Members Profile
John Ballard (Chair)
John Ballard was Managing Director and previously CEO of GroPep Ltd until 2002, positions he held since the inception of the company in 1988 and through its listing on the ASX in 2000. He was one of the founders of BioAngels, of which he is currently Chairman. He is also a Director of BR-Angels Pty Ltd, Applimex Pty Ltd, AdAlta Pty Ltd and Neubody Pty Ltd as well as the not-for-profit companies, Australian Proteome Analysis Facility Ltd, The Australian Association of Angel Investors Ltd and the Australian Institute for Commercialisation Ltd. He is a biochemist by training (PhD, BSc), has authored more than 300 research publications and is an inventor of 10 patents. He was elected to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 1997.
Greg Bender
Greg Bender holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions and has been a consultant to several Rural Industry R&D corporations over the past 20 years. In 2000 he co-founded Biotech Ventures Pty Ltd and was the director until 2003. Between 2001 and 2006 he worked as the national coordinator for GRDC Soil Health Program, NAPLIP Pasture Breeding and Pulse Breeding Australia. During this time he also established Pastures Australia for AWI and GRDC and facilitated the establishment of the National Plant Genetic Resources Centre on behalf of AWI.
Through his current business Abbott Innovation Pty Ltd he works with both the public and private sectors to ensure that products and services reach their target markets. He specialises in the innovation and implementation of new ideas in business systems, product development, manufacturing and marketing.
Robin Craig BSc (Hons) PhD: Founder and Director of Genesearch Pty Ltd, a biotechnology company established as a partnership in 1980. Genesearch specializes in microbial fermentation and genetics and has done contract research on genetic engineering of algae, lysine product and a range of waste treatment products and processes. Genesearch has recently demerged its fermentation business that produces bacteria for agriculture (e.g. silage inoculants and biopesticides) and waste treatment. Genesearch also distributes reagents for molecular biology and cell biology, plus bioinformatics products, in Australia. Dr Craig is research director of Genesearch and has had a leading role in several contract research programs as well as product development, manufacture, process development and applications programming. Dr Craig is also a Director of ThoughtWare Australia Pty Ltd, a software development company.
Rod Cooter
Dr Rod Cooter is a plastic surgeons and holds formal qualifications of an MBBS (1984), MD (Adel, 1991) and FRACS (1993). He is currently the director of Waverley House Plastic Surgery Centre in Adelaide. Rod has been the former director of Plastic Surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and an Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide. Dr Cooter is a national councillor of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), national chairman ASPS Education Foundation Development Committee and a councillor of the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Rod brings an insight into medical devices and applications as well as research and product development.
Neil Finlayson
Neil is based in Adelaide and Brisbane and has extensive experience in banking and finance, JVs, partnering and licensing, and in company formations. He is currently Business Development Director of Bio Innovation SA, a South Australian Government Corporation formed in 2001 to foster and grow the bioscience industry in the State. During his career, Neil has licensed technologies to national and international biotech and pharmaceutical companies and been instrumental in the formation of 17 companies.
Prior to joining Bio Innovation SA, Neil was the Commercial Director of Griffith University for 2 years and he previously held the position of CEO of Vaccine Solutions Pty Ltd (co-owned by CSL Limited and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research) for 3.5 years. Neil began his career spending 7 years as a money market dealer with Westpac Banking Corporation and then 4 years as the Executive Officer for the CRC for Vaccine Technology (a $42M joint venture).
Neil was formerly Director of the PGA International Golf Institute Pty Ltd (a joint venture between the PGA of Australia and Griffith University), which he helped establish in 2005.
Paul Flavel
Paul Flavel was a founding Director of BioAngels Inc. He has an extensive background in the management of profit centres. He trained in Economics and Commercial Law and worked in executive positions in Sales, Marketing, Operations and General Management. Paul’s experiences were gained in industries including steel products, printing, fast moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, health services, medical diagnostics and licensing intellectual property. He also has experience as a Board Director in strategic planning, governance and risk management. He is retired from executive positions and provides mentoring advice and investment to promising early stage companies.
