Gig Guide: ARC finds permanent CEO after year-long search


Brandon How
Reporter

Renowned biochemist and Australian National University pro vice-chancellor Professor Ute Roessner has been named the new chief executive of the Australian Research Council.

Ms Roessner, who will begin her five-year term at the end of March, steps into a position that sat vacant for all of last year after former chief Dr Judi Zielke stepped down for health reasons.

Deputy chief executive Dr Richard Johnson has been acting in the top job at the agency responsible for administering funding of excellent pure basic research, strategic basic research and applied research since Dr Zielke left in December 2023.

Professor Roessner is currently pro vice-chancellor (research initiatives and infrastructure) at the Australian National University, which is undergoing a major restructure designed to cut salary cost by $100 million a year.

She also sits on several advisory boards at the university, including the Institute for Space, the AgriFood Innovation Institute, the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility, Microscopy Australia and ACCESS-NRI, Australia’s climate simulator.

Australian Research Council chair Professor Peter Shergold on Friday said Professor Roessner was selected after a “competitive, merit-based recruitment process to lead a stronger independent ARC” under the direction of the board, which was established last year.

“We are confident her leadership will assist the Board to drive reforms and further strengthen the ARC’s commitment to fostering high-quality research and promoting innovation,” Professor Shergold said.

Professor Ute Roessner. Image: ANU

On Thursday, Lockheed Martin Australia reinstated Warren McDonald as chief executive after his successor Steve Robertson departed for personal reasons, according to the company, despite only beginning in the role at the start of December.

Kate Bower, the former head of data rights at consumer group CHOICE, has been selected to lead the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) privacy reform implementation taskforce and lead development of a children’s online privacy code.

Ms Bower also previously spent eight months as a fellow at the University of Technology Sydney’s Human Technology Institute working on AI regulation. She will start at the OAIC on January 28.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chief executive Scott Gregson will leave the competition watchdog to become the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s new chief on March 17. Mr Gregson first joined the ACCC in 1996 as a graduate and was appointed chief executive in 2020.

The Department of Health and Aged Care’s acting chief digital information officer Fay Flevaras has been made permanent. The former first assistant secretary for digital transformation and delivery has been acting in the role since it was created in September 2024.

Ms Fleveras oversaw the rebuild of the Government Provider Management System underpinned by Salesforce technology and is featured on the multinational tech firm’s promotional material.

Google’s new director of government affairs and public policy for Australia and New Zealand is Stefanee Lovett, who has spent more than five years in a government relations and public policy role for tech giant’s cloud business.

Ms Lovett is also a former chief of staff to former minister for small business Bruce Billson and was briefly a senior adviser to former Prime Minister Tony Abbot on industry and science, communications, competition policy and small business.

Aussie Broadband group managing director and co-founder Phillip Britt will retire at the end of February to focus on a personal community-focused venture in his hometown in Gippsland. He will be replaced by Aussie Broadband chief executive Brian Maher.

Hypersonix Launch Systems’ head of regulatory affairs Joe Urli has been poached by autonomous electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle developer Fait Corporation. Mr Urli’s new title is chief certification and compliance officer.

Fortescue’s new Asia-Pacific external affairs Canberra representative is Dr Judith Reinhard, a former senior program manager for hydrogen at German Defence company Rheinmetall. She was formerly head of science and innovation at the German Embassy in Australia.

At the Tasmanian Department of Health, Dr John Lambert has been appointed the first chief clinical information officer. He currently works in the same role at the Northern Territory government’s Health department.

The federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources’ inaugural counsellor at the Australian high commission in Indonesia, Nicole Henry, has finished her time in the role. The former senior public servant is currently completing a MBA.

Finance minister Katy Gallagher will add the government services portfolio to her remit, as reported by InnovationAus.com on Thursday, replacing outgoing minister Bill Shorten, who leaves parliament on Monday to become the University of Canberra’s vice chancellor and president.

In December, Dr Katherine Giles stepped down from the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation board because she had too many work commitments. A replacement director has yet to be appointed.

Former Universities Accord ministerial reference group member Professor Andrew Norton has joined the Monash Business School. The former head of the Grattan Institute’s higher education program moves from the Australian National University’s centre for social policy research.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

Leave a Comment

Related stories