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Chair | Entrepreneur, Investor & CEO, Saniel Ventures
Leigh Jasper
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Mr Leigh Jasper is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Firmable, CEO of Saniel Ventures, Chair and Co-Founder of Second Quarter Ventures and a non-executive director of SEEK Ltd, Buildxact and Matrak. 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.
As Aconex CEO, Mr Jasper led global growth for Aconex, expanding the business into Asia, North America, South America, the Middle East and Europe.
In September 2008, Aconex secured an A$109.5 million funding deal and one of the largest private capital raisings by an Australian technology company. In 2014 the company listed on the ASX. In 2018 Oracle acquired Aconex for $1.6 billion in Australia’s 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
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CEO & Co-Founder, shilo.people | CEO & Founder, pivotnow
Ilona Charles
– Ms Ilona Charles is an experienced executive with an extensive career in human resources, transformation and change across a range of industries.
Ilona has held executive roles with the CSIRO, Aconex, Telstra, Medibank and NAB and is currently the CEO and co-founder of ShiloPeople (shilo.), providing world-class on-demand HR talent and consulting solutions across Australia.
She also founded pivotnow, providing strategic people advice to Founders, CEO’s and Boards of organisations going through significant transition or scaling up.
– Chair of the People Committee
CEO, Jupiter Ionics
Dr Charlie Day
Charlie 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, raising A$12 million in 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 $500 million innovation precinct.
With a PhD, Rhodes Scholarship, and extensive leadership experience, he is passionate about bridging research and business for technology commercialisation.
Special Responsibilities:
Member of the Investment Review Committee
Member of the Investment Committee for the Hugh Victor McKay Fund
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Board Director, The Wheeler Centre
Chaman Sidhu
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.
Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee
Founder and Managing Director, GBS Venture Partners
Brigitte Smith
Brigitte is a highly experienced director and venture capital leader with over 25 years of expertise working with boards and senior management teams to build businesses for global markets.
As Co-Founder and Managing Director of GBS Venture Partners, she raised more than $450 mn, 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 $2bn 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.
A Fulbright Scholar with degrees from Harvard Business School and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Brigitte has served on multiple boards and committees, including roles in the medical technology and venture capital sectors.
Chair of the Investment Review Committee
Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Payapps
Geoff Tarrant
Geoff 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 ~$600 million.
He was also 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.
Member of the Audit & Risk Committee
Member of the People Committee
CEO
Kate Cornick
CFO
Amanda Collins
Chief Operating Officer
Puji Fernando
Company Secretary
Shane Morris
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Events Manager
Bronwyn Betro
Senior Communications Adviser
Holly Clark
Assistant Accountant
Mitali Gehlot
Mitali is the Assistant Accountant
GM, Communications & Marketing
Kate Gittings
Marketing Manager
Mark Knobel
Head of Startup Success
Josh Lipscombe
Head of CivVic Labs
Mark Newman
Operations Coordinator
Alo Ong
Head of Startup Development
Elle Phillips
Grants & Procurement Manager
Grace Spaulding
Operations Manager
Elena Toh
Data Analyst
Erique Truong
Investment Manager, The Alice Anderson Fund & The Hugh Victor McKay Fund
Michelle Vu
Michelle is Investment Manager for the Alice Anderson Fund
