The NSW Government has established an Innovation Council with a secretariat, housed within the Department of State and Regional Development, to implement NSW's innovation approach.
The council advises the Government on policies and strategies which 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.
The NSW Innovation Council members are:
Steven Harker (Chair) – Managing Director and CEO Morgan Stanley Australia
Steve Harker is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley Australia. Prior to joining the firm in July 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.
Barry Buffier – Director General, Department of State and Regional Development
Barry Buffier is Director General of the NSW Department of State and Regional Development. He was previously the Director General of the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Barry has an extensive track record in both the private and public sectors in primary industries, agribusiness and finance. Barry is a Churchill Fellow, a Commissioner with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has served on the board of many national and state bodies and boards. These include Landcare Australia, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, NSW Rural Assistance Authority, National Rural Advisory Committee, and Chair of the National Wine and Grape Industry Council, Farrer Trust, C.B. Alexander Foundation, and the NSW Poultry Meat Industry Committee.
Michael Coutts-Trotter – Director General, Department of Education and Training and Managing Director, TAFE NSW
Michael Coutts-Trotter is the Director General of the NSW Department of Education and Training and Managing Director of TAFE NSW, a position he has held since 2007. Prior to taking up this position, Michael was Director General of the Department of Commerce for two and half years and was Chief of Staff to the NSW Treasurer for seven years.
Peter Duncan - Deputy Director General, Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Peter Duncan is Deputy Director General of the Government Coordination and Delivery division of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and, until recently, was Deputy Director General, Office of Coordinator General. Peter's previous roles include Executive Director of the Infrastructure Implementation Group within the New South Wales Premier's Department; Chief Executive Officer of Forests NSW; and Chief Executive and Director of the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust. He has also served on a number of senior government committees, including the NSW Centenary of Federation Committee, the NSW Major Events Committee and the Government Asset Management Committee. In the lead up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Peter was the Director of Estate Management for the Olympic Co-ordination Authority. During his career Peter has also held positions in the NSW Department of Public Works, the Department of Main Roads and in local government. He has undertaken private consulting work in infrastructure projects in Australia and London, where he worked on road and rail design for the London Docklands Redevelopment project.
Catherine Livingstone AO – Director, Macquarie Group Limited
Catherine Livingstone was Chairman of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) from 2001 to 2006. Prior to that, she was CEO of Cochlear Limited. She is currently a Director of Macquarie Group Ltd, Worley Parsons Ltd, Telstra Corporation Ltd, as well as being on the Board of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management and President of Chief Executive Women. Catherine also works actively with the Australian Business Foundation, of which she has been the Chair, and is on the Federal Government's National Innovation System Review Panel. Catherine received an Honours degree in Accounting from Macquarie University, qualified as a Chartered Accountant, attended the IMD International Program for Executive Development, is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and Engineering and was the Eisenhower Foundation Fellow for Australia in 1999.
Philip Mussared – Deputy Secretary, Operations, NSW Treasury
Philip Mussared has been a member of the Executive of NSW Treasury since 2006. From 1994 to 2006, he held Deputy Secretary positions in the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Treasury and Finance in Tasmania. Philip began his career in the Australian Public Service and worked in the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Foreign Service, the Commonwealth Treasury, the Office of National Assessments, the Office of the Economic Planning Advisory Council, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. He served two terms totalling five years with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. Philip holds a Bachelor of Arts and an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, CPA Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a member of Economic Society of Australia.
Professor Mary O'Kane - NSW Chief Scientist and Scientific Engineer
Professor Mary O'Kane was appointed as NSW’s first Chief Scientist and Scientific Engineer on 23 October 2008 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. She has also served on a range of high level committees including the Australian Research Council and the CSIRO Board. Professor O’Kane was chair of the recent Review of the Co-operative Research Centres Program, and a member of the panel for the Federal Government’s recent 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.
Dr David Skellern – CEO, National ICT Australia
Dr David Skellern assumed the role of NICTA Chief Executive Officer in 2005. After research and academic careers at the University of Sydney, Macquarie University and Hewlett Packard, in 1997 he co-founded the Radiata group of companies in Australia and the US, which was acquired by Cisco Systems Inc. in 2001. Dr Skellern received a BSc (Computer Science and Mathematics) in 1972, a BE (Electrical Engineering) in 1974, and a PhD in 1985, from the University of Sydney. In 2007, he was awarded with the CSIRO Tony Benson Award for Individual Achievement in ICT and honoured with an IEEE Fellowship.
Greg Smith – Director, Public Affairs, Animal Logic
After receiving a Bachelor of Law degree from Melbourne University, Greg Smith has had over 20 years experience in the Australian Film Industry. A former Director of Film Victoria and the NSW Film and Television Office, he also has experience as an executive producer and film financier. Greg was instrumental in setting up EFSA (the prior incarnation of Ausfilm), remains actively involved with Ausfilm and presently sits on its board. As one of the world's most highly respected digital production companies, Animal Logic produces award-winning design, animation and visual effects solutions for the film, television and advertising industries. Greg helped set up Animal Logic's film division, the move to Fox Studios and the company's Los Angeles office. Animal Logic's film credits include Happy Feet, 300, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hero, The Matrix and Moulin Rouge. The company has been involved in many noteworthy TV advertising campaigns and other TV credits.
Dr Jonathan West – Director, Australian Innovation Research Centre
Dr Jonathan West, on whose work the Innovation Statement is based, is Professor of Innovation and Director, Australian Innovation Research Centre. He has recently returned to Australia after 18 years at Harvard University where he undertook his doctorate and masters degrees. At Harvard, Dr West was Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Business Administration. He taught in the fields of innovation, operations, and business strategy. Dr West was founder and faculty director of the Harvard Life Sciences Project, a multi-faculty university initiative to understand the economic dynamics of the revolution in life sciences. He is currently working from the University of Tasmania to found a new research organisation, the Australian Innovation Research Institute. Dr West has worked as a consultant to major corporations and several governments around the world, including the current Government of New South Wales.