Mr Pearson is the Member for Essendon in the Victorian State Parliament, first elected in 2014.  

Mr Pearson brings extensive experience in government oversight and leadership to his roles, having served as Chair of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee from 2014 to 2018 and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier from 2019 until June 2020.

In June 2020, he joined the Cabinet, taking on the roles of Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Government Services, and Minister for Regulatory Reform. Later that year, he also assumed the Creative Industries portfolio, which he held until June 2022.  

His commitment to social and governmental reform saw him appointed as Minister for Housing in June 2022 and subsequently Minister for Government Services and Consumer Affairs, then WorkSafe and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in December 2022.

In October 2023, Mr Pearson was appointed to the Suburban Rail Loop and Transport Infrastructure portfolios, where he oversaw significant transport infrastructure projects and regulatory bodies.

In December 2024, Mr Pearson was appointed to his current portfolios, where he continues with the role of Minister for Finance and is now the responsible Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs.

Amanda is Victoria's Lead Scientist, a role that aligns and connects Victoria’s science, technology and innovation capability with business needs and with government’s economic development activities.

Amanda is Chair of mRNA Victoria's Scientific Advisory Group; Chair of the Victorian Quantum Technology Network; and a non-executive Director of Agriculture Victoria Services Pty Ltd.  

Amanda has led the development of industry and science and innovation policy in Victoria since joining the Victorian Public Service in 2002 as the inaugural Director of Biotechnology. During this time, she has delivered major policy reforms, a range of programs and global partnerships, and landmark initiatives including the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

Amanda is experienced in clinical trials, regulatory affairs, business development and licensing through prior roles with international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Associate Professor Leah Heiss is the Eva and Marc Besen International Research Chair in Design at Monash University, Co-chair of the Victorian Heart Institute New Technologies Grand Challenge, Chair of the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards and Designer in Residence with the Australian National Fabrication Facility.

She is a leader in co-designing health technologies, services and systems including for global health, transfusion medicine, acute care, hearing loss and mental health and addiction. Leah’s design work is part of the Museums Victoria and Powerhouse collections, has been exhibited globally to more than 800,000 people, and has been recognised with Australia’s peak design awards including 11 Good Design Awards, the 2022 Australian Women in Design Award and CSIRO’s Design Innovation Award.

Leah has collaborated with the World Health Organization since 2022, convening the inputs of 15 countries to co-design the ‘WHO Design Principles and Tools to support use and impact of WHO Guidelines’, aimed at improving global uptake and implementation of WHO guidelines.

Her current work focuses on improving immunoglobulin uptake and use through the OPTIMAL CRE and co-designing a Living Evidence Architecture for South East Asia and the Western Pacific, engaging the inputs of clinicians and policy makers from 10 countries.

Kate Munnings has extensive and diverse experience as a senior executive and non-executive director at health and services companies. Most recently, Kate was MD & CEO of Vitrafy Life Sciences, an early stage ASX listed biotechnology company that has developed a novel cryopreservation technology that doubles the cell survival of cryopreserved biological material.  She was previously MD& CEO of Virtus Health Limited, one of the largest global providers of assisted reproductive services. While at Virtus Health, Kate created Virtus Ventures, which included successful collaborations between Virtus Health and a range of biotech start-ups to undertake translational research, commercialise technology and successfully obtain innovation grants.

Kate is currently Chair of the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre; she is a non-executive director retirement living and aged care provider, Ryman Healthcare, as well as Wesfarmers Limited and Vitrafy Life Sciences.  She also on the Advisory Boards of LEK Consulting, Baza Capital and Melbourne Universities Academy of the Healthcare Leadership.

Kate has deep operational experience, including as Chief Operations Officer at Ramsay Health Care and as Chief Executive Operations at Transfield Services (now Ventia Services Group Limited). Before moving into operations, she was Chief Risk and Legal Officer / Company Secretary for eight years at Transfield Service.

Kate was previously a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Baker McKenzie and she spent 9 years as a registered nurse early in her career.  Kate has a Bachelor of Laws from University of New South Wales; a Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing) from University of Technology Sydney and she has completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD.

