Board members

Ms Kathryn Fagg is an experienced director, senior executive and former engineer. Ms Fagg was promoted from Deputy Chair to Chair for a five-year term, from 15 October 2021. A highly experienced board member and Chair, a non-executive Director of the National Australia Bank Ltd, Djerriwarrh Investments Ltd and Medibank. She is the Chair of Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA), Inaugural Chair of Watertrust Australia Ltd, as well as being a Board Member of the Grattan Institute, The Myer Foundation and the Champions of Change Coalition. She was formerly a Reserve Bank Board member and former President of Chief Executive Women. Ms Fagg has held senior executive roles in logistics, manufacturing, resources, banking and professional services, including with Linfox, BlueScope Steel and the ANZ Banking Group. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) from the University of Queensland and a Master of Commerce (Honours) from the University of New South Wales. In 2017 she was awarded the Ada Lovelace Medal for Outstanding Woman Engineer by the University of New South Wales.
Term of appointment: 02.08.18 to 01.08.23; 17.09.20 to 16.09.25; 14.10.21 to 13.10.26

Dr Doug Hilton AO commenced as CSIRO Chief Executive on September 29, 2023.

Dr Hilton is a molecular and cellular biologist and previously Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI). At WEHI, his medical research focussed on understanding how blood cells communicate and using this knowledge to improve disease treatments. He and his team held more than 20 patents and translated their research through collaboration with venture capitalists and the biopharmaceutical industry. Through an honorary appointment in the Zoology Department at University of Melbourne, he also studies a family of tiny day-flying moths involved in the pollination of Australian plants.

Beyond research, Dr Hilton has emphasised the importance of strong institutional cultures, and furthered diversity in science including as a member of the Champion of Change Coalition and a board member of Australians Investing in Women.

Dr Michele Allan is a food industry and agribusiness specialist who has held senior executive and director positions in the food, agriculture and education sectors and has an academic background in biomedical science, management and law. Dr Allan is the Chancellor of Charles Sturt University, Chair of Wine Australia, Chair of Smart Sat CRC and Chair of Defence CRC for Trusted Autonomous Systems. Dr Allan is also Chair and a member of the steering committee of the Advisory Council for Australian AgriFood Data Exchange. Her current board positions include, , MJ Chicken Pty Ltd, Food Agility CRC and Dairy Food Safety Victoria. Dr Allan has a Bachelor of Applied Science Major – Biomedical Science – Cytology from University Technology Sydney, Master of Management (Technology) from the University of Melbourne, Doctor of Business Administration from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Master of Commercial Law from Deakin University. She is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In January 2023, Dr Allan was made an Officer in the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the agricultural, food production and business sectors, and to tertiary education.
Term of appointment: 05.05.16 to 04.05.19; 05.05.19 to 04.05.24

Ian is the former Chief Executive of the Queensland Resources Council and is a non-executive director of Woodside Petroleum. Current board positions include Toowoomba & Surat Basin Enterprise and Sovereign Manufacturing Automation for Composites Cooperative Research Centre. Ian Macfarlane has had a long career in the public service and was elected to Federal Parliament in 1998. He became Australia’s longest serving Federal Resources and Energy Minister and the Coalition’s longest serving Federal Industry and Innovation Minister with over 14 years of experience in both Cabinet and shadow ministerial positions before retiring from parliament in May 2016.
Term of appointment: 14.10.21 to 13.10.24

Professor Brown is an internationally recognised clinician and researcher who has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health for his entire career. Professor Brown is the Professor of Indigenous Genomics at the Telethon Kids Institute and the Australian National University. A proud member of the Yuin nation, Professor Brown is the first Indigenous scientist appointed to the CSIRO Board, bringing a wealth of experience understanding and overcoming health inequalities and bridging connections across science ecosystems. The appointment of Professor Alex Brown will help address skills gaps identified by the Board, facilitate greater collaboration between research agencies and universities, and ensure CSIRO’s future direction benefits from being more inclusive.
Term of Appointment: 16.03.23 (commenced duties 03.04.23) to 15.03.28

A highly-awarded and world-leading authority in marine science and conservation, Professor Johnston’s current research focuses on global change including marine debris, biological invasions, extreme events, and Antarctica's environmental future. She was previously Dean of Science and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research at the University of New South Wales.
As the past President of Science & Technology Australia (STA), an elected position, she is a highly influential figure in the Australian higher education and research sector. Professor Johnston has led major research projects for industry, government, the Australian Research Council, and the Australian Antarctic Science Program and contributed to the development of international and national research strategies, priorities, and plans. She is a sustainability and diversity champion and a Chief Author of the Australian State of Environment Report 2021. She is a trusted advisor working across a range of government and industry bodies. Professor Johnston is a Director on the Board of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), and a governor of the Ian Potter Foundation.
Professor Johnston is an elected fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and the Royal Society of New South Wales (RSNSW) and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours for ‘distinguished service to higher education, particularly to marine ecology and ecotoxicology, as an academic, researcher and administrator, and to scientific institutes’.
Term of Appointment: 22.08.23 (commenced duties 11.09.23) to 21.08.27

Roy has a PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge, where he was also a Research Fellow. He has worked in universities, business and government in Australia and overseas, including as Dean of UTS Business School, Macquarie Graduate School of Management and Dean and Vice-President for Research at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Roy has advised and published widely in the areas of innovation policy and management and was Chair of the Australian Government's Innovative Regions Centre, CSIRO Manufacturing Sector Advisory Council, NSW Manufacturing Council and Queensland Competition Authority, and a member of the Prime Minister’s Manufacturing Taskforce and NSW Modern Manufacturing Taskforce. More recently, and in addition to the Board of CSIRO, Roy joined the Board of SmartSat CRC, Innovative Manufacturing CRC and the Australian Design Council. He is also Chair of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub and the Port of Newcastle and a member of the Charles Sturt University Council.
Term of Appointment: 07.12.23 to 06.12.28