2026 Guest Speakers
ASSCT would like to welcome our guest speakers for 2026.
| Mr Mick bartlettMick Bartlett’s aim in leading SRA is to enhance productivity, sustainability and profitability for sugar producers, millers, and associated stakeholders within the Australian Sugar community. His appointment marks a new era for SRA as it continues to support the industry through innovative research and providing practical solutions that are executable. Mr Bartlett brings a wealth of experience and expertise, having spent more than two decades in executive leadership positions within the commercial agricultural, biosecurity and research sectors across four continents. With extensive significant achievements in driving innovation and sustainability within the agricultural industry, Mr Bartlett’s leadership has been characterised by a strong commitment to commercial agribusiness, research, and development. For the last two decades Mick has enjoyed a record of continuous success in green field and brown field startups, business development, new venture creation, strategic management, change management, plant breeding, research, and business operations. As Global Director of Operations at the International Rice Research Institute, based in Philippines, Mr Bartlett was responsible for providing governance, due diligence, resource allocation, monitoring and control of research and operational initiatives in 21 countries. As CEO for the Biosecurity Authority in Fiji, he was selected as the permanent delegate to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in Paris and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) in Rome. Mick has sat on multiple Company and Fund Boards in the Agri business, FMCG, mining, drilling, and power businesses across the world |
Dr. Sijesh NatarajanDr. Sijesh Natarajan is the Breeding Technology Lead at Sugar Research Australia and an Industry Fellow at the ARC Training Centre for Predictive Breeding, University of Queensland. He oversees the integration of advanced breeding technologies in the SRA breeding program, combining genomics, high throughput phenomics, and big data analytics to accelerate genetic gains and improve sugarcane productivity. He has led research projects that combine crop physiology, phenotyping, and quantitative genetics, leading to the successful adoption of phenomics technologies across the SRA program. With nearly a decade of research experience, he works closely with both industry and academic partners to advance data-driven approaches for sugarcane improvement. |
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| PROF. IAN O'HARA Professor Ian O’Hara is the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Queensland University of Technology. After spending the early part of his career in the sugar industry, Ian joined QUT to develop new opportunities in sugarcane diversification. His expertise spans scaling and translation of technology to grow the bioeconomy through biomanufacturing and he was instrumental in the development of the QUT Pioneer Biopilot facility based in Mackay – which demonstrates new sugar industry diversification technologies. In addition to his academic leadership, Professor O’Hara serves as the Queensland Government’s Biofuels Industry Envoy - advising government and supporting investment. He is also a member of the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy. |
