Export Consultants Association Incorporated (ECAI), is the peak body established to represent EMDG Export Consultants and Australian Exporters.
Currently ECAI has approximately 60 members, representing EMDG Consultants ranging from large consulting firms to small business operators. A survey in respect of the most recent grant year indicated that our members assisted over 2,000 Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) applicants, and in total worked with over 15,000 Australian exporters.
Since its inception in 1994, ECAI have been actively involved in lobbying Government and Austrade to support and expand the EMDG Scheme.
The existence of the EMDG Scheme, which has been assisting Australian exporters for over 40 years, can be attributed substantially to the work that has been undertaken by the ECAI Committee and its members.
ECAI National Committee
Kate Whitehead (Chairman)
Kate is the founder and Managing Director of Avant Group. Her role sees her undertake major competitive grant applications and key project management for research and development activities, and other major project management activities. Kate oversees the company’s grants consulting team, who is charged with application identification, submission, management and auditing compliance.
Outside of her work Kate is a Director and Deputy Chair Board Member of the Fight Cancer Foundation, a major Australian not for profit research organisation.
Kate holds a Masters in Marketing and a Post Graduate Diploma of Business Management from Melbourne Business School in addition to Post Graduate formal qualifications in Taxation and Law. Kate also holds qualifications in Engineering (Mech) and Business Management. She also holds GAICD.
Duncan Bathgate (Secretary)
Duncan Bathgate joined Exportise in 1994 after practising as a solicitor for two years. His legal background, technical knowledge, and ability to understand practical issues have earned him a strong reputation as a professional consultant with broad expertise in exporting and the challenges exporters continually face.
He has worked closely with a wide range of clients and industry bodies, specialising in intellectual property rights, tourism, manufacturing, export merchants, and other service suppliers. Duncan has advised exporters on various issues, such as locating trade partners and international trade finance.
Currently, he serves as a board member of the Export Consultants Association Inc. (ECAI) and has previously held roles as a consultant representative on the Austrade-EMDG Technical Committee and as Secretary to the Code of Practice Administration Committee (COPAC).
Tom Sandilands (Treasurer)
Tom Sandilands has his Masters in Business Management and a degree in Applied Science (Human Movement). Working in the EMDG industry for over 15 years, Tom is an experienced and driven consultant who has vast experience with varied industries, diverse business sizes and complex operating procedures. Tom is a member of the National Committee for Export Consultants Association Inc (ECAI) and participates on business councils in Victoria and Tasmania. Tom’s passionate about Australian businesses taking on international markets. He has an excellent awareness of industry trends, the EMDG Act, expected lodgement standards and government processes.
Rod Campbell
Rod has been directly involved with the EMDG program since its formative years when he was Policy Officer for this program with the Export Grants Board.
As one of the early independent advisors on EMDG Rod was instrumental in establishing the Export Consultants Association Ltd ( ECAL ) and held the role of Deputy Chair for most of its tenure. Rod was involved in the establishment of the Code of Practice Administration Committee with Austrade and was a delegate on that committee for the entirely of its operations.
Following the separation of ECAL from the Export Council of Australia ( where Rod was a Director and Company Secretary ) he was again instrumental in re-establishing the current Export Consultants Association Inc ( ECAI ) and was the inaugural Chair up to June 2024 – and remains as a Board member of ECAI.
The EMDG program supports export activity across a very diverse field of business enterprise and while the terms of the legislation and guidelines limited grant access to some areas of business, Rod was instrumental in working with Austrade to develop guidelines for Industry Representation Bodies and the film and television industries to extend EMDG benefit to candidates from those industries.
Rod has exceptional experience on the EMDG program which is great support for our current Board and members alike.
Erik Anderson
Erik has been involved with Export Grants for over 22 years and has been on the ECAI Committee since 2006.
During this time, Erik has assisted over 1,000 small businesses to access the Export Grant program.
Peter Campbell
Trent Scheirs
Trent Scheirs is a Co-founder and Director at Grant Help. Grant Help is a government grant consultancy that specialises in a wide variety of government grants and incentives across both state and federal levels, servicing over 700 clients each year. Trent was also the winner of Business News Australia’s Melbourne Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Melbourne 2023.
Michelle Matheson
Michelle Matheson joined Exportise in 1993 after completing her Bachelor of Economics degree from Monash University. Working with businesses and watching them grow and succeed in export is what has kept her passionate about her work in the sector. Taking a hands-on approach with each client ensures that Michelle can develop productive relationships with a range of clients including manufacturers, tourism operators, service providers, companies promoting their intellectual property overseas and industry bodies represents the interests of their members around the globe.
Michelle is a board member of the Export Consultants Association Inc. (ECAI) and also served as a board member under its previous incarnation.
Outside of work, Michelle enjoys travelling overseas and dining out in Melbourne. She is active in junior sports and has a long record of volunteer work with school and community organisations including the Salvation Army.
Ray Radice
Ray Radice is a Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours). As the Managing Director of Grants Pro, Ray specialises in government grants leveraging his deep expertise in international business growth and regulatory compliance.
Prior to founding Grants Pro, Ray worked at EY (Ernst & Young) and Edwards Marshall, where he gained extensive experience in assurance, financial advisory, taxation, and business consulting, working with a diverse range of clients across multiple industries. He later joined Austrade, where he held a senior role in administering the EMDG program, developing the assessment framework, and training internal staff and external stakeholders on the program’s policies and guidelines.
Beyond Grants Pro, Ray is also a Director of several private companies, bringing hands-on commercial experience in international trade, business expansion, and investment projects. With a passion for travel, Ray spent five summers as a European tour guide for Topdeck Travel, sharing his love for adventure and cultural experiences with travellers from around the world.
All members of ECAI must abide by the organisation’s rules of ethical conduct.
Find a ECAI Member consultant by state : NSW | QLD | SA | VIC | WA | NT
National Office: 1st Floor, 136 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia
Kate Whitehead – Chair – 03 8567 7500 – [email protected]
Email: [email protected] or use our contact us page.