Dr Michele Allan AO appointed new chair of SmartSat CRC, Australia’s leading space research centre following the sudden passing of inaugural Chair Dr Peter Woodgate in December
Dr Allan AO is highly experienced and brings a wealth of leadership skills from some of Australia’s key industries. She is currently the Chair of the Boards of Charles Sturt University, the Food and Agribusiness Growth Centre (FIAL), Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence CRC, and Wine Australia.
She also holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Technology Sydney, a Master of Management of Technology from Melbourne University, a Master of Commercial Law from Deakin University, and a Doctorate from RMIT. She is also a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Additionally, Dr Allan AO is a non-executive director of the CSIRO, the Food Agility CRC, and Dairy Food Safety Victoria.
The SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre brings together over 100 national and international partners who have invested over $190 million, along with $55 million in Federal Government funding under its Cooperative Research Centres Program, in a $245 million research effort over seven years.
Working closely with the Australian Space Agency & Defence, SmartSat is making a strong contribution to the Australian Government’s goal of tripling the size of the space sector to $12 billion and creating up to 20,000 jobs by 2030.
Dr Allan AO has also previously served as Chair of Meat and Livestock Australia and the William Angliss Institute and has served as a non-executive director of:
- Grain Growers Limited
- Tasmanian Irrigation
- Innovation and Science Australia
- Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation
- Callaghan Innovation (New Zealand)
- Food Standards Australia and New Zealand
- Forest and Wood Products Australia
This is in addition to her extensive work with Amcor Limited, Kraft Foods, Bonlac Foods Limited, ICI, Tasmania’s Bioinformatics Centre of Excellence, Johnson and Johnson, and Nestle in various executive roles.
CEO of SmartSat CRC, Professor Andy Koronios, said, “We are delighted to appoint Dr Allan AO as Chair, albeit under very sad circumstances,”
“As one of our founding board members, Dr Allan AO has already made an enormous contribution to our organisation. This, along with her diverse industry knowledge and wealth of leadership experience will be incredibly valuable as SmartSat CRC enters its fourth year,” said Koronios
“We are all deeply shocked and saddened by the passing of our inaugural Ch he said, Dr Peter Woodgate, whose dedication and service will be deeply missed.”
“As we look ahead, we are determined to ensure that we continue Peter’s legacy with Dr Allan AO at the helm.” he said
Dr Allan AO says, “I would like to acknowledge the untimely passing of Dr Woodgate and his leadership at SmartSat CRC,”
“He was an inspiring leader, and I am honoured to take on his legacy. I look forward to working with the SmartSat CRC team to pursue our goals for advancing Australia’s space and spatial industries.” she said.
Priority industry sectors for SmartSat include telecommunications, agriculture and natural resources, transport and logistics, mining, and defence and national security.