Lusia Guthrie
Lusia has extensive experience in business and operations management with both small and large companies. She has focussed on business development strategies that link investors to science and technology by recognising the business potential of scientific developments, project managing the transition from concept to product and developing product portfolios and corporate structures. Lusia has particular interest in fostering awareness and understanding of the issues involved in bringing scientific research to market.
Lusia has co-founded several biotechnology start-up companies including Vet Biotechnology Ltd, Oncaidia Ltd, SDP Ltd and LabTech Systems Ltd. In addition to her current role as CEO and Managing Director of LabTech Systems, she is also a Director of Oncaidia Ltd and a member of the AusMedTech Committee of AusBiotech. She is also currently serving on the Future Manufacturing Industry Innovation Council for the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research.
Alan Irving
Dr Alan Irving holds degrees in Veterinary Science and a Masters in Business Administration. He is a director of the Adelaide Northern Veterinary Group and has previously been involved with bovine embryo transplant technology, an intensive quarantine piggery and export of hay to Japan. Additional business experience has been gained from ownership of a cattle station in western Queensland and an aviation charter business. Throughout his varied career, Dr Irving has always been interested in Small Business Entrepreneurship.
Hugo LeMessurier
Hugo has held directorships and senior management positions in start-up, listed and multinational organisations in the USA, EU and Australia. He has founded and directed a number of private and listed Australian companies in the food, service and biotechnology industries. As Managing Director of LeMessurier Solutions, he has assisted the building of sustainable SME businesses via strategic planning, sales and marketing, international business development, capital raising and public company listing. He is currently a Director of Cryptogen Pty Ltd, a member of the University of Adelaide Commercial Accelerator Scheme and Commercial Opportunity Panel, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, AusBiotech and BioAngels.
Oliver Mayo
Oliver Mayo is a statistician and geneticist with special interest in plant and animal breeding and human population genetics. He is an honorary Research Fellow with CSIRO Livestock Industries, and adjunct Professor of Biometry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Adelaide. He has a particular interest in the commercialisation of IP from large public sector institutions.
Bill McCoy
Bill is a consultant in health administration. He graduated in medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1955. Trained in radiology in Boston, England and Sweden, he has worked in hospital radiology and hospital administration at the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s hospital and later became the chairman of the South Australian Health Commission. Bill retired in 1992 but has since worked in a range of organisations related to health. He was the chairman of the telemedicine project in the early 1990’s and developed telemedicine in radiology and psychiatry in South Australia.
Bill McCoy was the chairman of the Cooperative Research Centre for tissue growth and repair from 1992 to 2002. During that time he had an involvement with GroPep and its float and the Stock Exchange. Bill has been a member of BioAngels since its inception and has made numerous investment in early start life sciences companies.
Craig Mudge
Dr Craig Mudge (FTSE), is the former director of the computer science laboratory at the legendary Xerox PARC, a CSIRO chief scientist, computer architect at HP/DEC and experienced Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Craig has taught computer science and engineering at Caltech, Carnegie Mellon and Flinders University and technology management at Macquarie University. He currently leads Pacific Challenge, a strategic consultancy in its tenth year, sharing his time between Silicon Valley and Australia ( www.pacific-challenge.com ).
Craig’s involvement in the life sciences sector traces to 1977, when he served on the computer and biomathematical sciences section of the National Institutes of Health in Washington. At CSIRO, he contributed key signal processing technologies for the cochlear “bionic ear”- a prototype of cochlear implant electronics. This resulted in an outboard signal processor for Cochlear Limited, which was produced by Austek Microsystems, the semiconductor company he founded. Over the years, Craig has taken part in various signal processing projects and hardware designs for medical image processing, at DEC (now part of HP), Austek and Xerox PARC. He teaches sections of university courses on entrepreneurship in life sciences, managing biotechnology/medical device ventures and strategic management of intellectual property. He works with, and co-invests with, venture firms in Silicon Valley, which fund IT, life sciences, and convergence companies.