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Jeff is an experienced leader in global engineering, manufacturing and MedTech innovation. Over a 30-year career, he has established research and manufacturing centres across five countries and led Australia’s largest medical device contract manufacturer. His executive roles include COO at Grey Innovation and D+I, advancing multidisciplinary MedTech collaborations, and CEO of BioMelbourne Network, Victoria’s health technology peak body.

Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and is a certified Six Sigma Yellow Belt and Lean Champion.

Jacqui Savage is a globally recognised medtech entrepreneur and innovation leader with deep expertise in the commercialization, manufacturing, and global distribution of transformative medical technologies. She has successfully launched and scaled multiple medical devices across international markets, including founding two health-tech companies, MedCorp and Mioplay. Her work spans the full innovation lifecycle—integrating clinical insight, regulatory strategy, and advanced manufacturing to deliver products that improve patient outcomes and reshape healthcare delivery.

Recognised for her contributions and leadership, Jacqui’s accolades include the 2016 Telstra Business Woman’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, NASA’s Top 100 Global Engineering Innovations, the BioMelbourne Network Emerging Women in Leadership Award, and being named one of the Top 20 MedTech Innovators in Asia Pacific in 2021.

Known for combining commercial rigour with visionary thinking, she brings a systems-level view to healthcare innovation. Jacqui also serves as Deputy Chancellor of La Trobe University and is a Director of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where she champions the intersection of innovation, education, and industry to drive meaningful change across the healthcare ecosystem.

Rachel is a partner at Giant Leap. Giant Leap invests in founders solving our most pressing global problems at scale across climate, health and people and has invested in over 30 companies to date.

Rachel is also on the Advisory Board for the Victorian Government’s Equity Investment Attraction Fund and formerly the Chair of the Startup Network, a non-profit, grassroots organisation supporting founders through their startup journey.

She has a background in management consulting and corporate finance, and previously co-founded a non-profit organisation to raise funds and awareness for MotorNeurone Disease

Dean M Karantonis graduated with the BE (Hons) degree in computer engineering and the MBiomedE degree in biomedical engineering from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. He completed a PhD degree with the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering at UNSW in collaboration with industry partner Ventracor, with the research focussed on simulation and control of an implantable rotary blood pump to optimise blood flow and outcomes for heart failure patients.

He was part of initial Implant Systems research team at NICTA responsible for developing the world’s first closed-loop neuromodulation system, and had been focused on engineering an implantable version of and commercialising this system as part of Saluda Medical, where he has played a seminal role as part of the founding team.

Dr Karantonis has held several roles at Saluda Medical, and now serves as SVP Therapy Development, where he leads programs to commercialise innovations aimed at improving chronic pain therapy delivery and efficacy, and leveraging Saluda’s neural sensing capability in a variety of neuromodulation targets.

He has authored numerous journal papers and conference proceedings, co-authored a book chapter on physiological measurement, is a co¬inventor of numerous patents, and is an IEEE member.

Assoc. Prof Tanya Petrovich is the Business Innovation Manager at Dementia Australia, where she leads the development of pioneering technologies that transform dementia care education. With a background in Genetics from the University of Melbourne, Tanya brings together scientific knowledge, creative thinking, and a passion for improving the lives of people living with dementia.
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Since joining Dementia Australia in 2008, Tanya has been instrumental in driving the organisation’s innovative education initiatives. As Business Development Manager, she established Consulting Services within the Centre for Dementia Learning, and forging key partnerships with institutions such as Deakin University and Swinburne University to advance research and evaluation in dementia education.
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In her current role, Tanya leads a multidisciplinary team applying emerging technologies to create engaging, evidence-based learning experiences. She spearheaded the launch of the Virtual Dementia Experience in 2013—the first virtual reality tool used in dementia care education—followed by a series of award-winning innovations including EDIE, Ask Annie, and TED, an artificially intelligent avatar that simulates living with dementia. These programs have been recognised nationally and internationally for their impact on workforce capability and empathy in care practice. Her leadership continues to position Dementia Australia as a global leader in dementia education and innovation, championing the use of technology to enhance understanding, support carers, and improve quality of life for people living with dementia.

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Dr Ben Condon is Clinical Director at Heidi Health, leading clinical governance, government relations and research across Australia and New Zealand.

Previously, he practiced in surgical and critical care roles before moving into digital health, where he led clinical quality initiatives at Eucalyptus and launched its preventative health clinic, Compound.

