Investment Committees

Peter Devine became CEO of Uniseed in 2006, transitioning from his initial role as Uniseed Investment Director.  Peter has extensive experience at board and executive management levels in the commercialisation of early stage technologies, having held senior R&D, business development and commercialisation positions in a number of Australian companies and Australian universities.  Before joining Uniseed, Peter was Vice President of Business Development at Progen Industries Ltd.  He was Research, Development and Commercialisation Manager at Brisbane-based PanBio Pty Ltd from 1996 to 2000 and also worked in business development at UniQuest Pty Ltd.

Peter holds a PhD from the University of Queensland and received the Dean’s Prize for his MBA Studies at the Australian Graduate School of Management.  He received a Centenary Medal in 2003 for outstanding contribution to the business of biotechnology.  He is a Graduate and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Markets) and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance from Kaplan Professional. In 2011 & 2012, Peter was named on the Kaplan High Achievers Honour Roll.

Melissa is passionate about delivering leading technology innovations to the market and achieving successful commercial outcomes. Throughout her career, Melissa has worked at the interface between industry and academia and brings a broad strategic perspective with a focus on technology performance and aligning intellectual property assets with commercial strategy.

Prior to joining Uniseed, Melissa has had experience across a range of sectors including a fermentation food-tech start-up where she was responsible for engagement strategies and building high-growth international commercial partnerships, a Rural Research and Development Corporation seeking to maximise the return on R&D investments and the University of Sydney to support the commercialisation of University generated assets.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Monash University, a PhD from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Macquarie University and a Master of Intellectual Property Law from the University of Technology Sydney. Melissa is also a Fellow of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

John joined Uniseed as an Investment Manager in Melbourne. He is responsible for working closely with Melbourne Ventures Limited, the University of Melbourne’s commercialisation group, in identifying new investment opportunities, and also covers Uniseed’s overall biotechnology opportunities.

John brings extensive industry experience as a Biotechnology Manager with a focus on the strategic design and implementation of drug development programs. John’s previous roles have included Pharmaceutical Development Manager at BioDiem Ltd, where he was responsible for managing the preclinical, clinical and regulatory aspects of BioDiem’s drug development programs, and Preclinical Development Manager at Amrad Corporation Ltd where he was responsible for the management of preclinical drug development projects. His experience extends from drug discovery, to the phase I-II clinical phases of drug development. John has a PhD in Neuroscience and a Post Graduate Diploma in Drug Evaluation and Pharmaceutical Science, both from the University of Melbourne and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ross Macdonald has an extensive and successful background in the pharmaceutical industry. With over thirty-five years of local and international experience in unit and general management in the industry, he has brought several products from the lab bench to market. Ross also has broad-based experience in profit centre management, technology commercialisation, strategic planning, deal negotiation and transaction (licensing, M&A, asset sale & purchase), market and industry analysis, human resource management, product development and finance. Ross was most recently Chief Executive Officer and MD for the ASX-listed cell therapy company Cynata Therapeutics Ltd. Prior to joining Cynata he was CEO of Living Cell Technologies Ltd, Vice President, Business Development at Sinclair Pharmaceuticals Ltd (a UK based speciality pharmaceuticals company), Vice President, Corporate Development for Stiefel Laboratories, Inc, (Coral Gables, FL, now part of GlaxoSmithKline), Vice President of Business Development for Connetics Corporation (Palo Alto, CA), Vice President of Research & Development with F.H. Faulding & Co Limited (now part of Mayne Group/Hospira Inc) and Managing Director of Soltec Research.

Ross has a PhD in Biochemistry from Monash University and a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Swinburne University.

David is a Director of Commercialisation at UniQuest, where he is responsible for building technology transfer and commercialisation opportunities within the health discipline. He is an Intellectual Property and Commercialisation professional with over 15 years’ experience in commercialising intellectual property assets and/or expertise from publicly funded research organisations, across a broad range of technology fields and industry segments.  David has led and closed technology transfer deals, managed diverse IP portfolios, and developed and executed commercialisation strategies for a broad range of research innovations.

