Shape the System

About the Guest Carly Hunt is the Head of Strategic Partnerships of Showerkap, a UK-based water technology company tackling excessive water consumption in the hospitality sector. With over 20 years in hotel management — latterly focused on energy, waste, and water reduction programmes — Carly brings rare operational depth to the sustainability challenge she's now helping to solve. Her academic bac...

About the Guest Lewis Dunnigan is the CEO and co-founder of Bygen, an Australian deep-tech company reimagining how activated carbon is produced. Lewis came to the problem through his PhD research at the University of Adelaide, where he and his team recognised the commercial potential of their work and spun out the company. He brings both the scientific depth of an academic researcher and the comme...

About the Guest Jason Rolland is the CEO of Carbon Inc , a leading additive manufacturing company focused on production-grade 3D printing. Trained as a polymer chemist, Jason completed his PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under Carbon co-founder Joe DeSimone, where he developed a deep interest in translating materials science into real-world impact. His career sits at the int...

About the Guest Mike Haydon is the CEO of Off The Grid Shop , a business focused on solar, batteries, and decentralised energy solutions. With more than 15 years in the renewable energy sector, Mike has built his career around the idea of energy sovereignty—helping households and businesses stay powered, resilient, and in control. His background spans off-grid systems, peer-to-peer energy trading,...

About the Guest Johan Tijssen is the CEO of Hempblock International and a long-time builder and entrepreneur with more than 25 years’ experience working with hemp-lime (hempcrete) construction systems. Originally from the Netherlands, Johan moved to Australia and became deeply interested in why modern housing had become so complex, fragile, and uncomfortable. Through years of hands-on building, ex...

About the Guest Maude Manoukian is the Chief Community Officer at Forager Project, a US-based company redefining dairy through plant-based innovation. With a background spanning Odwalla and Whole Foods Market, Maude brings deep experience in natural foods, supply chains, and conscious consumerism. Her long-standing collaboration with Forager Project founder Stephen Williamson has shaped a shared p...

About the Guest Dr Jennifer Berry is the CEO of Smartlab, an organisation dedicated to building STEM identity in K–12 learners through hands-on, project-based learning. With a background spanning professional dance, retail, customer experience, and education leadership, she brings a uniquely holistic perspective to how children learn. Her career has focused on non-traditional educational environme...

About the Guest Tom Williams is the Founder and CEO of Number8 Bio, an Australian deep-tech company developing a novel way to cut methane emissions from cattle and sheep while improving livestock productivity. With a background as a senior lecturer and academic microbiologist at Macquarie University, Tom previously led a 17-person research team specialising in synthetic biology, genome engineering...

About the Guest Neal Rickner is the CEO of Airloom, a US-based clean energy company reimagining how we harness wind power. Neal began his career as an F-18 pilot in the US Marines before transitioning through Columbia Business School into a decade at Google and Google X. There, he worked on breakthrough energy and technology initiatives, including airborne wind systems. His unique mix of military...

About the Guest Aymeric Maudous is the Co-founder of Lord of the Trees , an Australian-based environmental technology company pioneering drone-assisted reforestation. With over two decades in the environmental sector and a Master’s in Environmental Management from UNSW, Aymeric combines cutting-edge robotics and AI with Indigenous ecological knowledge to regenerate degraded landscapes. His work ha...

About the Guest Grant Gunnison is the Co-founder of Zero Homes, a company tackling the climate crisis by rethinking how single-family homes transition off fossil fuels. Based in Colorado, Grant brings a unique mix of hands-on contracting experience and a background in advanced technology and software. His journey from working in construction to building digital tools for home electrification gives...

About the Guest Chris Hull is the Co-founder of Otus, an education platform built to help schools and teachers understand students more holistically. A former seventh-grade social studies teacher, Chris brings classroom credibility and a deep empathy for the realities of teaching at scale. His career shift was driven by a simple but stubborn problem: with 150 students a year, how can a teacher tru...

