James de Groot

Doctor James De Groot was the chairman of the Australian GDI Institute for Liquid Tiberium, operating in the Australian outback. He oversaw the project, however, he was plagued with bad luck, as GDI had neither the knowledge nor the technology to tame the destructive potential of liquid Tiberium, resulting in over two dozen deaths of top GDI Tiberium researchers over time.

This led to his general unpopularity with GDI brass and scientific staff, as the results weren't satisfactory enough to warrant risking lives of top researchers. And hefty paychecks to thos willing to work for De Groot didn't change a thing. Even his friend, Eliot Smith-Johnson, found himself unable to convince the top or scientists to work for him.

All of this became a moot point when Nod Black Hand forces invaded the outback and sabotaged the liquid Tiberium research facility, a grand gesture announcing the return of Nod as a global power, covering much of Australia with deadly Tiberium fallout.