studied plant-microbe interactions, fungi, and soil biology. She was an undergraduate research assistant on multiple projects examining a soilborne pathogen that causes wilt in tomatoes and other crops.
Technical officer
Sam Morris
Sam grew up in Orange and studied sports science before pursuing his passion for horticulture. After his studies, Sam worked in orchards across NSW and Victoria, planting and maintaining trees. Before joining Soil Carbon Co, he managed a cherry orchard and worked on farms and vineyards around central west NSW.
Project officer
Jason Bowkett
Jason grew up on a farm in central west NSW. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Wollongong, graduating with first class honours. He has worked in engineering and construction across NSW, including as part of the clean-up operation after the 2019-20 bushfires.
Data Manager
Lara Vallejo Roosdorp
Lara has a masters in soil science from Wageningen University, focussed on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from farming. As part of her research, she collaborated with the CSIRO on the effect of crop rotation on microbial activity. Lara has worked in data management and harmonisation at DuPont and FMC, and has experience on-farm as a consultant to growers
US Laboratory Assistant
Megan Hall
Megan is finishing a degree in biotechnology, and hopes to continue studying microbiology and environmental science. She has previously worked as a certified medical laboratory assistant. She has a passion for nature, hiking and mushroom foraging.
US Laboratory Technician
Maicy Vossen
Maicy graduated with a Bachelor in Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College, majoring in plant science. Her studies focussed on plant health, plant interactions with parasitic plants, and fungal pathogen drug resistance.
US Trials Research Associate
Ashley Marie Landsman
Ashley holds a Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She is completing a Masters of Science in Soil Science at the University of the Philippines, focusing on soil fertility in relation to food security and climate change.