Ben is passionate about leveraging innovation and system reform to expand access to high-quality care at scale.

Prior to founding SeeTreat, Dr Doan Trang Nguyen was a Medical AI Specialist for Harrison.ai. In this role, Dr Nguyen was involved in end-to-end product design and development, from defining clinical requirements, data acquisition and labelling, to designing and conducting clinical trials to validate the products for regulatory approvals.

Prior to embarking on a career commercialising medical devices, Dr Nguyen was a tenured academic and maintains a position as an affiliate of the Image X Institute at the University of Sydney. Dr Nguyen concurrently held NHMRC and Cancer Institute NSW Early Career Fellowships and led Cancer Australia PdCCRS and Cancer Council project grants.

Dr Nguyen reviews for leading journals in the field of biomedical engineering and medical physics, including IEEE Sensors Journal and Medical Physics. She has published extensively on topics including functional imaging, cardiology and radiotherapy, with four of these articles as special features of their respective issues.

Arthur Shih, Provider Assist's Chief Digital Product Officer, is a healthcare technology executive and Harvard Business School alumnus with over 15 years of experience commercialising innovation across Australia, New Zealand, the US, UK, and Europe. Over the past four years, he has focused on transforming health and aged care through scalable, clinically-led technology solutions in Australia and Asia.

Most recently, Arthur was CEO of Humanetix, a digital health company recognised by the Financial Times as one of Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing tech firms (2025) and winner of Innovation Australia’s 2023 Software Innovation Award. During this time, Humanetix worked closely with providers and policymakers to support safer, more efficient care delivery in aged care, hospital, and community settings.

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Dr Nicole Jenkins is the Founder and CEO of FeBI Technologies – a Victorian startup on a mission to revolutionise the diagnosis of iron disorders by developing world leading quantum sensing medical technology.

Nicole is also a Senior Research Officer at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. Her research has focused on to the biology of ageing with a particular emphasis on disturbed iron homeostasis. She has direct experience in the diagnosis and health management of iron disorders, both at the iron deficiency and iron overload ends of the spectrum.

Olivia holds Bachelors degrees in both Science and Engineering, specialising in molecular biology and mechatronics, alongside a Masters of Applied Cybernetics from the Australian National University.  

Olivia has extensive experience within both the TGA in the regulation of high risk medical devices, and the Digital Transformation Agency with a focus on enabling better digital services delivered by government. She is currently a director in the Medical Devices Authorisation Branch, responsible for the team that assesses the safety and efficacy of medical device software, including those incorporating AI and ML.

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Paul Davies joined Abbott in March 2018 as Director for Government Affairs for Australasia. In this role he partners with Abbott’s regional business leaders to manage and shape policies affecting Abbott’s core businesses in Australia and New Zealand – devices, diagnostics and nutrition. He leads external stakeholder engagement in both countries to achieve business priorities.

Prior to joining Abbott, for 12 years Paul was a Director with C & M International, a leading public policy consulting firm in Washington DC, representing clients in the food, beverage, consumer products, advanced materials, information technology and broadcasting sectors. Paul was a senior official in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade where he represented the Australian Government in trade negotiations for over 12 years, including the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Paul was trade policy adviser to the Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile from 2000-2002.

Steve is the Managing Director of Tenmile and Chair of the Investment Committee. Tenmile is an Australian life science venture capital company owned by Tattarang, one of Australia’s largest private companies.

Steve’s professional experience spans research, philanthropy, strategy consulting, M&A, and operating global businesses in fields as diverse as ecology, digital health, and precision oncology.  He is relentlessly passionate about the power of new technology to positively impact human health and mitigate our climate impacts.

Prior to his current role, Steve managed a global business, led M&A and established a new informatics and real-world data business for the world’s largest biotech, Roche-Genentech based in the USA.  He remains a senior strategic advisor to Minderoo Foundation where he has led large initiatives focused on COVID-19, Cancer, and Ocean Conservation amongst others. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Biology and a Ph.D. in Population Biology from the University of Sydney.

Carmela Sergi is an accomplished senior executive and intellectual property attorney with extensive leadership experience across the pharmaceutical, medical technology, aged care and health service sectors. Carmela served as the founding CEO of ARIIA, Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia and is currently a Board member of Advocacy for Disability Access and Inclusion Inc (ADAI).

