Advisors
Ben Lacey
B.E Mechanical Engineering / MBA Finance Central Queensland University / Queensland University of Technology
Commercial Advisor (Australia)
A commercial and business development senior leader with extensive commercial and management experience in the gas, LNG, and power industry for over 25 years. Professional development began in power station construction management and operations, followed by energy infrastructure investment, LNG project supply and optimisation, managerial roles in G&P physical and financial trading and leadership roles in the establishment of Shell Energy Australia’s trading business and transformational transactions to underpin the business’ growth agenda in Australia.
Ryan Freer
MA International Studies
Seoul National University
BComms
Griffith University
Graduate Certificate - Sustainable Energy
University of Queensland
Advisor (Australia)
Ryan Freer is currently the Director of International Advisory at Solomons Capital and Vice Chairman of the Australia Chamber of Commerce, Korea (AustCham).
As a former senior trade and investment representative for both the Governments of Queensland and New Zealand, Ryan has successfully driven strategic trade and investment outcomes across a range of strategic industries. Ryan’s private sector experience includes market development for clean energy technology, mineral resource project development, and execution of low emission natural gas and liquefied natural gas vehicle fuel programs in East Asian economies.
Ryan has a Bachelor of Communications from Griffith University and a Master of International Studies from Seoul National University. He is also a graduate of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and a Chartered ESG Investment Manager.
Dr Neil Thompson PhD
Visiting Fellow – The Australian National University Adjunct Associate Professor - Queensland University of Technology Master of Business Administration – University of Southern Queensland Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Lean Design / Integrated Building and Transport Systems - Queensland University of Technology Bachelor of Engineering, Power Engineering - Queensland University of Technology
Clean Technology Advisor (Australia)
Dr Neil Thompson has undertaken award-winning research at QUT Australia and KIT Germany as Adjunct Associate Professor in the field of integrated, closed-loop system design which resulted in development of the Integrated Sustainable Design (ISD) protocol to aid construction of low-risk and future-proofed infrastructure and built-form whilst providing for improved social and environmental outcomes from these facilities. Since receiving his PhD in 2016, Neil has worked as an independent consulting engineer and economist for the AEC sector in order to deploy the ISD protocol in local and international projects with particular emphasis on the use of waste streams and renewable resources to create hydrogen fuel and clean energy.
Joe Marinov
Bachelor Accounting / AICD
Griffith University
International Business Advisor (Australia)
An International educational and business development innovator with extensive experience in Australasia projects from China, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia and Japan with an emphasis on distributed ledger and disruptive technologies and their integration into legacy systems and industries.
Joe’s professional development began in accounting and management positions in the petrochemical, mining and manufacturing industries to service and software industries. Foreign direct investment, FIRB approvals, transfer pricing and export sales expansion have been his primary drivers and the focus of his efforts in management roles within Australia.
Joe has recent focus has been on decentralized encryption of supply chains and validation systems for energy proof of supply and carbon credit generation and trading under the auspices of the U.N. Paris Protocol.
Lou Purgaric
Bachelor with Honours in Mechanical Engineering
University of Belgrade
Engineering Advisor (Australia)
Lou is a senior design engineer with several years of global experience in the design of Geothermal heat exchange and mechanical building services and refrigeration. He has led several geothermal installation designs across Australia, using his knowledge to optimise thermal and energy efficiency in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Sector. The use of Geothermal Cooling to mitigate energy loads in cooling is a growing technology and one that can contribute to climate change in the built form.