ANFF Oversight

The ANFF Ltd. Board of Directors ensures the network’s activities align with the needs of industry and academia. The Board Members bring from a variety of experience and interests to ensure we serve the full gambit of Australian R&D with current insight, and intelligent foresight.

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The ANFF Board

Andrew Brawley

Board Chair, Chair of Audit and Risk Management Committee
Sydney

Former Vice-President Manufacturing, Silanna Semiconductors and CEO Sapphicon Semiconductors. Extensive experience in, and knowledge of, the semiconductor industry especially in Australia. Long standing experience in financial management.

Area of Expertise:

Semiconductor Industry, finance

 

Dr Colin White

Board Member, Member of Industry Committee
Melbourne

Over 30 years of experience in technology-centric business covering all facets from ideation through to global commercialisation. Colin’s current role is Senior Vice President – Advanced Staining & Imaging, Leica Biosystems heading up R&D and manufacturing sites in Melbourne, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Boston, Bangalore, Amsterdam and Carlsbad. Prior to this, Colin was CEO of lnvetech.

Area of Expertise:

Technology management, R&D and commercialisation

Dr Deborah Rathjen

Board Member, Member of Industry Committee
Adelaide
Former Deputy Chair of the Australian Biotechnology Advisory Council; A member of the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council, the NHMRC’s Human Genetics Advisory Committee and the Innovation Australia Board; Variety of roles including Business Development and Licensing; and Significant experience in company building and financing, mergers and acquisitions, therapeutic product research and development. Currently, Chief Executive Officer of Carina Biotech.
Area of Expertise:

Business development and licensing, company building and financing, mergers and acquisitions, therapeutic product R&D

Dr Elaine Saunders

Board Member, Member of Industry Committee
Melbourne
Dr Elaine Saunders is the Managing Director of Bingarra Ltd and co-founder of Blarney Saunders Hears, and is an award-winning businesswoman, audiologist, academic, adjunct professor in the faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology, Swinburne University and a member of its Bio devices Advisory Board. Her accolades include being awarded Bio Melbourne Network’s inaugural Women in Leadership Award in 2015, Asia’s Leading Woman in Healthcare in 2011, the Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award in 2011, and the American Academy of Audiology’s Award for Achievement in Industry in 2010. Elaine was awarded the 2012 Melbourne Award for Contribution to Community by an Individual, and is one of Australia’s 100 most influential women (2015).
Area of Expertise:

Business, Science, Engineering & Technology, Medical devices

 

Dr Simon Poole

Board Member
Sydney
Dr Simon Poole is an engineer/entrepreneur with over 30 years experience in photonics in research, academia and industry. He has been involved in start-ups in both Academia and Industry for the majority of this time and is renowned both for his contribution to the technology of photonics as well as the companies he has founded. Simon is currently Vice President, Business Development, at Cylite.
Area of Expertise:
Photonics, Optics, Commercialisation

Dr Rowan Gilmore

Board Member, Member of Audit and Risk Management Committee
Brisbane

Rowan Gilmore is the Deputy Group CEO of Electro Optic Systems (EOS). He was previously CEO of the Australian Institute for Commercialisation, where he helped numerous start-up companies and worked to accelerate technology transfer between research institutions and industry. Rowan has worked extensively in the ICT industry, and was formerly based in London and Geneva from 1998 as Vice President of Network Services (Europe) for the airline IT company SIT A, now France Telecom’s Orange subsidiary. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, previous Chairman of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Engineered Quantum Systems, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland in the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. He is also a Director of Universal Motion Simulator Pty Ltd.

Area of Expertise:
Information technology, Electrical engineering

Dr Jane Fitzpatrick

ANFF CEO
Brisbane
Jane is ANFF’s Chief Executive Officer and sits on the ANFF Board. Jane previously led ANFF’s Queensland node for a number of years, joining the HQ team as its Chief Operating Officer in 2019, before becoming CEO in 2021. Her responsibilities include ensuring the network performs as a cohesive and collaborative community, and maximising ANFF’s ability to support projects from academia and industry.
Area of Expertise:
Operations, applications of nanotechnologies, and implementing initiatives