Carmela is committed to improving health and care through collaboration, knowledge translation and industry uptake of research outcomes. She has significant experience in leading large and complex research & industry collaborations with a focus on commercialisation and translational impact. Carmela also brings extensive experience in developing partnerships at local, national and international levels. She has a proven track-record of working with diverse stakeholders such as government, university, industry, health services and consumers.

Michael Harvey is the Managing Partner at Silicon Catalyst Australia. Silicon Catalyst is the only startup incubator + accelerator focused on the global semiconductor industry including chips, chiplets, materials, IP and hardware based photonics, MEMS, sensors, life science and quantum. Prior to this Michael has run successful national programs to commercialise quantum and advanced technologies in Australia.

Michael trained in law and science, with a PhD in physics from the University of Queensland. Michael was the Translational Research Manager for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) where he built a pre-pre-seed fund with a budget of $3M and created 21 commercial outcomes, including 9 quantum technology startups, with projects bringing in ~$97M in commercial and grant funding. He established similar programs at the Centre of Excellence for Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET) and the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Biotechnology (QUBIC).

Michael has lived and worked in Australia, Silicon Valley, Europe, China, & Taiwan, he is advisor to some Australian VC funds, and he co-founded several deep-tech startups in Australia and the USA so far having raised >$70M in venture investment for these businesses. He is an advisor or non-executive director of Australian startups commercialising semiconductor devices, data security, low-energy edge compute, edge AI, superconducting devices, and novel battery chemistries.

Elaine Stead is a member of the investment team at Main Sequence, with a focus on the “Humanity Scale Healthcare” challenge. With a background spanning science, entrepreneurship, and venture capital, she's known for her enduring roles in innovation and has an investment track record that extends to over 80 startups across Australia, the United States and Southeast Asia.  

Previously, Elaine served as the Director of New Ventures and Entrepreneurship at the Australian National University (ANU), leading the startup and equity investment strategy of knowledge translation. She has also been a founder of venture businesses, including Blue Sky VC, Human VC and Tribe Global Ventures.

Elaine has advised state governments on innovation policy, directed innovation initiatives, and served on boards in Australia and the US. She's coached startup founders nationwide and contributed to a variety of publications. In all avenues, Elaine prioritises human-centricity, emphasising authentic connections, vulnerability, and compassion. She advocates for values-driven innovation and a desire to make better that which can be.

Elaine holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry (Stem Cell Biology) and a B.Sc.in Biochemistry and Microbiology, both from the University of Adelaide.

Joe Dodd is the Partnership Development Lead at Quantum Australia.  Joe has over 25 years of experience in innovation, commercialisation, and business development across Australia, the UK, and Asia. With a background in the pharmaceutical industry, Joe has spent the past decade at CSIRO and Australia’s Economic Accelerator program, working at the intersection of research commercialisation and industry-research collaboration across a range of high-tech sectors – including quantum technology.

At Quantum Australia, Joe leads the national team of Partnership Managers to drive strategic engagement across the ecosystem. Joe plays a key role in shaping national strategy, building strong cross-sector partnerships, and advising on future business models to help grow Australia’s quantum capability and global impact.

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Kath is the Chief Executive Officer of OncoRes Medical. Kath joined Brandon Capital Partners in 2012. Prior to this, Kath was an Investment Manager with Perth based Stone Ridge Ventures, a fund manager specialising in seed-to-early-stage technology investment.

In addition to her investment experience, Kath has start up experience in medical apps, diagnostics and fitness devices. Kath still practices as a medical doctor working mainly within the surgical field and has experience as a medical officer monitoring clinical trials.

Before entering the commercial world, Kath spent a few years working in clinical medicine gaining a range of experience across medical and surgical specialities and critical care.

Kath is a Director of the Curtin Commercialisation Advisory Board.  Kath graduated from her medical degree (MBBS) with Honours and has an MBA from the University of Western Australia. Kath is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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Tara has built her 20+ year career commercialising biomedical innovations at the intersection of wearable sensors, digital technologies, and AI, combining deep technical expertise with the commercial capability to scale innovative healthcare solutions. As the CEO of Baymatob, she leads the development of AI-enabled monitoring and early-warning systems focused on improving maternal and fetal health outcomes.

