Rod Zakostelsky, founder of Cannaponics and recent recipient of the Collie Futures Fund of $2 million dollars. Rod has 20+ years business ownership across sectors including health, mining, and construction. He has extensive experience in developing, implementing, managing and auditing of systems. Rod has led the Cannaponics project development and capital raising, including engagement with local community and stakeholders and securing appropriate expertise to deliver the project.

Rod is an entrepreneur who, along with his naturopath wife Pam, has a vision to build one of the worlds first carbon neutral Medical Cannabis facilities in Collie regional Western Australia. Cannaponics will be supplying high quality affordable Pharmaceuticals to the Australian and global market. Rod’s vision for a fully self-sustainable facility includes large scale solar and innovative water harvesting systems. Cannaponics will create jobs and deliver significant economic benefit to Western Australia.

Robert is an agribusiness specialist and experienced executive with demonstrated success in the senior management of complex operations with a focus on business development, natural resource management, agricultural farming systems, stakeholder engagement, governance, transparency and accountability and organisational change. He is a farmer, with over 20 years’ experience in senior management including 15 years as both a Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer and director of both ‘for profit’ and ‘not for profit’ companies and organisations.

Paul Llewellyn is a change agent committed to positive and responsible social enterprise. An environmental planner and economist, he is a cofounder of the WA Greens Party. As the Greens MP in WA State Parliament he drove change to State and Federal law to deliver 20% Renewable Energy Target by 2020. Job done. In addition to co-founding and building the Deco Housing ecovillage, Paul set up and delivered the Denmark Community Windfarm and the MtBarker Windfarm.

Paul “walks his talk, lighting a path to living on ecological sustainable planet.

Richard is an Award-winning professional with 30+ years’ experience in business, construction and project management. He cherishes working alongside others with forward thinking ideas and bold ambition and is driven, focused and visionary in every sense. Richard has an unrivalled passion for sustainability and innovation. MIRRECO™ have recently been recognised as a Top 5 global leader in reducing emissions and are a market leader in hemp R&D, product development & more.

Shahajahan Miyan received his B Sc. Ag (Hons.) in 1977 from Bangladesh Agricultural University and his Master of Science in 1987 from Cornell University, USA and the University of the Philippines at Los Banos, Philippines.

Shahajahan has more than 40 years experience in agricultural research in Australia and overseas. He has worked for 11 years as a Research Officer at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, then nine years with the University of Adelaide.
For the last 20 years he has been working at DPIRD in crop agronomy and root diseases control. He is currently working as a Research Scientist with Industrial Hemp in the DPIRD to investigate how the grain yield and quality of new hemp varieties respond to sowing times and environments in the Western Region.

Bronwyn and Chris Blake became licensed hemp growers in 2015 and founded Vasse Valley in 2017. Vasse Valley is WA’s leading hemp foods business and the first business in Australia to win awards for hemp-inspired foods. Bronwyn has played an instrumental role in developing the emerging WA hemp industry. She was an inaugural committee member of iHempWA and a founding member and inaugural Chairperson for the WA Hemp Growers’ Co-operative. Bronwyn is also leading a State Government project investigating hemp as a fodder for livestock.

Cam’s knowledge of alternative methods in construction comes from his education crafted by European lecturers and instructors. He since has developed his knowledge of materials, chemicals and methods that allow him to have a clear vision of constructing homes that are low in VOC’s, highly energy efficient and a low carbon impact to the environment. Hempcrete is a passion for Cam who is a co-director for a building company in Margaret River specialising in hempcrete construction. His passion is truly reflected as he (with partner Henry) have been able to make hempcrete more affordable to homeowners.

I have now been in the Hemp farming space for four seasons. The Co-op has been working with farmers in hemp since 2018 and we are coming up to our third year. Not a great deal of years but so much has happened in that time. We have helped develop over 50 farms in to hemp farmers, we have helped inspire people to try value adds in hemp and we have linked WA with world hemp companies. It has been a rollercoaster of learning and meeting interesting people. That is me.

Ann Maree is a highly experienced business consultant and stakeholder engagement professional. She is in demand for her facilitation, strategic business development, collaboration, and research skills. Ann Maree relishes the chance to find strategic pathways and solutions, navigating through complexity and uncertainty. This “laser beam” approach and strong strategic ability combined with exceptional people skills, delivers results. Ann Maree has worked with the emerging industrial hemp industry in WA since 2017 with the aim to create focus and collaboration. This included preparing the first detailed analysis of the potential of industrial hemp in WA. Ann Maree is Director of Value Creators, an innovative development organisation that delivers bespoke programs focused on people, business, and industry growth.

An eclectic career history spanning decades and crossing genres has developed his ability to see the big picture, isolate challenges, envision solutions, share ideas, motivate and manage people.

Inspired by the global view to act locally; empowered with knowledge of the hemp plant’s potential to assist humanity heal themselves and their earth and; committed to give of his energy to create a positive effect for people and planet today and tomorrow rather than get a job for money.

David is the current Chairman and a Founder of the Industrial Hemp Western Australia Association Inc. colloquially know as iHempWA.

Redi-Hemp’s core business is sustainable infrastructure.

From seed, manufacturing, carbon sequestration, storage, recycling and future environmental impact, Elia’s input is fundamental to the research, development and production of hemp panels, hemp bricks and eco roof tiles.

Elia is the key Technical Consultant, driven by insatiable curiosity, precision, and technological advancement, to produce a quality, affordable and sustainable product for the buildings of today, tomorrow and into the future.

Redi-Hemp introduce a serious contender to the construction industry; a product line incorporating the highest level of sustainability features, manufactured from industrial hemp to produce eco-friendly hemp panels, bricks and tiles.

Achievements? 7 structures completed … and counting!

Iggy is founder and CEO of Hemp Squared, researching and manufacturing hempcrete blocks for the building industry. Iggy studied Mechanical Engineering in the Netherlands and has worked in management and leadership roles in engineering
and IT for 26 years.

After several years studying industrial hemp research, Iggy established Hemp Squared in 2019 to manufacture and supply sustainable building materials to the building industry as an alternative for common construction. He is utilising his
engineering, management and leadership knowledge and skills to contribute to the development of others who are curious and passionate about the industrial hemp industry.

He believes that credible research, collaborating and sharing information with others is key to making the industrial hemp building products industry mainstream and a true alternative to current common practices in Australia.

Peter has been around boats since his school days. This led to a career in Naval Architecture, training and working in England, working in Sydney (10 years) and Perth (40 years). Much of this Perth time has been as a self-employed consultant, with extensive experience in GRP design and construction.

Innovation has loomed large. A few years ago Peter became interested in industrial hemp, setting up Hemp Building Services WA as a design consultancy. This led to the current interest, and the creation of Hemp Fibre Boats WA. The first HFBWA design release will be at the upcoming 20th March Hemp Symposium, where attendees will be able to enjoy Peter’s lunchtime presentation of his hemp resin fibre boat manufacturing processes in the Exhibitors Hall.

Having attended Hemp workshops in 2016 and gone on to owner build our house in 2017 I have stayed connected with the hemp building industry. Attending a number of symposiums visiting a number of building sites and providing advice to would be first time hemp builders.

With the supply of hemp in 2018 we invested in some innovation building projects in Western Australia.

We are preparing to expand on our own original build in Q1 2021, once again using hemp on floors walls and ceilings. This time not as owner builders but overseeing a young building company work with hemp for the first time.