Management
Distinguished Laureate Professor Ravi Naidu
Former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, crcCARE
Professor Ravi Naidu is an internationally recognised researcher and leader in the field of contaminated land management, environmental remediation and soil and groundwater science. Affiliated with the University of Newcastle, Australia, he has made significant contributions to advancing research, innovation and practical solutions for managing environmental contamination.
As the founding leader who spearheaded the successful bid to establish crcCARE (Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment), Professor Naidu went on to serve as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director for many years. Under his leadership, crcCARE grew into a nationally and internationally recognised centre of excellence, making significant strides in research, innovation, industry collaboration and the development of solutions to address complex contamination challenges.
His vision, commitment and leadership played a pivotal role in shaping crcCARE’s growth, strengthening its research capabilities and establishing its reputation as a leading organisation in contamination assessment and remediation.
Following his longstanding leadership and contribution, crcCARE is now entering a new chapter, seeking to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer to build on this strong foundation and lead the organisation into its next phase of growth, research excellence, and innovation.
Jess Nichols
Personal Assistant to the Managing Director & CEO
Before finding her place at crcCARE, Jess explored various administrative roles across industries such as construction, health, and mining. This experience has given her a broad understanding of diverse workplace expectations, cultures, and people, ensuring a consistently high standard of service.
Ratin Mathur
Industry Training Manager
Ratin leads crcCARE’s efforts to upskill Australia’s remediation workforce through training and capacity building.
He organises the CRC’s short courses and workshops and engages with industry to ensure that training needs and knowledge gaps are well understood. He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and has tertiary qualifications in project management, marketing and sales. Prior to joining crcCARE, he held the title of Project Engineer at Mount Gordon Mine in Northern Queensland. Earlier in his career, Ratin held positions with various chemical and petrochemical industry groups in India. He specialises in project planning and development, project management, and project implementation.
Jessie Xu
Finance Manager
Jessie is responsible for payroll, payment of accounts, issuing invoices, reconciliation of project expenses and monthly accounts generating.
She has more than 20 years of experience in the finance industry, including financial accounting work in the area of telecommunication service, and extensive financial accounting experience at a multinational company in the mining and metals industry.