Staff
Executive management
Adam Kay
Chief Executive Officer
Head Office – Sydney, NSW
Adam is responsible for the overall management and leadership of the organisation and represents Cotton Australia to government, media and other industry organisations. He is involved in all aspects of the business and is the public face of Cotton Australia.
• Phone: 02 9669 5222
Michael Murray
General Manager
Toowoomba, QLD
Michael uses his own extensive experience and Cotton Australia's alliances to develop and advocate for policies that affect growers. A specialist water policy manager with overall responsibility for Cotton Australia’s water portfolio at state and federal levels, Michael also covers coal seam gas and policy areas specific to Queensland.
• Phone: 0427 707 868
Finance and administration
Therese Wooden
Head Office – Sydney, NSW
Therese is responsible for all accounting functions of Cotton Australia, manages the financial aspects of government projects and is the primary contact for levy collection. Therese also manages the accounts for special projects such as the Australian Cotton Conference and the Australian Cotton Industry Awards.
• Phone: 02 9669 5222
Rochelle Zakher
Executive Assistant (part-time)
Head Office – Sydney, NSW
Rochelle assists a number of the senior management staff with administrative and organisational tasks, as well as providing administration support for special events such as the Cotton Collective, staff and Board meetings.
• Phone: 02 9669 5222
Communications
Desley Sheedy
Communications Manager - Digital Strategy
Head Office – Sydney, NSW
• Ph: (02) 9669 5222
Darrin Davies
Communications Manager - Stakeholder Engagement
Head Office – Sydney, NSW
Darrin joined Cotton Australia after a varied career encompassing both strategic communication and media as a journalist, producer and news editor. Darrin has experience in organisational planning, stakeholder engagement, crisis management and media relations. In his role, Darrin aims to enhance engagement with all of Cotton Australia’s stakeholders, particularly our growers, traditional media, regulators and those with differing views on the Australian cotton industry. Darrin is passionate about advocating for cotton growers and communicating to all Australians about our industry’s sustainability and environmental credentials, and the important role our industry plays in our economy.
• Ph: (02) 9669 5222
Education
Jenny Hughes
Education Manager
Head Office – Sydney, NSW
Jenny is Cotton Australia's Education Coordinator and brings nine years of agricultural education experience, backed up by 10 years in the classroom, to her position. Jenny specialises in hands-on interactive engagement for students and teachers. She has a passion for assisting teachers incorporate agriculture into their classrooms with curriculum-linked resources and to gain a better understanding of the cotton industry through Teach the Teacher Tours.
• Phone: 02 9669 5222
Policy
Simone Cameron
Senior Policy Manager, Northern Australia
Northern Australia
Simone is Cotton Australia’s most northern industry representative, based in Katherine, NT. She has an extensive career in agriculture most notably as an industry advocate, technical agronomist, and educator. Her role will be instrumental in guiding and leading sound policy positions enabling responsible environmental stewardship for our developing northern industry.
- Phone: 0413 308 335
Jennifer Brown
Policy Officer (part-time)
Head Office – Sydney, NSW
Jennifer draws on her strategic policy and advocacy experience to foster policies that reflect growers’ needs as well as engage industry organisations and government with Cotton Australia. Jennifer’s current areas of focus include energy and environmental matters.
• Phone: 02 9669 5222
Doug McCollum
Policy Officer - Research Direction and Stewardship
Doug’s career involved stints with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Qld Cotton and DuPont Australia, before moving into his consulting business in 2019. Working with the Cotton Research & Development Corporation, Hort Innovation, Cherry Growers Australia, and Growcom Australia, along with his commercial experience, has given Doug a firm grasp of stewardship, sustainable farming, and data-driven decisions for boosting the global competitiveness of agriculture.
- Phone: 0427 270 708
Paul Sloman
Policy Officer/Grower Engagement
Brisbane, QLD
Formerly regional manager for northern NSW, Paul has moved into a new role covering both policy and grower engagement, working on issues such as electricity efficiency, telecommunications and promoting Cotton Australia's education program to schools in south-east Queensland.
• Phone: 0448 094 883
myBMP
Rob Crothers
myBMP Manager
Rob came to Cotton Australia with more than 36 years’experience in the agricultural sector. He worked for Pioneer Seeds for 19 yearsin several roles including Sorghum and Corn Product manager, Northern Regional Manager and Territory manager for the Central Downs and Burnett.
Previous to that, Rob spent three years working for Wesfarmers Landmark as a sales agronomist.
Rob has long called the Darling Downs home, being a Dalby AgCollege graduate and spending his first 14 years of his career as a dryland and irrigated farmer near Warwick.
- Phone: 0408 646 111
Nicole Scott
myBMP Customer Service Manager (part-time)
Toowoomba, QLD
Nicole is responsible for the management and operations of the myBMP website and supplying cotton growers with quality and timely support.
