John is an Independent Director on KCA’s board, since joining in 2018 as the representative of UniSA Ventures. He is the Treasurer of KCA and is the Chair of the SCOPR Committee. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from UNSW, a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Company Directors.  John has worked in the biotechnology research commercialisation space for over 50 years.  He was the Chief Executive Officer for 11 years of AMRAD a listed company commercialising medical research technology. He has been a member of many government committees and private company boards. His award as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2018 was for his contribution to biotechnology research and its commercialisation. 

David is passionate about the contribution and future of agbiotech to Australian and global agriculture. During a 23 year career with Monsanto, David was actively involved in the development and adoption of conservation tillage by Australian farmers. Since 1996 David has been actively involved in the introduction of Australia’s first agbiotech crops, Ingard® Cotton, Roundup Ready® canola and most recently Super High Oleic Safflower. Since establishing his consulting firm, SGA Solutions in 2006, followed by PTM Solutions in 2014, David has provided consulting services to Australian and international private and public sector clients in the development and implementation of pathway to market strategies for innovative technologies applicable to the grains, horticulture, livestock, forage, forestry and seafood industries. 

Professor Mark Hutchinson is Director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing at the University of Adelaide. A leader in neuroimmunopharmacology and biophotonics,  his research on glial cells has transformed understanding of pain, addiction, and neurological disorders. His research has led to transformative clinical applications, from laboratory concepts to bedside treatments. Mark’s impact extends beyond academic achievements, fostering strong industry partnerships and commercial translations. He holds key national roles, including on the Prime Minister’s National Science and Technology Council, and on the Australia's Economic Accelerator board. 

Shane Kilcullen brings a diverse career spanning start-ups, multinationals, and government sectors, with the past seven years focused on university technology transfer at the University of Melbourne. While trained as a mechanical engineer, Shane now navigates an extensive range of technologies across multiple disciplines. He is particularly passionate about artificial intelligence and its potential to enhance professional productivity. Through his leadership of KCA's AI Special Interest Group over the past year, Shane has developed deep insights into the unique challenges and opportunities facing the commercialisation community. This understanding has informed his co-design of this workshop, specifically tailored to help technology transfer professionals maximise AI's impact in their daily practice.

Jonathan Lacey is co-founder and partner at Cruxes Innovation, which exists to help universities, research organisations, and innovative companies unlock the huge potential of Australian researchers and innovators to make a positive difference in the world. We believe the best way to do this is to work alongside researchers and innovators to build partnerships between research, industry, community groups, and government to solve real-world problems.  Jonathan started his career as a physical science and engineering researcher at the University of Melbourne. He spent 10 years in Silicon Valley where he became fascinated by helping other researchers make a difference in the world with their ideas, in large companies and research spinouts.  He returned to Australia to lead a spinout based on Monash University research.  It raised $10M but failed.  The focus of his career since then has been putting the lessons he learned here to work in creating impact with research.

Andre is MD/CTO of QuantX Labs as well as Chief Innovator of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) and Chair of Experimental Physics at the University of Adelaide. Andre was previously Director of IPAS for over 10 years.Andre is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering and the Australian Institute of Physics and has raised over $50M for research. He obtained his PhD in Physics from the University of Western Australia in 1997, for which he was awarded the AIP Bragg Gold Medal. Andre was the joint inaugural winner of the WA Premier’s Prize for Early Career Achievement in Science. In 2013, Andre came to the University of Adelaide to take up a South Australian Research Fellowship from the SA Premier’s Department. In 2016, Andre co-founded a company, QuantX Labs, to exploit his leading-edge research. This company has been profitable from its foundation and now has 42 staff. 

Favia Tata Nardini is Co-founder and CEO of Fleet Space Technologies, one of Australia’s most exciting startups. As a real-life rocket scientist and former propulsion test engineer at the European Space Agency, Flavia holds two patents and has contributed to a broad range of innovative space projects. Along with her team, she is working hard towards launching a constellation of small satellites to enable high-value, real-time applications in industries such as mining, exploration, and defence.Flavia’s recent achievements include her role as Board of Director at Austmine, Mission Chair of the 7Sisters Moon Mission, Chair of the Australian Space Agency Space Industry Leaders Forum, Vice Chair of AmCham SA Council of Governors, and Adjunct Professor of UniSA. She also recently graduated from the AICD Corporate Program. A strong advocate for women in STEM, Flavia regularly speaks at events and empowers the next generation of leaders.

Melissa Nugent is Chair of the KCA Qld Chapter and a Senior Manager in QUT’s research partnerships and technology transfer office, specializing in agriculture and bioeconomy initiatives. Over her career Mel has led stakeholder engagement portfolios across Higher Education, Government, and NFP sectors – driving innovation and impact through collaboration.Prior to her current role at QUT, she was Director Business Development at ARM Hub, a national not-for-profit advancing manufacturing in Australia through AI and robotics innovation and adoption. Mel is a strong advocate for the role of technology transfer professionals in navigating the challenging path from tech innovation to adoption in important sectors including agriculture. 

David McKeague MBA, Beng (Elec) is a serial venture builder with over 30 years experience in building and commercialising research. Bridging the gap!David has worked in large scale engineering projects including aluminium smelter energy systems both for Boyne Smelters and also Portland Smelter second expansion in automation and plant energy management systems. David has also headed the Systems Engineering for ISCMMS on the Collins Class submarine propulsion, habitability and battery management, F-111 Mission Simulator and has led the Business Development for Australian military C4ISR systems.In addition, David has personally been Venture Building numerous research lab spinouts both at wireless semiconductor (acquired by AMD), embedded AI on the phone funded by Intel Capital, Warner Bros, venture funded voice Gen AI startup and energy storage.