Our People
Big ideas need a great team
The Geo40 team includes a diverse range of skills across renewable energy, minerals, metallurgy, mineral processing, mining, mechanical and civil engineering, chemistry and product development disciplines.
Our achievements reflect the skills, energy and commitment of our people and the effectiveness with which they collaboration.
We’re the first company globally to sustainably recover low-carbon, high-quality colloidal silica from geothermal fluid at scale.
We believe that this achievement is a direct function of the breadth of experience we have assembled. We scale up through a staged development process; from laboratory to Pilot Plant, Demonstration Plant and finally a modular Commercial Plant, to limit technical and financial risk.
We are regularly asked when we expect to succeed in building a large scale direct lithium recovery plant. While the technologies involved are different from those we employ in silica recovery, we are deploying exactly the same processes and disciplines.
Meet the team
We’re pleased to introduce you to just some of those who are contributing to our work.
Dylan Gifford
Senior Chemist
Dylan joined Geo40 in July 2024 as Senior Chemist, bringing new depth to our mineral extraction processes. With a background in process development and technical sales, Dylan is a valuable addition to the team.
Having recently relocated to Taupo, Dylan and his partner Dakota are enjoying exploring what the region has to offer and embracing the adventure-based lifestyle that Taupo provides. When he isn’t at the plant in Ohaaki, Dylan can be found building his skills in the kitchen or anywhere else water can be found.
"Geo40's novel application of technologies for mineral extraction provides an exciting opportunity for process and product development. This is supported by an innovative and dedicated team which is able to bring this dream to fruition."
Isabela Alves de Castro
Principal Research & Development Scientist
Isabela is an accomplished scientist with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Brazil and has worked in both New Zealand and Australia with over 10 years of experience to her name.
Having worked across materials science, inorganic chemistry and mineral extraction, Isabela leads the way on Geo40’s Lithium extraction Project.
Isabela and her partner Frederik have one young child named George. When Isabela is not with them, she loves to head out for a swim in the lake or in the ocean.
“Extracting minerals with minimal environmental impact is what has motivated me to join the Geo40 team.”
Callum Ward
Product Development and QA Manager
Callum graduated from the University of Canterbury with a BSc in Chemistry, focussing on physical and inorganic chemistries.
Callum has been with Geo40 since its inception and has enjoyed seeing the process come to fruition and all the learnings along the way – from concept, to lab scale, to pilot scale, to demonstration scale, to the current commercially successful Ohaaki Plant.
An avid problem-solver who relishes the opportunity to contribute towards developing world-first technologies. Callum leads quality control to ensure all batches are produced consistently and meet customers specifications. He also assists R&D with experimental design to help develop new products and enhance existing products already on the market.
Callum is well supported by his fiancé Amber and kept amused by his two young children Everett and Peyton. Outside of work, Callum can be found enjoying the Taupo outdoors with his family and dog Odin.
Our Leadership Bench
While the members of our senior team are each leaders in their individual fields, we know that through collaboration, the whole is much more than the sum of its parts.
John Worth
CEO and Managing Director
John Worth
CEO and Managing Director
Sustainably and profitably recovering future minerals from geothermal fluids is a very unique challenge, and John notes that, “the opportunity to take a nascent set of technologies and to develop a team to appropriately reward the belief of our shareholders is exciting indeed.”
John has worked extensively in energy across geothermal, wind, wave and solar disciplines and holds bachelors and masters degrees in engineering and management and has undertaken post-graduate and executive studies at Oxford, Harvard and Auckland.
He is a Chartered Engineer, contributes to a number of boards, and in his spare time coaches junior rugby, swims and surfs and is an occasional surf lifeguard.
Chris Durno
General Manager, Commercial
Chris Durno
General Manager, Commercial
Chris is an engineer at heart, having graduated from the University of Canterbury with a degree in mechanical engineering. After starting his career at a prominent New Zealand engineering consultancy firm, he expanded his horizons in London, earning a postgraduate diploma in financial management from the University of Westminster.
With over 25 years of experience in commercial and financial management across large, asset-intensive businesses, Chris joined the Geo40 team as General Manager, Commercial in 2024. His recent work at the forefront of low-emission technology deployment within the energy transition equips him with the relevant knowledge and capability to help Geo40 scale.