• Phone: 1800 COTTON (1800 268 866)
Regional managers
Renee Surawski
Regional Manager - Dawson and Callide Valleys, QLD
Renee Surawski is a seasoned professional in agribusiness and applied science with extensive experience in project coordination within the agriculture industry. She excels in stakeholder relationship building and has successfully managed diverse projects including supply chain efficiency and community-based grant initiatives. Renee's expertise spans public engagement, account management, and stakeholder engagement, reflecting strategic thinking and operational excellence.
- Phone: 0427974132
Howard Coggan
Regional Manager - Darling Downs QLD
Howard is a business professional with nearly 30 years of experience in service industries. He has a background in successful business ownership and management as well as a genuine interest in agriculture, rural property, and land types.
He initially grew up on a mixed beef and broadacre cropping farm at Condamine, Queensland and has specialised in agribusiness banking - living and working in numerous regional locations across Queensland for almost 15 years.
- Phone: 0483209275
Cate Wild
Regional Manager - Macintyre Valley, QLD/NSW
Cate has been involved with the cotton industry all her adult life. As Cotton Australia's Regional Manager in the MacIntyre Valley, she loves working with and supporting the local CGA and cotton growers, and being involved with an agricultural industry that produces some of the best cotton in the world.
• Phone: 0487 713 014
Sally Rigney
Regional Manager - St George/Dirranbandi/Mungindi
As a Regional Manager for Cotton Australia in the northern Basin, Sally Rigney is passionate about working with local growers to create an energetic and vibrant local community. From their grain and cattle property at Nindigully, Sally uses her experience as a former ABC Radio journalist and Agri-political Communications Director to give a voice to the people, events and issues of south-west Queensland. Sally’s definition of success is finding where you belong, embracing it and enjoying it.
- Phone: 0417 758 353
Alec Macintosh
Regional Manager - Northern NSW
Alec has been involved in the cotton industry since his time at university, when he earned money on cotton farms during the summer holidays. His interest and involvement in the industry has ranged from the financial aspects of farming through to the application and use of new technologies, machinery and chemicals. Alec’s role as regional manager in northern NSW allows him to use his knowledge and understanding of the industry and its people to communicate important issues to growers, promote policy initiatives, manage grower feedback on issues and research direction, and extend support to growers undertaking the myBMP program.
• Phone: 0428 618 004
Regional Manager - Macquarie Valley, NSW
• Phone (in the interim) Rob Crothers: 0408 646 111
Tom Mannes
Regional Manager - Southern NSW
Tom is a Coleambally local, growing up on an irrigation farm and has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from CSU Wagga. Living in a small community reliant on irrigated agriculture has instilled Tom with a passion for the industry. As Regional Manager for Cotton Australia in Southern NSW, Tom is passionate about supporting and working with local cotton growers and groups in the area.
- Phone: 0474 224 940
Robyn Lehmann
Regional Manager - Central Highlands
Having worked in the Vocational Education, Training and Apprenticeship sector for almost 20 years, Robyn is new to the Cotton Industry and is excited to be working with growers in the Central Highlands and Central Queensland area as the Regional Manager.
Robyn’s focus in her role is to be the conduit between local growers and Cotton Australia by communicating through important feedback, supporting industry at a local level and provide assistance and guidance to growers wishing to undertake myBMP Accreditation.
- Phone: 0408 012 569
Cotton to Market
Brooke Summers
Supply Chain Consultant – Cotton to Market program
Brooke is owner and Director of Step Communication, a consultancy specialising in communication, marketing and storytelling predominantly for the rural, regional and agricultural sectors. Brooke has provided communication services to Cotton Australia for more than a decade. Brooke is currently Cotton Australia’s Supply Chain Consultant and leads the Cotton to Market program, a coordinated effort to position cotton as the fibre of choice in the world market by influencing brand owner, retailer, manufacturer and consumer behaviour.
Ali Kuchel
Cotton to Market – Content & Communications Coordinator
As a former agricultural journalist and news editor, Ali is passionate about telling stories, taking photographs and creating videos. Ali joined the Cotton to Market team in 2021 under the ATMAC grant and is at the forefront of telling the stories about the supply chain and the connections between brand and Australian cotton. Ali also communicates biodiversity, environmental and sustainable stories from the field with brands, retailers and the general population to educate them on the benefits of using Australian cotton.
Ashley Hollis
Cotton to Market - Brand Relations Manager
With over 15 years’ experience in the fashion and textile sphere, Ashley has a passion for Australian natural fibre growers with a strong desire to advocate for sustainable options. Ashley joined the Cotton to Market team in 2022, with in-depth knowledge and network systems within the Australian fashion and agricultural communities. Ashley has a track record of pioneering successful projects, programs, and educational courses across the supply chain. Ashley has become a crucial part of the team and to the overall success of the Australian Cotton Mark.
