Our Board
CRDC has an eight-member Board, consisting of a Chair (appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), the Managing Director (selected by the Board) and six non-executive Directors nominated by an independent Selection Committee.
Appointment of non-executive Directors is subject to Ministerial approval and directors (other than the Managing Director) are appointed for three-year terms.
The CRDC Board is governed by a Charter of Corporate Governance. This document consolidates the policies and procedures for the Board and all Board Committees: Audit and Risk, Investment, and People.
Mr Richard Haire - Chair. BEc, FAICDLife, FAIM.
Mr Haire has held many leadership positions within the cotton industry, most recently as Managing Director and regional head of Olam International, a global leader in the supply chain management of agricultural products and food ingredients. He was formerly the Chief Executive of Queensland Cotton Corporation Pty Ltd and a member of the Rabo Australia Food and Agribusiness Advisory Board. He is currently a Director of BEC Feed Solutions Pty Ltd and McLean's Farms and Non-Executive Director of SunnyQueen Eggs. Mr Haire is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. He formerly served as a Director on the CRDC board from 2011 to 2014.
Appointed: 29/08/2016 until 29/08/2019.
Reappointed: 29/08/2019 until 29/08/2022.
Reappointed: 29/08/2022 until 28/08/2025.
Reappointed: 29/08/2025 until 28/02/2027.
Ms Sally Morgan - Non-Executive Director. BSysAg, GradCertHumNutr, GAICD
Ms Morgan brings over 25 years' experience across the Australian cotton and grains industries, spanning agronomy, on-farm production, RD&E delivery, stewardship and policy. She is owner and director of M and S Ceeney Pty Ltd, a mixed dryland and irrigated farming enterprise at Trangie, NSW, and an independent auditor for the cotton industry's myBMP program. Ms Morgan is also a Non-Executive Director of Grains Australia.
Prior to joining the CRDC Board, Ms Morgan held senior industry roles including Research Direction and Stewardship Policy Manager at Cotton Australia, where she led national biosecurity and resistance management strategies and represented the industry to regulators, and CottonInfo Technical Lead for Bt and insecticide stewardship at CRDC. She is a graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course and the Australian Future Cotton Leaders Program, and holds a Bachelor of Systems Agriculture from the University of Western Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Human Nutrition.
Appointed: 01/10/2023 until 30/09/2026.
Mr Nigel Burnett
Dr Alexandra Lobb
Dr Rebecca Thistlewaite
Mr Andrew Watson
Appointed: 01/10/2026 until 30/09/2029.
Dr Georgina Pengilley – Managing Director. BRurSc (Hons), PhD, GAICD
Dr Pengilley is an experienced agricultural research and development leader with more than 25 years' experience spanning research investment, commercialisation, industry leadership and farming. She has worked across the full RD&E system as an investor, deliverer and adopter, including through her experience co-owning and operating a large-scale farming enterprise. Prior to joining CRDC, she was Chief Executive Officer of Rice Breeding Australia and previously held senior leadership roles with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
Dr Pengilley has also served on a number of industry boards and advisory panels, including the AgriFutures Australia Rice Advisory Panel and the Grains Research and Development Corporation Northern Panel. She holds a Bachelor of Rural Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Physiology from the University of New England and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Appointed: 27/07/2026 by virtue of appointment as Managing Director.
