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 and Djerriwarrh Investments Ltd. 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; 15.10.21 to 14.10.26

Dr Larry Marshall was born in Sydney and has a PhD in physics from Macquarie University, NSW, completing part of it while studying at Stanford University in the United States (US). He is a scientist, technology innovator and business leader with more than 25 years’ experience in creating new value and impact with science. Dr Marshall has more than 100 peer reviewed publications and conference papers, holds 20 patents, has founded six successful US companies in biotechnology, photonics, telecommunications and semiconductors, and has served on 20 boards of high-tech companies operating in the US, Australia and China. He is a member of the Accelerating R&D in NSW Advisory Committee (ARDAC), a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP), the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE), and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), and ex-officio member of the National Science and Technology Council.
Term of appointment: 01.01.15 to 31.12.16; 01.01.17 to 30.06.20; 01.07.20 to 30.06.23.

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David Knox is currently Chair of Snowy Hydro. He was previously the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Australian Naval Infrastructure from 2017 to 2020, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Santos Limited from 2008 -2015 and Managing Director for BP Developments in Australasia from 2003 to 2007. He has worked for BP in the United Kingdom and Pakistan, and has held management and engineering positions at ARCO and Shell in the USA, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Norway. David is originally from Edinburgh, Scotland and has a BSc Hons in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA. He is a fellow of ATSE, and FIEAust and a graduate of the AICD. David is a Director of Migration Council Australia, Redflow and a Member of the Royal Institution of Australia Council. David also sits on the board of the Adelaide Festival and is Chair of Micro X and The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TASCI).
Term of appointment: 05.05.16 to 04.05.19; 05.05.19 to 04.05.24

Professor Edwina Cornish AO has worked at the interface between industry, the research and higher education sectors and government throughout her career. She is an experienced board member with expertise in scientific and academic leadership and international business development. Professor Cornish played a key role in building one of Australia’s first biotechnology companies, Florigene Limited, which developed and successfully commercialised the world’s first genetically modified flowers under her leadership. Professor Cornish is a Member of the Council of La Trobe University and was previously Provost and Senior Vice-President of Monash University. In 2014 she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, in part for her advances in biotechnology and horticultural genetic modification.
Term of appointment: 26.11.15 to 25.11.20; 26.11.20 to 25.11.23.

Professor Tanya Monro is the Chief Defence Scientist, appointed in March 2019.
Professor Monro was previously Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation and an ARC Georgina Sweet Laureate Fellow at the University of South Australia.
Professor Monro was the inaugural Director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) from 2008 to 2014 and was also the inaugural Director for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP) at the University of Adelaide. Her research is in the field of photonics, with a focus on sensing, lasers and new classes of optical fibres.
Professor Monro obtained her PhD in physics in 1998 from The University of Sydney, for which she was awarded the Bragg Gold Medal for the best Physics PhD in Australia. In 2000, she received a Royal Society University Research Fellowship at the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton in the UK, and is also an inaugural Bragg Fellow of the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus).
Professor Monro is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), the Optical Society of America (OSA) and the Australian Institute of Physics. She is a member of the SA Premier’s Economic Advisory Council and Science Patron of the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF).
Her awards include: the Prime Minister's Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year (2008), South Australian Scientist of the Year (2010), South Australia's Australian of the Year (2011), and the Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research (2015).
Term of appointment: 25.02.16 to 24.02.21; 25.02.21 to 24.02.24

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 Apple and Pear Australia, Chair of Food and Agribusiness Growth Centre and Chair of Defence CRC for Trusted Autonomous Systems. Her current board positions include, , MJ Chicken Pty Ltd, Smart Sat CRC, Food Agility CRC and Dairy Food Safety Victoria and Chair of the Assessment Committee of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (Translation and Integration Stream).- 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 Chief Executive of the Queensland Resources Council and is a non-executive director of Woodside Petroleum and the Chairman of the Innovative Manufacturing Co-operative 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: 15.10.21 to 14.10.24

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