About the Guest(s) Nis Benn is the co-founder of Hyme Energy , a Copenhagen-based company pioneering solutions to decarbonise industrial heat at scale. With a background spanning sociology, consulting, political organising, and deep-tech startups, Nis has consistently chased high-leverage, system-level climate solutions — from nuclear innovation to Hyme’s molten-salt heat storage. Episode Summary...

About the Guest(s): Nate Spiteri is the co-founder of Shopfront, a pioneering Australian company focused on revolutionizing the secondhand market space through a tech-driven approach. With a background in banking and a keen interest in impact businesses, Nate transitioned from the financial sector to the startup realm. He played a crucial role as the first hire in a successful alternative credit s...

About the Guest(s): Nick Hodges is an innovation-driven entrepreneur and the founder of Halcyon, specializing in engineering and developing novel solutions in the energy sector. With a background in business and an aptitude for learning engineering, Nick has combined these skills to address challenges in energy generation, particularly in distributed energy systems. His venture focuses on creating...

About the Guest(s): Heidi Diestal is a fourth-generation turkey farmer at Diestal Family Ranch, based in California. With a rich history in farming, her family has been pivotal in setting standards for organic farming in the United States. Passionate about progressing sustainable agricultural practices, Heidi focuses on integrating regenerative farming methods to enhance the quality and sustainabi...

About the Guest(s): Paul Bevan is the founder and CEO of Magic Valley, a pioneering company in the cultivated meat industry. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Paul has been a vegan for over a decade and was vegetarian for 20 years before that. Before founding Magic Valley, he had a diverse career path that included roles in credit and fraud analytics for banks, as well as ventures in operating a mixe...

About the Guest(s): Raz Razgaitis is the CEO of Flow Water, a company focused on providing clean and trustworthy drinking water solutions across the United States. With a background in tech and a decade spent running early-stage tech companies, Raz shifted his focus to address the systemic issues surrounding tap water quality. Through Flow Water, Raz aims to reduce dependency on single-use plastic...

About the Guest(s): Josh Bloomfield is the Founder and CEO of GiveCloud, a remote-first company aiming to transform how nonprofits operate and connect with donors. Based in Ottawa, Canada, currently residing in Florida with family, Josh’s career began immediately post-high school when he ventured into building grant management software for the US government. His experiences range from developing e...

About the Guest(s): Don Weatherbee is the CEO of Regenexx, a forward-thinking organization focused on innovative precious metals recovery techniques. Transitioning from an accounting background, Don has extensive experience in the mining sector, including coal and oil sands, before joining Regenexx in 2015. His operational expertise coupled with leadership roles has equipped him with the tools to...

About the Guest(s): Hugo Spowers Hugo Spowers is a pioneer in sustainable auto technology and the founder of Riversimple, a company dedicated to developing hydrogen fuel cell cars. With a background in mechanical engineering and a deep interest in environmental sustainability, he left a career in motor racing to focus on creating a new kind of vehicle that could revolutionize personal mobility. Ri...

About the Guest(s): Wayne McIntyre is the CEO and co-founder of Relocalize, a groundbreaking startup focused on transforming the production and distribution of food and beverages. With a robust background in technology startups and leadership roles, Wayne has a unique perspective that blends his personal passion for environmental sustainability with professional expertise. He holds over two decade...

About the Guest(s): Peter Vranes is the co-founder and CEO of Nutromics. With over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, Peter previously took a skincare company from startup to a successful trade sale. Fascinated by health diagnostics, he shifted his focus to medtech. Alongside co-founder Hitesh Mehta, Peter is on a mission to revolutionize health diagnostics and patient outcomes through contin...

About the Guest(s): Paul Frasca: Paul Frasca is a co-founder of Sustainable Salons, an organization dedicated to minimizing waste in the beauty industry by turning salon waste into valuable resources. With a background in hairdressing and a keen interest in sustainability inspired by his partner Evelina, Paul has been pivotal in introducing sustainable practices into salons across Australia and Ne...

About the Guest(s): Christa Stelzmuller: Christa Stelzmuller is a prominent technologist and leader currently serving at charity: water, an organization dedicated to bringing clean and safe water to people in developing countries. With a rich background in consulting and startups, particularly in mission-driven enterprises, Christa combines her technical expertise and passion for social impact to...