Our most successful leaders within Australia’s commercial innovation ecosystem are the individuals who are able to combine talents across a broad swathe of different disciplines.
They are the people who get stuff done – who are able to articulate big picture goals and inspire others to follow, and who understand the smallest operational details of the product or service they are delivering.
It is always a pleasure to introduce the finalists for the individual categories for the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence. The finalists are always inspiring and always have an amazing story behind them.
The finalists in the 2025 Innovation Leadership Award category are:
Professor Andrew Dzurak, founder and chief executive officer at Diraq
Robert Kuplacs, chief executive office, The Bionics Institute
David Lewis, founder and managing director at Mentor List Group
The individual categories at the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence attracted a record number of nominations – more than 20 nominations were received in both the Innovation Leadership Award category and the Paul Shetler Disrupter of the Year Award category.
“Innovation is a team game, but there is always an outstanding leader at the helm, driving the project and ensuring its success. Congratulations to each of our finalists in the Innovation Leadership Award category,” said InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod.
The 2025 Innovation Leadership Award category is sponsored by intellectual property specialists Griffith Hack.
Professor Andrew Dzurak vision to deliver quantum computers based on underlying silicon technology has put Diraq into an elite field of companies at the forefront of the global race to design and build a utility-scale quantum computer.
He has pursued quantum using existing silicon manufacturing technology, with the aim to build the most energy-efficient and cost-efficient quantum future as possible.
In addition to his role as CEO and Founder of Diraq, Andrew Dzurak is a Scientia Professor in Quantum Engineering at UNSW, Sydney, an ARC Laureate Fellow, and a member of the Executive Board of the Sydney Quantum Academy
“While Diraq has some formidable competitors in the race to utility scale, few companies are pursuing the silicon route, and none with the successes that Diraq has achieved to date,” Professor Dzurak’s nomination paper says.
As the chief executive at The Bionics Institute, Robert Kuplacs has created a new model to accelerate Australian innovation by using a blended approach of philanthropy, impact investment and commercial IP licensing.
The commercialisation of Bionics Institute intellectual property led to the creation of five startup companies over the past seven years, creating new jobs and value for the Australia economy.
Robert Kuplac’s contribution and enduring legacy in the medical research sector is his pioneering work to shift thinking around the commercialisation of local research.
“He has long championed the view that commercialisation is key to the future of Australian research institutes and universities – not only for financial sustainability, but for unlocking economic value through company revenue and job creation,” Mr Kuplac’s nomination paper reads.
David Lewis is the founder and managing director at the Mentor List Group, a peer mentoring platform for senior executives that has transformed how Australia’s top leaders connect, learn and grow,
“There’s no ego, only deep care – for the people they serve, the community they’re building and the legacy they’re creating. In an industry full of noise, this nominee is the signal: clear, trusted and ahead of the curve,” Mr Lewis’ nomination says.
“They have created a space where CEOs, C-suite executives and emerging leaders can be genuinely vulnerable, challenged and supported – not through traditional coaching or training, but through connection with peers who walk in the same shoes,” it says.
The InnovationAus 2025 Awards for Excellence are proudly supported by ACS, PEXA Group, the CSIRO ON Program, Griffith Hack, TechnologyOne, Q-CTRL, National AI Centre, University of New South Wales, Investment NSW and IP Australia.
Protecting your great ideas with intellectual property (IP) rights can lead to lasting benefits for your growing business. IP refers to creations of the mind, such as a brand, logo, invention, design or artistic work. Head to the IP Australia website to find out more about IP, and how it might help your business.
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