David has previously managed Intellectual Property and Commercialisation across two public hospital organisations, the Western Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network.  Prior to this David held positions at UniQuest, including Commercialisation Associate and Commercialisation Analyst.   David has a Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Biotechnology, with a focus on technology and innovation management.

Dr. Geoff Waring is a Managing Partner of Stoic Venture Capital Fund and Investment Manager of Uniseed’s Co-Investment Fund. Stoic invests in early stage technology companies, both directly and indirectly as a co-investor or Limited Partner in early stage venture capital funds.

Geoff has invested in, co-founded, mentored and sourced external venture capital for high potential early stage companies. Prior to working in venture capital, Geoff gained a PhD in economics and strategy from the University of California-Los Angeles and held a number of academic positions at the University of New South Wales, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Emory University and University of California-Los Angeles. He has also led training courses for clients including Bain Capital, McKinsey & Company, Westpac, National Australia Bank, Essilor and Mallesons, amongst others, and consulted with Boston Consulting Group.

Stephen is passionate about research translation and creating impact through the commercialisation of innovative intellectual property. Stephen leads the Science portfolio within the commercialisation team at the University of Sydney and is tasked with identifying, protecting and commercialising University technologies. Experience gained working in the IP commercialisation space for the last 7 years, Stephen has successfully developed a diverse portfolio of early stage technologies into commercially viable outcomes and facilitated the building of networks and partnerships with start-ups, companies, government and peak bodies.

Before joining the University of Sydney, Stephen worked in the technology transfer office of a top tier University in Hong Kong and has worked extensively in China and South East Asia.

Stephen obtained a PhD in Medicine from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Biomedical Engineering as well as Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from UNSW.

My focus is on supporting teams to identify commercial opportunity through collaboration of strategic initiatives that solve technical issues, scale to manufacture or explore new product development avenues for an unmet need in the market-place.

I have over 25 years of commercial knowhow with a broad range of industrial experience including: biotechnology, medical devices, ICT/IOT and the mining sector. My skills are typified by my ability to identify commercial opportunity, secure IP and leverage organisational capability, technology and capital to exploit the competitive advantage and drive the agenda for sustainable outcomes. As a founder of an export manufacturing business and entrepreneur, I understand the importance of strategic investment either in the form of joint-ventures, material supply agreements and distribution networks.

I have led teams and campaigns with global multinationals such as, Serono, Unilever and Newcrest Mining to facilitate collaborative investments, navigated the regulatory hurdles on transfer pricing, understood the tax implication and traversed the landscape of structuring a deal while thriving in due-diligence.

I am proficient at identifying the risks associated with commercial strategies, motivated by the challenges of complex commercialisation transactions such as spinouts, start-ups and joint ventures, and undaunted in the approach to seeking funding opportunities.

My key industry experience:

• Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals – Developed immunodiagnostic test kits for the Over the Counter (OTC) market: Founding Shareholder/Director of Australia’s first stem cell storage facility known as Cryosite: Founding shareholder/Director of ISO/TGA biological reagent manufacturing facilities for export to veterinary vaccine market. Facilitated Innovation Connection grant projects in cancer diagnostics, therapeutic agents and novel 3D bioprinting for in vitro cell culture.
• Mining Equipment, Technology and Services – Developed university business plan for “Gold Strike” a geochemical vectoring tool for deep cover exploration. Facilitated engagement of junior mineral exploration companies with capability at UTAS CODES for geochemical vectoring.
• Enabling Technologies – Facilitated digital, IOT and big data analytics for remote monitoring and control of SME’s assets; identified University AI experts for applications in 2D-3D visualisation for projects in textile manufacturing and security/safety surveillance.
• Food & Agribusiness – Investigating waste-water treatment and recycling for large confectionery manufacturer

Colin joined UniQuest in 2020 and manages the Physical Sciences Commercialisation Team. Since graduating in chemical engineering, Colin has worked across a wide range of sectors on the commercialisation of early-stage technology. He has over 10 years’ experience in project management and business development roles, in particular supporting several nascent university spin-outs. He previously worked as a strategy consultant, where he advised clients on growth strategy and technology & innovation management, and as a product & technology development consultant.

