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.
Mr Bernie George - Deputy Chair. BAgEc, DipNatRs, GAICD, FARLF
Mr George is the Water Services and Compliance Manager at Australian Food & Fibre. He has extensive experience in large-scale irrigated agriculture, land and water asset development, and natural resource management. In 2022, Mr George was recognised for his contribution to the Australian Cotton Industry through the Cotton Australia Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Service to Industry Award. This recognised the various high-profile roles Bernie has held within the cotton industry for over 30 years, including Chair of Cotton Australia, and a member of the National Irrigators Council and NSW Irrigators Council. He is currently a director on the National Irrigators Council, a delegate to the NSW Irrigators Council, a member of the Australian Fish Screening Advisory Panel, a member of the Irrigation Association of Australia and a committee member of the Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association. Mr George holds a Master of Business Administration, Diploma of Natural Resources and a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics. He is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program.
Appointed: 01/10/2023 until 30/09/2026.
Reappointed: 01/10/2026 until 30/09/2029.
Mr Nigel Burnett – Non-Executive Director. BRurSc, GAICD
Mr Burnett is an experienced agricultural producer and board director with a long-standing commitment to the Australian cotton industry.
Mr Burnett and his wife manage a mixed farming operation in Emerald, Central Queensland, producing dryland and irrigated cotton, grains and beef cattle. Their business focuses on sustainable practices driven by the myBMP program, continuous improvement and RD&E to improve efficiency.
Before joining the CRDC Board, Mr Burnett chaired Cotton Australia, the cotton industry’s Transgenic Insecticide Management Strategy (TIMS) committee, the Cotton Industry Strategic Roadmap committee, and Fitzroy Basin Food and Fibre. He also served on the Fitzroy Partnership for River Health Management Committee. Mr Burnett is currently Vice President of the Central Highlands Cotton Growers and Irrigators Association and serves on the Sunwater Irrigators Advisory Committee and Queensland Primary Industries Prosper 2050 Regional Industry and Government working group.
Mr Burnett holds a Bachelor of Rural Science from the University of New England and is a graduate of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the inaugural Future Cotton Leaders Program.
Appointed: 01/10/2026 to 30/09/2029.
Dr Alexandra Lobb – Non-Executive Director. BAgricEc (Hons), PhD
Dr Lobb is an agricultural economist with more than 25 years’ experience advising government, industry and research organisations on research strategy and investment, agricultural and natural resource policy and regional development. She is Director of Lobb&Co, an independent economics and strategy practice, and works with the Australian Farm Institute.
Dr Lobb previously co-led ACIL Allen’s national agribusiness practice and held roles with the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and the UK’s University of Reading. She has served as Secretary of the National Women in Economics Network and on the Economic Society of Australia’s NSW Branch Council.
Dr Lobb holds a PhD from the University of Western Australia and a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics (Honours) from the University of Sydney, where her honours thesis was on international cotton marketing. Dr Lobb’s connection with cotton began more than 35 years ago, during school holidays spent working alongside her father, a cotton merchant, in Narrabri, Moree and Mungindi.
Appointed: 01/10/2026 to 30/09/2029.
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.
Reappointed: 01/10/2026 until 30/09/2029.
Dr Rebecca Thistlethwaite – Non-Executive Director. BScAg (Hons), PhD
Dr Thistlethwaite is a University of Sydney research fellow based at Narrabri’s I.A. Watson Grains Research Centre. Her work combines crop genetics, plant breeding and physiology to help crops and growers adapt to a hotter, more variable climate.
Her field-based research identifies genetic diversity and translates it into practical outcomes for growers through national trial networks and partnerships in South Asia and other developing regions. She also shares her knowledge with growers, students and schools.
Dr Thistlethwaite volunteers with community and not-for-profit organisations in Company Secretary, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer roles. She feels a strong connection to regional communities and research that reaches the paddock, growing the next generation of agricultural scientists.
Dr Thistlethwaite holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Hons) and a PhD from the University of Sydney.
Appointed: 01/10/2026 to 30/09/2029.
Mr Andrew Watson – Non-Executive Director. BAgEc (Hons), GradDipAppFin, GradDipInv, GradDipTechAnalysis, AdvDipAg
Mr Watson is a mixed cropping and cattle producer from Boggabri, NSW, with extensive cotton industry experience and a focus on sustainable farming.
A 2006 Nuffield Scholar, Mr Watson studied irrigation water-use efficiency and was named Australian Cotton Grower of the Year in 2008. His business, Kilmarnock Farming Pty Ltd, received the Brownhill Cup in 2014 and was a national finalist in the 2016 Landcare Sustainable Farming Award.
Mr Watson is a former Chair of Cotton Australia and served on the boards of Namoi Water Limited, the NSW Irrigators Council and the National Farmers’ Federation Policy Council. He is the current NSW Irrigators Council treasurer.
Mr Watson holds an honours degree in Agricultural Economics, Graduate Diplomas in Applied Finance, Investment and Technical Analysis, and an Advanced Diploma in Agriculture. He applies this knowledge to his farming business and shares it with the broader industry.
Appointed: 01/10/2026 to 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.
