About Us

BioBrew Ltd was founded in 2009 by Andre Prassinos and Don Pearson to develop the finest probiotics on the planet. Years of R&D at some of NZ’s finest research institutions and validation in many different sectors of the animal health market brought the company to the point of readiness to launch LiveBrew.

LiveBrew Ltd, a subsidiary of BioBrew Ltd, was established in 2018 to bring the world’s finest probiotic technology to the market.

Our leadership team:

Andre Prassinos, Managing Director & Founder

Don Pearson, Technical Director & Founder

Dr Lynne Lane, Director, Clinical Trials

Stephen Kornyei, Director, Governance

 

Andre Prassinos, 
Managing Director

Andre was born in Reno, Nevada and grew up in Denver, Colorado. He began his career in Santa Monica, California, where he owned a real estate portfolio management and disposition company.

Andre moved to New Zealand with his wife, Heather in 1998. The pair now live in the Bay of Plenty region and are raising two young children, Dylan and Sierra. He is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys tramping, trail running, mountain biking, rock climbing, and skiing. He has recently added a bit of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and powerlifting to the mix.

Since 2009, Andre has worked as the Managing Director of BioBrew Ltd and now also as the Managing Director of LiveBrew Ltd, a subsidiary of BioBrew Ltd dedicated to the human health sector.

 

Don Pearson, 
Technical Director

Born in Northland, Don has lived most of his life in Canterbury and currently resides in Dunedin. He holds a BHortSci (Hons) degree from Lincoln University, completing his Honours project in soil science. Don’s two, now adult, children were born in his first and last years of study.

Don brings a wide range of experience to LiveBrew Ltd including organic farming, commercial microbial product formulation and manufacture, and agricultural consulting. He can occasionally be found in the wilds of Aotearoa, revelling in the natural delights and weeding the forest.

Don has spent the last 10+ years as the Technical Director of BioBrew Ltd. His roles have included product development and innovation, Coordinating research and development at Lincoln University (NZ) and Callaghan Innovation, and co-ordinating S.I. production and distribution. Over 2018 he worked intensively with Foodbowl, part of the Food Innovation Network, to ready LiveBrew for the human market.

 

Dr Lynne Lane 
MBChB, NZCPHM.

Dr Lynne Lane is a Public Health Physician who has specialised in leading service improvement. She has held a number of senior positions within the public sector, including Chair Commissioner of the Mental Health Commission, Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health and Acting Chief Executive of the Central RHA.

In the private sector Dr Lane owned a successful general practice and she established a pharmaceutical importing business and significantly reduced the costs of medicines in New Zealand.  She has also undertaken consulting assignments for government-funded organisations, the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, NGOs, and private companies.

Dr Lane currently holds several company directorships including IHC New Zealand,  she is a trustee of the CHT Charitable Trust and has partnerships in the agricultural sector. 

 

Stephen Kornyei 
BCom CA FCIS

Stephen is a Chartered Accountant and has practiced in Balclutha for close to 25 years.  Prior to this he has held accounting positions in the manufacturing and insurance industries in Dunedin and Auckland.

Stephen holds a number of private company Directorships which has led to an increasing involvement in Governance particularly in the philanthropic area and is past Trustee and Deputy Chair of the Otago Community Trust and a current Trustee of the Clutha Foundation.