Advisory Councils

The Innovation and Productivity Council advises the Government on policies and strategies that create an environment where it is easier for businesses to innovate, improve the innovative capacity of the NSW private sector, help increase investment and build stronger rural and regional economies.

Members, Special Advisor and NSW Government Department Advisors

The current membership and representation on the Innovation and Productivity Council is:

Members

Steven Harker (Chair) – Managing Director and CEO, Morgan Stanley Australia
Prior to joining Morgan Stanley Australia in 1998, Steve spent 15 years with BZW. In 1996, he was transferred to London where he was promoted to Chief Executive of Global Equities and a Member of the BZW Global Management Committee. Prior to joining BZW, Steve was a Research Officer and then National Organiser for the Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia from 1979 to 1983 and a Research Officer, Special Projects Section, with the Reserve Bank of Australia in 1979. Steve graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Law.

Mark I Paterson AO - Director General, Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services
Mark was appointed Director General, Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services on 1 June 2011. Prior to this, Mark was the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. He was appointed to this position on 3 December 2007. Preceding these appointments, Mark was the Secretary for the former Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources from January 2002, and the Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australia's leading business representative organisation. Earlier experiences involved heading up the Retailers Council of Australia and the Retail Traders Association of NSW, prior to that he was with the Australian Chamber of Manufactures, the Chamber of Manufactures  NSW, and the Australian Medical Association. Mark has held a wide range of Directorships, and was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2007.

Hugh Durrant-Whyte – Chief Executive Officer, NICTA
Hugh Durrant-Whyte received a BSc in Nuclear Engineering from the University of London, United Kingdom, in 1983 and the MSE. and PhD. degrees, both in Systems Engineering, from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, in 1985 and 1986, respectively. From 1987 to 1995 he was a University Lecturer in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, and a fellow of Oriel College Oxford. From 1995 to 2010 he was Professor of Mechatronic Engineering at University of Sydney where he led the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems (CAS). In December 2010 Hugh took up the role of Chief Executive Officer of NICTA. Hugh has been awarded two Australian Research Council (ARC) Federation Fellowships, in 2002 and in 2007. His research work focuses on robotics and distributed sensor networks and he has published over 350 papers. His work with industry includes major robotics and automation projects in cargo handling, surface and underground mining, defence, unmanned flight vehicles and autonomous sub-sea vehicles.

Catherine Livingstone AO – Chairman, Telstra Corporation
Catherine is also a Director of Macquarie Group Limited, Worley Parsons Limited, Future Directions International and The Royal Institution of Australia. After qualifying as a chartered accountant and working with Price Waterhouse in Sydney and London, Catherine joined the Nucleus Group and spent 20 years working in the field of implantable medical devices, including 6 years as CEO of Cochlear Limited from 1994 to 2000. Catherine continues to support The Australian Business Foundation, (an independent business–sponsored research think tank focussed on the concept of innovation led growth), having been Chairman from 2002 to 2005, and has also served on the Boards of Goodman Fielder Ltd and Rural Press Ltd as well as having been the Chairman of CSIRO from 2001 to 2006 and the President of Chief Executive Women from 2007 to 2008. Catherine attended IMD International, Programme for Executive Development in Switzerland in 1992, was the Eisenhower Exchange Foundation Fellow for Australia in 1999, was awarded a Centenary Medal for Service to Australian Society in Business Leadership in 2003 and received the 2006 Macquarie University Alumni Award for Distinguished Service (Professional category).

Patrick Maher – Chief Operating Officer, National Disability Services
A strong record dating from the late 1970's of community service, and a passion for the disability sector, are hallmarks of Patrick Maher's career to date. As Chief Operating Officer of National Disability Services, Australia's peak body for non-government disability services, Patrick has had significant carriage in moving the organisation from a federated management structure to a national company structure. He is responsible for initiating or driving a range of major programs relating to issues including attracting staff to the community care sector, government procurement policies, supporting indigenous people and those in developing nations with disabilities. Patrick is President of Workability International, an international body representing providers of work and employment services to people with a disability. Patrick has also headed or served on many voluntary, community, not-for-profit or business bodies, including the New England North West Area Consultative Committee, Chairing the Australasian Pacific Aeronautical College and his appointment to the Disability Business Services Review Implementation Group between 1999 and 2003.

Professor Mary O'Kane – NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer
Professor Mary O'Kane was appointed in 2008 as NSW's first Chief Scientist and Engineer to help stimulate innovation and ensure the State's research capacity keeps pace with the needs of the NSW economy, environment and the community. With a distinguished career spanning science, academia, engineering, policy development and business, Professor O'Kane brings well-rounded and high-level skills and experience to the position. Professor O'Kane is a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Adelaide and has served on a range of high level committees including the Australian Research Council and the CSIRO Board. She was chair of the Review of the Co-operative Research Centres Program, and a member of the panel for the Federal Government's Review of the National Innovation System. She also chairs two Co-operative Research Centres – the CRC for Spatial Information and the Australasian CRC for Interaction Design. Professor O'Kane is also a businessperson who runs a consultancy advising governments, universities and the private sector on innovation, research, education and development.

