Shayne Rutherford - Chair
Wilmar Sugar Australia
Shayne Rutherford - Chair
Mr. Shayne Rutherford BE (Mech Hons I), MBA, GAICD
Shayne has over 25 years of experience in agribusiness including over 20 years in the sugar industry and is currently the Head of Wilmar Sugar and Renewables. In this role, Shayne leads a business that is Australia’s largest raw sugar manufacturer, one of Australia’s largest producers of renewable energy from biomass and the sugar industry’s only ethanol producer. His previous experience spans senior leadership, commercial and technical roles in a range of industries, including mining, oil and gas, and manufacturing.
Robin Stinson
Mackay Sugar (Member of the Nordzucker Group)
Robin Stinson
Robin Stinson joined the ASM board in Oct-2024. He is currently the CFO for Mackay Sugar Limited.
Robin has over 25 years’ experience working in financial roles within industry in the UK, Australia and PNG. The main areas of focus in that time have been in Engineering, Food Manufacturing and Agriculture sectors.
Tianchi (Andrew) Yu
Tully Sugar Limited
Tianchi (Andrew) Yu
Tianchi (Andrew) Yu has more than 35 years’ global experience in food and agriculture. He joined COFCO Group in 1988 and worked in various business divisions in China and overseas. He joined COFCO Sugar in 2005 and has been part of one of the world’s largest sugar operations ever since. Prior to being appointed CEO and Managing Director of Tully Sugar (part of COFCO) - and joining the ASM Board - in 2019, Andrew was in charge of COFCO Tomato processing business and Quality and Safety across all of COFCO Sugar’s mills.
James Wallace
Wilmar Sugar Australia
James Wallace
James Wallace – Wilmar Sugar & Renewables
James Wallace has more than a decade’s experience in sugar manufacturing. He joined the sugar industry as a graduate engineer in 2012 and quickly established himself within the sugar milling sector. He has worked in a range of operational and leadership roles across numerous Australian sugar factories and is currently the General Manager Operations for Wilmar Sugar & Renewables. His operational experience provides valuable insight in ensuring the future sustainability of the industry. He joined the ASM Board in 2025.
Carl Morton
Mackay Sugar (Member of the Nordzucker Group)
Carl Morton
CEO Mackay Sugar.
He has been in the industry for 15 years joining Mackay Sugar in November 2021.
Having previously held positions in Wilmar, Orica and Norske Skog, Carl has diverse operational experience including Raw Sugar, Bioethanol, Industrial Hazardous Chemicals, Fertiliser as well as Pulp and Paper.
His proficiency comes from leading Operations, Asset Management, Projects, and Logistics and customer services functions which has been gained through working from the ground up to Executive Management roles.
Carl has qualifications in Mechanical Engineering, Reliability, Business Administration and Lean as well as holding an Advanced Trade Certificate in Fitting and Turning.
Craig Wood
Isis Central Sugar Mill
Craig Wood
Craig Wood has over 40 years of experience in the Sugar Industry while working in various engineering roles through to Site and Operations Management positions across multiple factories and Australian Sugar Manufacturers. His passion is in optimising factories to obtain their maximum sustainable outputs and looking at diversification opportunities in the Bioenergy field that can be bolt on to the existing factory operations.
Craig joined the ASM board in 2024, after being appointed CEO of Isis Central Sugar Mill.
Ash Salardini
Chief Executive Officer
Ash Salardini
Chief Executive Officer
Ash Salardini joined the Australian Sugar Manufacturers as Chief Executive Officer in March 2024.
Prior to taking up his position with ASM, Ash was Managing Director of Public Affairs with Morrow Sodali (previously Domestique Consulting), and earlier in his career was Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs with Rabobank. Ash has held key positions with Business NSW, Business Sydney and the Australasian Railways Association as well as in primary industry as Chief Economist for the NSW Farmers’ Association, and Chief Economist and General Manager Trade for the National Farmers’ Federation.
Ash holds degrees in Economics, Law and International Studies from the University of Sydney, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Warwick (UK), and has successfully completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course.
Jim Crane
Director, Industry and Government Affairs
Jim Crane
Director, Industry and Government Affairs
Jim’s portfolio with the ASM reflects the broad range of issues that confront the sugar industry on a daily basis. With 40-plus years of industry experience, he represents ASM members across workplace health and safety, people, environmental, transport, commercial and technical issues. In his government relations role, Jim is a primary contact point for the manufacturing sector and the broader sugar industry across all levels of government.
Emma Roberts
Office Manager
Emma Roberts
Office Manager
Emma has been a key point of contact for ASM since she joined the team in 2008. Emma manages all financial and administrative operations and works closely with the team on member support and communication.