Meet the Team

Leigh Jasper is the Co-founder & co-CEO of Firmable, Co-Founder & Chair of Glitch Capital, CEO of Saniel Ventures, Co-Founder and Chair of SecondQuarter Ventures and a non-executive director of SEEK Ltd.

He was the co-founder and CEO of Aconex between May 2000 and August 2019. Aconex is the world’s largest provider of online collaboration solutions for the construction and engineering industries. In 2014 the company listed on the ASX.

In 2018 Oracle acquired Aconex for $1.6 billion in Australia’s then largest technology M&A transaction.

Leigh joined the LaunchVic Board on 1 July 2020.                      

Special Responsibilities             

— Chair of the Board and Member of the Audit & Risk Committee and People Committee 

Iloan Charles is an experienced executive with an extensive career in human resources, transformation and change across a range of industries.

Ilona is currently the CEO and co-founder of ShiloPeople, providing world-class on-demand HR talent and consulting solutions across Australia. She previously held executive roles with the CSIRO, Aconex, Telstra, Medibank and NAB. 

She also founded pivotnow, providing strategic people advice to Founders, CEO’s and Boards of organisations going through significant transition or scaling up.

Special Responsibilities

– Chair of the People Committee

Dr Charlie Day is the CEO of Jupiter Ionics, a deep-tech spinout from Monash University that is developing a novel electrochemical technology for carbon-neutral ammonia production.

He has built a team of 20 scientists and engineers, securing $12M in investment and a further $6m in non-dilutive (grant) funding.  

Previously, he served as the inaugural CEO of the Office of Innovation and Science Australia (ISA), advising the Australian government on science and innovation.   

He also led the Carlton Connect Initiative at the University of Melbourne, a $500M innovation precinct.

Special Responsibilities:

Member of the Investment Review Committee

Member of the Investment Committee for the Hugh Victor McKay Fund

Chaman Sidhu is an executive with legal, intellectual property, commercial, governance and leadership experience gained in global publishing, digital media and technology companies.

She brings a passion for supporting governance in dynamic and scale-up environments. She has led teams awarded for innovative legal approaches and brings a people-focused approach to organisational innovation and culture.

Chaman was most recently Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary at Xero Ltd, an online SaaS accounting platform for small businesses and their advisors.

Prior to this role, she served as General Counsel and Company Secretary for Envato and Lonely Planet during periods of significant growth.

Special Responsibilities:

Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee

Brigitte Smith is a highly experienced director and venture capital leader with over 30 years of expertise working with boards and senior management teams to build businesses for global markets.

Brigitte has served on multiple boards and committees, including roles in the life science and environmental technology and venture capital sectors.

As Co-Founder and Managing Director of GBS Venture Partners, she raised more than $450M, which was invested in 50 companies.

Half of these companies were Australian, and half were US-based with Australian technology or operations. These companies raised more than $2B from GBS, Australian and US venture capital syndicate partners, corporates, venture debt and public markets, with a 5.8:1 multiplier on funds invested by GBS. 

Her portfolio has included NASDAQ and ASX-listed companies such as Pharmaxis, Kalobios Inc., and Viveve.

Special Responsibilities:

Chair of the Investment Review Committee

Geoff Tarrant is an experienced executive and entrepreneur with a strong background in construction technology, finance, and capital markets.    

As Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Payapps Limited (2017–2024), Geoff helped lead the company’s growth and eventual acquisition by Autodesk for ~$600M.

He is also a founding Partner of Glitch Capital, ANZ’s first founders fund and Non-Executive Director at Fresho, a leading software platform for fresh food suppliers.  

Before this, he was a Non-Executive Director at Adbri Limited, an ASX-listed construction materials company, and a member of its Audit and Risk Committee until its acquisition in July 2024.   

Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, he spent over 15 years at Deutsche Bank, holding senior roles in corporate finance and capital markets across London, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Special Responsibilities:

Member of the Audit & Risk Committee

Member of the People Committee

Mitali is the Assistant Accountant

Michelle is Investment Manager for the Alice Anderson Fund