Craig Peden is the Deputy Director (Acting) with Knowledge Exchange at UNSW. Craig supports the business development and commercialisation team at UNSW and is responsible for contract and collaborative research and IP commercialisation. He has had a long association with the university sector, being involved in the commercialisation and corporate relations efforts at the University of Wollongong and more recently in business development at UNSW. Craig has also spent many years in the commercial world working for prominent IT services companies as Microsoft and PeopleSoft (now Oracle). Craig is passionate about the translation of research into impact, the art of deal-making and international market development. He still calls Wollongong home swimming daily in the coastal pools at Towradgi and Woonona.

Leong is the Head of Commercialisation at the University of Sydney. Before that, he was the Commercialisation Manager at CSIRO and managed the commercialisation of technologies developed by a number of the business units and provided mentoring for potential spin-out teams on their entrepreneurial journey. Prior to CSIRO, Leong spent 10 years with DuPont, where he held a number of roles, including managing the ANZ Technical Centre and leading Corporate Business Growth and Innovation. During this time, he led the development of multi-award-winning product and service solutions for the mining industry and helped identify and commercialise a number of new product offerings in different industries.

Leong is an experienced Technologist, Innovator and Entrepreneur with a unique combination of commercial and technical leadership experience gained over 20 years from working in spectrum of organisations including tech start-ups, small business, research organisations and one of the world’s iconic science corporations. With an expansive knowledge and expertise across the physical and chemical sciences Leong has a successful track record in identifying, developing and commercialising products and services in different industries.

Leong has a BSc(Hons) and PhD in Chemistry from UNSW, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Six Sigma Green Belt qualified.

Over 10 years’ innovation, IP, commercialization strategy, partnering and management experience with technical qualifications in Chemistry and Hydrometallurgy. My current role at CSIRO involves liaising closely with research directors and technical teams, developing commercialisation pathways for research, sourcing investment, partnering and licensing, as well as structuring and managing spin-outs to the industry.

My previous role at BHP was focused on partnerships initially at a technology program level and then later in a more strategic capacity. I was involved in establishing and managing various partnerships whilst at BHP including Southern Innovation, Naturafrac, an ore pre-conditioning consortium (involving 3 external entities, SRI, Imperial College and UQ), and have managed and negotiated the collaboration terms with Toyota to conduct ELV trials, with a view to securing options for partnership on a more broader scale (e.g. hydrogen) if/when desired. I have also had engagements with Monash, UQ and the Sustainable Minerals Institute and was involved in establishing Umbrella Agreements with both UQ and SDSU to enable projects between UQ and BHP to be established seamlessly under one agreement.

I have established connections into VC firms like Hambrecht Ventures and RFC Ambrian, Jolimont Ventures, BHP Ventures, Uniseed and Main Sequence. I am Vice President-Elect on the Board of the Licensing Executives Society of Australia and New Zealand (LESANZ), a professional body focussing on the areas of commercialisation, innovation, technology transfer, intellectual property and licensing. This affords me the unique opportunity to establish direct links with innovation and commercialisation experts, universities, start-ups and technology companies across the globe through the membership of the parent organisation LES International. My other recent commercial roles have involved developing and implementing commercialization and innovation management strategy and plans for organizations of varying sizes including government, start-ups and multinationals, including identifying technical and strategic partners to accelerate the implementation of these technologies. This includes developing a sound IP strategy, R&D project prioritization, pipeline management, internal & external stakeholder engagement and internal resource allocation. I am a registered Patent & Trade Marks Attorney in Australia.