New board members join NICTA

Loftus Harris and Dr Chris Beare have joined the board of NICTA.

Two members, Su-Ming Wong and Kelly Jones, have left the board.

Wong was a founding board member and chaired the board’s commercialisation committee. Jones was also a member of that committee.

The committee has guided NICTA’s commercialisation and business development efforts, including its first spin-out, Audinate. Audinate has recently announced an AU$4 million investment round led by innovation capital and supported by existing shareholders Starfish Ventures and NICTA.

Beare has over 20 years' experience in directorship and chairman roles with companies such as Dexus Property Group, m.Net Corporation, BBB Capital, Eccosphere, CSIRO, Cisco Systems and technology venture capital company Accede Capital.

Previous positions include director business development, Cisco Systems; chairman and chief executive officer, Radiata Inc; director and senior advisor to the board, SG Australia; joint chief executive, Hambros Australia; and general manager and executive director, Advent Management Group.

He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a PhD in electrical engineering from Adelaide University. He is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

He will become the chairman of the commercialisation committee.

Harris has  experience of government, business development, export promotion, innovation, investment, regional economic development, major projects and business and government interactions in Australia and internationally.

He has been chief executive officer of three government departments, including 10 years as the chief executive officer of the lead government business agency in NSW.

Previous positions include director general, NSW Department of State and Regional Development; director general, Queensland Department of Tourism, Small Business and Industry; director general, Queensland Department of the Premier, Economic and Trade Development; executive director, Trade and Investment Development, Queensland Department of the Premier, Economic and Trade Development and an Australian senior trade commissioner.

Harris is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a graduate of the University of Queensland. He will join the audit and finance committee.

They join the nine existing members of the NICTA board: Neville Stevens, chairman, Dr David Skellern (CEO), Prof Michael Brooks, Jennifer Clark, Prof Paul Greenfield, Emeritus Prof Graham Hellestrand, Brand Hoff, David Karpin and Dr Michael Sargent.