With a proven track record of scaling MedTech companies, she has successfully raised private capital, navigated complex regulatory landscapes, and brought innovative healthcare technologies to market.

In addition, Tara lectures at UTS, where she developed and teaches the Biomedical Industry Frameworks course, mentors via AUSCEP, and is on the MedTech committee of BioNSW.

With over thirty years’ experience in consumer electronics, Harry has, for the last 15 years, been driving the rapid growth of the Garmin Health division at Garmin Australasia.

Harry has been instrumental in fostering relationships across the insurance, research, health care and corporate wellness sectors to develop innovative health and wellness solutions leveraging Garmin smartwatch and sensor data.

Dr Catherine Keating is a public health expert and health economist who advises several health start-ups, including MoreGoodDays and Ovum AI. Her work centres on strategy, research partnerships and B2B growth. She is also deeply involved in Australia’s early-stage health-tech ecosystem as a mentor with Startmate and Techstars, and as a Deal Flow Adviser for ANDHealth. Catherine also serves as an Enterprise Fellow at the University of Melbourne, where she focuses on research–industry collaboration.

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Catherine spent almost a decade as an executive at Medibank, where she led the organisation’s preventive health strategy. This included partnering with universities, industry and start-ups to design, test and scale new models of care. Her portfolio also encompassed major research partnerships, health-system reforms and advanced data analytics.

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Earlier in her career, she worked across management consulting, international development and academic research. Catherine holds a PhD in Health Economics, a Master of Public Health, clinical qualifications as an Occupational Therapist, and GAICD credentials.

Kathryn leads HBF Health’s data analytics strategy, turning data into actionable insights that improve member outcomes. With 20 years’ experience across banking, insurance, government, and retail, Kathryn specialises in advanced analytics and AI to enable proactive, data-driven decisions.

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She champions ethical AI, data literacy, and advancement of the analytics profession through roles as Deputy Chair of the Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia and Co-Chair of the Members Health Fund Alliance AI Community of Interest.

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Passionate about bridging technology and human behaviour, Kathryn focuses on delivering measurable business value while fostering a culture of innovation and data literacy.

John leads an APAC team that works with partners to create technology forward health solutions that have an impact at scale across the region. As Head of Strategic Health Solutions APAC, Google for Health, he collaborates with governments, healthcare systems and large organisations, leveraging Google's technology and tools to improve health outcomes for individuals and populations at scale, in line with Google's mission to improve the health of billions worldwide.

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His work builds on strong foundations from leading Fitbit Health Solutions in APAC integrating wearable and lifestyle data into partner health programs, and now focuses on leveraging the power of AI and other Google tools to drive improved health outcomes. John has a background in media, public affairs, organizational transformation and change and health tech, with experience in Australia, Asia, and the U.S.

Bronwyn has over 20 years executive experience in health technology commercialisation, venture capital, capital raising and industry advocacy. In 2017 she founded ANDHealth, an organisation that supports digital health companies in Australia by providing education, resources, non-dilutive funding and mentorship to help them navigate the complexities of the healthcare industry.

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ANDHealth is now one of Australia’s leading health technology commercialisation organisations with companies participating in its flagship ANDHealth+ program raising $19.70 in new capital and generating $6.70 in new revenues for every dollar invested. ANDHealth manages over $30M in public and private commitments to digital health commercialisation, and provides specialist support to a further $100M of funding managed by Brandon Capital.

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Bronwyn has been a Member of the Council of the National Health & Medical Research Council since 2021. She is also currently a Non-Executive Director of Lumos Diagnostics Ltd (ASX.LDX) alongside a number of other advisory roles.

As a co-inventor on a patented and ASX listed digital health technology; Grace Lethlean has been actively involved in the development of health technologies from invention, through clinical trials, to commercialisation.

Grace is Chief Operating Officer of ANDHealth, Australia’s national digital health initiative, accelerating the commercialisation of evidence-based digital health technologies. Grace’s focus is on supporting digital health technologies to meet key investor, partner and customer requirements around clinical and commercial validation.

Grace also supports the sector through numerous state and national Advisory Panels and Committees, is a 2020 SuperStar of STEM, is an inventor on patents in the US and Australia, a published author on digital health commercialisation, a 2022 Churchill Fellow, investigating international best practice in digital health business support and recognised in 2024 as an AFR Women in Leadership.