The Board members and Chair for Commercialisation Australia’s $196 million initiative have been announced.

Announcing the board members, Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said that the calibre of the appointees shows just how serious the Rudd Government is about providing a useful tool to help business succeed and generate high-wage, high-skill jobs. “The board members have a thorough understanding of the commercialisation process,” Senator Carr said. “Their collective experience extends right across the research, industry and investment communities.

“They have the practical know-how that is needed to assess the diverse range of applications that we are expecting.”

“Board members will support our case managers and business mentors to deliver meaningful advice, derived from their own extensive experience that our up and coming innovators can relate to.

“The response to Commercialisation Australia to date has been overwhelmingly positive, the Commercialisation Australia website has received more than 15,000 visits, calls to the Hotline have exceeded 650, and more than 260 pre-application forms have been submitted.”

The newly appointed Board Chair, Dr Laurie Hammond, emphasised the flexibility Commercialisation Australia offers, allowing continuous application and assessment to ensure assistance flows as and when it is most needed. “Our first board meeting will take place in early March and I look forward to assessing a highly competitive group of applications,” Dr Hammond said.

Chair

• Dr Laurie Hammond, Co-Founder and Director, iQ Capital Management Pty Ltd.

Members

• Dr Katherine Woodthorpe, Chief Executive, Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCAL)

• Dr Susan Pond AM, former Chairman and Managing Director, Johnson & Johnson Research Pty Ltd

• Dr Bruce Whan, Director of Swinburne Knowledge and CEO of Swinburne Ventures Limited (Swinburne University)

• Mr Nixon Apple, Industry and Economic Adviser, Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union

• Ms Jan Bingley, General Manager, IP, Licensing and Technology Transfer, CSIRO