Chris is motivated and excited by Geo40’s mission to play a key role in a low-carbon future through sustainable mineral recovery. When he’s not working on that, you’ll likely find him enjoying Aotearoa’s great outdoors.
Michelle Mason
Inside Sales Manager
Michelle Mason
Inside Sales Manager
Michelle joined Geo40 as our Inside Sales Manager in June 2024, bringing with her a wealth of local and international sales and marketing knowledge.
Michelle has lived in Taupo for seven years and enjoys the sense of community and the outdoor activities that the region offers. Having worked in both national and international sales, Michelle’s experience will further the Company’s reach within domestic and offshore silica markets.
When Michelle isn’t at work, she can be found outdoors riding bikes, tramping and adventuring with her partner Elijah. “Geo40 has some great talent and the team strives for excellence in all areas. It is a privilege to be involved in this new sector, with so much potential for learning and growth."
Rory Coventry
Process Engineer
Rory Coventry
Process Engineer
Rory is a senior process engineer with approximately 13 years of experience in engineering project design and management in the fields of geothermal engineering and FMCG (beverage). Rory started with Geo40 in December 2021 but was involved in the initial Silica Pilot plant design in 2013 as a process engineer for Jacobs.
Rory brings extensive project and plant maintenance expertise through his previous roles managing projects, capital works portfolios, and leading engineering teams. Rory is a chartered member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
With three young children, Rory has his hands full but is loving every moment with his young family. Based in Auckland, he has gotten to know the local playground scene well over the last few years.
“For me, it’s all about having exciting challenges to work on. Geo40 provides that in spades. From day to day, I can be involved in discussions ranging from how we optimise our existing assets to how we take a novel process from the lab to a pilot and onto a demonstration plant. I love it!”
Che Kranenburg
Product & Market Development Manager
Che Kranenburg
Product & Market Development Manager
An accomplished environmental scientist studying and working across New Zealand and Australia, with over 15 years of experience across consulting, civil development and oil & gas roles, Che leads the application of Geo40’s products into environmental, civil development and heavy industry markets.
Che is well supported by his wife Jennifer and two young children Indie and Caide, and when he isn’t with them there is a good chance, he is out amongst nature with a fishing rod in his hand.
“For me, it’s about leading something new. What Geo40 is doing has never been done before, we get a chance to reduce industrial consumption and create positive impact, that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning”.
Dr. Campbell McNicoll
Research & Development Manager
Dr. Campbell McNicoll
Research & Development Manager
Cam graduated Canterbury University with a PhD in chemistry, which was focussed on titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Since then, he has worked with NZ based start-up companies, and in prior roles has developed a method to refine steelmaking slag into titanium dioxide pigment. He has spent time as a lead scientist and oversaw the development of the chemical process from lab to pilot through to the demonstration scale.
More recently, Cam joined the Geo40 team, where he has developed colloidal silica products to meet market demands, modifying the silica extraction process to produce a wider range of products. Most recently, Cam has designed and build the lithium extraction process/pilot plant, being one of the first to produce a battery-grade lithium carbonate from geothermal brines. A problem solver at heart, when at Geo40 Cam enjoys the challenges of solving problems and developing novel processes that capture valuable minerals in ways never successfully done before.
Mathew Hunt
Operations Manager
Mathew Hunt
Operations Manager
With over nine years in the geothermal industry, Mathew is now responsible for managing the installation, modification, and maintenance of Geo40 assets, as well as supporting the operations team in the day-to-day running of the plants.
Mathew’s time outside of work is spent with his partner Emily, and dog Norman mostly mountain biking locally in Rotorua and around the country.
“Geo40 is great, there’s an awesome team with a fantastic vision and a hard-working and innovative mentality. There is great diversity in people and projects and every day presents unique and enjoyable challenges.”
Work with us
We’re always on the lookout for great talent with a collaborative attitude.
We have a growing team, located mainly in New Zealand but also offshore.
Current Vacancies
All of our current vacancies are listed on Seek.co.nz
