The Tasmanian Innovations Advisory Board was established in May 1999 to assist with creating a culture of innovation by advising government on innovation policy and its implementation and administering the Tasmanian Innovations Program.
The Hon. Michael Field AC
Chairman since May 1999
Former Premier, The Hon. Michael Field AC, since retiring from politics in 1997, has worked as a consultant sharing his combined passion for leadership excellence and his research into organisational growth and change.
In 2003, Mr Field was one of eight Australians to be made a Companion of the Order of Australia for his service to State Parliament particularly during his years as Premier between 1989 to 1992 and for the introduction of a controversial plan to manage Tasmania's public debt.
Jayne Wilson, BCom(Hons), FCPA, FAICD
Director since August 1999
Jayne Wilson was appointed to the board in August 1999. Ms Wilson was previously a partner in the accounting practice Morton Wilson Pty Ltd and has operated her own consulting practice for the last six years.
Ms Wilson is currently a Director of TT Line Pty Ltd and company secretary of Shellfish Culture Ltd. She has previously been a Director of Unitas Consulting Ltd, the Tasmanian Development Authority and Hobart Water.
Ms Wilson was a member of the winning team in the National Enterprise Workshop in 1983 and undertook a study tour of the United States visiting venture capitalists, entrepreneurship courses and innovative start-up companies.
Diane Edgerton
Director since October 2001
Diane Edgerton was appointed to the board in October 2001. Mrs Edgerton has a strong business background and is currently the Managing Director of SERS Sheetmetal and Roofing Services, a business that employs more than 40 people.
Mrs Edgerton is a board member of the Tasmanian Building & Construction Industry Training Board (TBCIT) which is the principal adviser to the Minister on all matters relating to training in the building and construction Industry.
Mrs Edgerton has also been a Director of the Burnie Port Corporation and Deputy Chairman of Advanced Burnie, a group working to create economic, cultural and social opportunities within the Burnie community. She was also one of the Tasmanian Finalist for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards in 2003.
Mrs Edgerton has also been involved in many sub-committees over the years, recent ones being Women In Building and Construction and the Manufacturing Leadership Taskforce.
Rob Sauer
Director since November 2003
Rob Sauer was appointed to the board in November 2003. Mr Sauer is a partner in Sydney-based legal firm Dibbs Abbott Stillman Lawyers. He has extensive experience in local and international transactions regarding commercial exploitation of technology.
Mr Sauer is a founding Shareholder and Director of ResMed, a company listed on the Australian and the New York Stock Exchanges, which manufactures devices for the treatment of sleep breathing disorders. He is an active angel investor.
Mr Sauer is a former member of the Industry, Research and Development Board and member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council Working Group on Management of Start-up Companies. He currently chairs the investment advisory committee of the Nanyang Innovation Fund, a recipient of federal funding under the Innovation Investment Fund program, and is a member of the joint ASX and Ausbiotech committee responsible for the Reporting Code for listed life sciences companies.
Dr Graham Mitchell
Director since November 2003
Dr Graham Mitchell was appointed to the board in November 2003. Dr Mitchell is recognised as one of Australia’s leading biological scientists and was a senior researcher in The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne. He is one of the four principals of Foursight Associates Pty Ltd, which is contracted to deliver the Chief Scientist role in Victoria.
Dr Mitchell is the former director of Melbourne Zoo and research director for CSL Limited. He is an author of more than 350 publications, has received numerous awards for scientific achievements and in 1993, was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for services to science. He has been involved with the World Heath Organisation for many years.
Dr Mitchell is a non-executive director of Antisense Therapeutics Limited, Compumedics Limited, AviPep Pty Ltd, AgVic Services Pty Ltd, the Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation, Adelaide Research and Innovation Pty Ltd and the WA Institute of Child Health Research. He is also a member of the Commonwealth, State and Territory Advisory Council on Innovation and has detailed knowledge of the industry-academia interface, biotechnology and product development.
Associate Professor Jack English
Director since November 2003
Associate Professor Jack English was appointed to the board in November 2003. He currently works with the Australian Innovation Research Centre encouraging the development of an enterprising culture in Tasmania both inside and outside the University.
Previous appointments have been at the University of Canberra, Charles Sturt University, Southern Cross University and the University of New England. He has developed and introduced a variety of programs focused on entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation and commercialisation for students from disciplines as diverse as science, arts, education, information technology, engineering and business.
Associate Professor English is the author of 23 books including How to Organise and Operate a Small Business in Australia, which has been in print for over twenty-five years in ten additions. He is also the author of the New Australian Stockmarket Investor, Going Solo, and co-author of Personal Financial Management and The Small Business Book (New Zealand).
Associate Professor English was previously on the Board of Directors of Epicorp Limited, Canberra’s high-tech business incubator and he is an Adjunct Professor in Entrepreneurship at the University of Canberra.
Dr David Williams
Director since October 2005
Dr David Williams is the Managing Director of Tasmanian company Ecka Granules Pty Ltd. Dr Williams has worked at the University of Mount Allison in Canada and at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington. Research work undertaken by Dr Williams has included heat resistant tiles for the Apollo program and a separate study on oil spill research.
Ecka Granules purchases liquid aluminium from Comalco and processes it into aluminium powder which is used in a variety of applications from metallic paints to solid rocket fuel.
