Our People
Our Board is responsible for providing strategic and operational oversight of the company and for ensuring this is achieved in line with our vision and values.
Our board
Dr Neil Byron
Director
Neil has provided independent, practical economics and policy advice on natural resources – biodiversity, water resources, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry – including 12 years as Productivity Commissioner, where he conducted 26 public Inquiries. Subsequently, he has been engaged in a succession of part-time assignments involving policy formulation and/or evaluation of natural resource management policies, in Australia and overseas. Neil has extensive experience in governance, and strategic and corporate planning that anticipates and identifies emerging trends, in both government and the private sector.<br><br>Previously, Neil was:<br>- Chair, Audit and Risk Committee, Productivity Commission, (2021-24)<br>Member, MDBA’s Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences (2018-23)<br>- Member Commonwealth Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2024)<br>- Trustee, NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (2017-19)<br>- Assistant Commissioner, then Commissioner, NSW Natural Resources Commission (2018-21)<br>- Non-executive director, Earthwatch Institute Australia, Melbourne (2010-16)<br>- Member of the Independent Science Panel for Great Barrier Reef (2009 – 14)<br>- Member of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (2005-10) <br>Deputy Director General, Centre for International Forest Research (1993-98) based in Indonesia<br>- Director ANU Graduate Program in Environment and Development (1990-93)<br>- Deputy Director, Nepal Australia Community Forestry Project, Kathmandu, Nepal (1986-91) and<br>- Team Leader, UNDP/FAO Planning Team, Dhaka, Bangladesh (1982-84)<br> <br>Neil has over 100 peer reviewed articles and books, mainly in environmental economics and international development economics. He is a Fellow of the Aust Institute of Company Directors and of the Royal Society (NSW).<br>
Professor Ian Rutherfurd
<p>Ian is a fluvial geomorphologist with 30 years working with governments and communities in stream and catchment management. His research spans basic and applied river processes, and he has completed over 150 publications, $7m in funded research projects, and 70 consulting projects. Ian also has rich experience in education and professional training of all types.</p><p>After spending twenty years at the University of Melbourne (of which several years were spent seconded to the Victorian State government working in river policy) Ian joined Alluvium in a part-time capacity. In addition to his involvement in many consulting projects, he chairs the Alluvium Foundation and helps coordinate the Research and Insights Program. He brings deep experience in the application of research to all aspects of river and water management, as well as excellent connections across the water sector. </p>
Kristen Podagiel
Director
Kristen has advised and worked with a wide range of boards on the delivery of major projects, governance, legislative changes and in negotiating significant agreements and joint ventures for over 20 years. She has extensive senior executive-level experience, most recently as CEO of Women’s Legal Service Queensland, which provides free legal and social work services to over 5000 Queensland women every year.<br><br>She was previously the CEO and Managing Partner of McCullough Robertson – one of Queensland’s largest law firms – successfully leading 52 direct reports and a broader team across four states during a period of rapid growth and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was shortlisted for the Executive of the Year at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards in 2019.<br>Kristen has a passion for supporting girls to pursue careers in industries where women are underrepresented, and is a founding director of charity UNIQ YOU which runs pilot programs in Queensland to achieve that aim.<br><br>Kristen has a strong interest in innovation and making businesses more efficient, more effective and more enjoyable to be involved with. She is also accredited as one of Australia’s first practitioners in the area of Smart Collaboration – how to harness the unique skills and experience of a group of specialists to solve problems that are volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.
Dr Paul Maxwell
General Manager – EcoFutures
Paul is a coastal ecologist and natural resource management specialist with 20 years experience working for state government, universities and not-for-profit organisations. He has had extensive experience in developing and implementing environmental, social and economic monitoring and research programs across Australia for local councils, natural resource management organisations and water utilities. He is an experienced project manager in the fields of coastal habitat management and assessment; water quality and river health management; water resource management; monitoring and evaluation; science translation and communication and stakeholder and community engagement.<br><br>Paul is the Research and Development lead for Alluvium. Throughout his career he has focused on developing better links between the best science and practitioners and has maintained an active research profile by partnering with university and industry researchers nationally and internationally. He has been involved in a diverse range of research projects which has led to extensive publications in top-tier journals in the fields of environmental management, ecological resilience, biodiversity conservation, environmental chemistry and marine and freshwater ecology. His research and monitoring outputs have directly influenced state and local government policies.
Kane Travis
Director
Kane is a co-founder and Director of Alluvium and has over 30 years of experience in the delivery of environmental programs and projects. With an Applied Science Degree and postgraduate MBA focused on corporate sustainability, Kane has developed a broad level of experience in policy, strategic planning and implementation projects in both urban and rural Australia.<br><br>Kane has a strong background in NRM policy, planning and environmental works through eight years of employment with the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, and a further four years with Melbourne Water delivering operational management of waterways, and negotiation of environmental and water quality outcomes with the land development industry.<br><br>Kane provides a key role in the integration between the Alluvium businesses, and leads the development of external business partnerships.