Keith Potts (Treasurer)
Keith Potts is an angel investor in new technology companies, consultant and a company director. He is the director and chairman of Pristine Forage Technologies and a director of Cereal Electricity Pty. Ltd. and Kyna Keju Pty. Ltd. Keith has held executive positions with the CRC CSSIP as Marketing Manager (2000 – 2004) and was a Business Development Manager with CSIRO, manufacturing, sciences and technology. He has an extensive background in project management in particular in petroleum and geophysical exploration in Australia, New Zealand, Libya, Nigeria, the UK, Mozambique and Iran. He holds formal qualifications in Applied Physics (BSc.) and has a Masters of Business Administration. He also holds a professional certificate in arbitration and mediation and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). Keith’s main interests are in climate change research, renewable energy (biofuels), start-up companies, new technology, and the share market.
Leanna Read
Leanna is a founder of Adelaide biotechnology company, TGR BioSciences, and has been the CEO since the company’s incorporation in June 2001. Leanna holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons), PhD, FTSE, MAICD. She is a physiologist by training with over 90 scientific papers and is an inventor on two patents in-licensed by TGR. She has led successful research and commercial ventures, including the CRC for Tissue Growth and Repair, widely considered to be one of the most successful commercially focused CRCs. Her contributions to the biotechnology industry have been recognised by appointment to boards such as the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council, the Federal Government’s Industry Research & Development Board and the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme Committee. She also serves on the SA Economic Development Board and the SA Premier’s Science and Research Council and she is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
Leanna holds adjunct professorial positions at Flinders University as well as University of SA, and has been awarded the highest commendation from both universities: A Convocation Medal from Flinders University and Doctor of the University from University of SA. Leanna has received several industry awards including the inaugural Biotechnology Industry Service Award by the Australian Biotechnology Association (now AusBiotech); a Centenary Medal for services to the IR&D Board and its committees; the 2006 SA Premier’s Award for Science, Technology and Innovation Management Excellence; and the 2006 South Australian of the Year in the Category of Science and Technology.
Robert Rush
Robert Rush is a professor in the Department of Human Physiology, School of Medicine at Flinders University. Professor Rush has a PhD in Physiology from Monash University and has held positions in a number of Universities and Institutes around the world including the University of California, San Diego, McGill and Cambridge Universities. He has published over 140 manuscripts in leading scientific journals, written numerous chapters in specialised texts and edited two books. In 1998, he founded Neubody Pty. Ltd., an emerging company focused on antibody technologies and he now acts as the chairman. Professor Rush also holds positions as the Director of Neurosciences Australia, Inc., and is an independent director on the board of the CRC for Diagnostics.
David Saint (Board member)
David Saint is an Associate Professor in the School of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Adelaide, researching cardiovascular disease. He holds a PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology and has published over 60 research papers. In 2003 he obtained an MBA from the University of Adelaide. From 1987 to 1995, he was a Research Fellow at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra. He also worked as a toxicologist with the TGA in 1995/6 before moving to Adelaide in 1997. David has been the national secretary of the International Society for Heart Research and is a member of the NHMRC grant review panel (Pharmacology). David was the CEO and co-founder of Rhinopharma Ltd., now re-listed as Verona Pharmaceuticals on the AIM exchange in London.
Chris Schacht
Chris Schacht was trained as a school teacher in the 1960s in South Australia and after a short period of teaching he took up a full-time position with the Australian Labour Party and in the following 33 years he held various full-time positions in the Labour Party as a ministerial advisor to State and Federal Ministers. He served in the Australian Senate from 1987-2002 during which time he was a member and chair of the prestigious Joint Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee. He was founding chairman of the Australian Parliament’s Human Rights sub-committee
From 1993-1996 he at various times held the following ministerial positions: Minister for Science, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Construction. Minister for Customs, Minister responsible for the Patents office, Minister responsible for Metrology Policy, Minister responsible for Australian Space Policy and Minister responsible for the Franchising Code.
From 1996-1998 he was Shadow Minister for Communications and from 1998-2001 he was Shadow Minister for Veteran’s Affairs.
Chris is currently Chairman of the Australian China Development Company, the President of the Australian Volleyball Federation, a non-executive director of Marathon Resources (a publicly listed mining exploration company)and Non-executive director of Craft South (The Craft Association of South Australia). He is also a member of China Cluster Group, the South Australian Wine Industry Council, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, CEDA and SA Great. He is a Trustee of the South Australian Governor’s Leadership Foundation. He also works as an advisor and consultant providing strategic advice to Australian and International companies and is a regular media commentator on politics in Australia.