Professor Janice Reid AM – Convenor, NSW Vice Chancellors' Committee, and Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Western Sydney
Professor Reid AM has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney since 1998. She is a recipient of several awards and honours both in Australia and overseas, and has been a member of the boards of public agencies at State and Federal levels in the health, welfare, schools, higher education, energy, superannuation, international relations and cultural fields. She has served on the federal Higher Education Council, the Executive of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, the Federal Council for Australia-Latin America Relations, the Board of Integral Energy, the Trust and Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, the Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board, the 2002 federal Higher Education Review Reference Group and as Chair of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (1995 to 2001). From 2005 to 2008 she was the Vice-Chair and Australian representative on the Governing Board of the OECD's program on Institutional Management in Higher Education. She is currently on the Boards of UniSuper, the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission, the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation, the National Cultural Heritage Committee, is a Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and is Convenor of the NSW Vice-Chancellors' Committee.

Dr Chris Roberts - Chief Executive, Cochlear Limited
Dr Chris Roberts is President and Chief Executive of Cochlear Limited, the global leader in implantable devices for the hearing impaired. He is also Chairman of Research Australia Limited, a non-profit organisation whose objective is to make health and medical research a higher national priority and was previously the founding non-executive Director, and Executive Vice-President and Director of ResMed Inc., a leading medical device company which treats sleep disordered breathing. He has also previously worked in senior roles with the Nucleus Group of companies, including as CEO of Domedica Pty Limited, based in Sydney. He was a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council for the 2003 to 2006 triennium. He holds a BEng (Hon), MBA, PhD (Phil). He is a Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He was recently awarded a Doctor of Science honoris causa by Macquarie University in recognition of his many professional achievements and his contributions to health and medical research and society.

Greg Smith
After receiving a Bachelor of Law degree from Melbourne University, Greg Smith has had over 25 years experience in the Australian film industry. A former Director of Film Victoria and NSW Film and Television Office, Ausfilm and Animal Logic, Greg also has experience as an executive producer and film financier. After many years of direct involvement with Animal Logic, Greg sat on its board for a period of six years and held the position Director of Communications and Public Affairs. Greg is also a board member of Screen Australia and Object Gallery.

Dr Andrew Stoeckel – Visiting Fellow, Australian National University
Dr Andrew Stoeckel is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Australian National University. Before that he was the Founding Chairman of TheCIE, a private economics research consultancy. He is one of Australia's leading economists and received his PhD from Duke University in 1978. His thesis was to analyse Australia's mineral boom of the seventies. He is a specialist in trade policy analysis and the global macro-economy. From 1981 to 1986 he was the head of the (then) Bureau of Agricultural Economics in Canberra — the largest economic research agency in Australia. He has initiated and directed programs of research on international trade that received world acclaim. He has over thirty publications to his credit and is currently researching the on-going fall-out from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.

Special Advisor

Professor Fred Hilmer AO – Vice Chancellor and President, University of NSW
Professor Fred Hilmer was appointed Vice Chancellor and President of the University of NSW on 19 June 2006. Prior to taking up this position, Professor Hilmer was Chief Executive Officer, John Fairfax Holdings Limited from 1998 to 2005. Before joining Fairfax he was Dean and Director of the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) in the University of New South Wales and a Director of Port Jackson Partners Limited. Prior to joining the AGSM, Professor Hilmer was a Director of McKinsey & Company and was responsible for managing the Australian practice. He holds a degree in law from the University of Sydney, an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of Finance where he was appointed a Joseph Wharton Fellow. In 1991 the Australian Institute of Management awarded him a special John Storey medal for distinguished contribution to the advancement of management thinking in Australia. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1998 for his service to management education, competition policy, and workplace reform. He is a Director of Westfield Holdings Limited and previously served as Chairman of Pacific Power, Deputy Chairman of Foster's Brewing Group Limited and as a Director of a number of other Australian companies.

NSW Government Department Advisors

Dr Michele Bruniges AM – Director General, Department of Education and Communities and Managing Director, TAFE NSW

Kevin Cosgriff – Deputy Secretary, Fiscal and Economic Strategy Directorate, NSW Treasury

Michael Coutts-Trotter – Director General, Department of Finance and Services

Vicki D'Adam – Deputy Director General, Policy and Strategy Division, Department of Premier and Cabinet

Contacts

The Innovation Unit provides Secretariat support to the Innovation and Productivity Council. The Unit can be contacted on (02) 8222 4884 or email innovation@business.nsw.gov.au.