Board Of Directors
Peter Kasprzak
Peter Kasprzak, is the Co-Founder and CEO of Innovate Australia. Peter is an innovator, ideator, investor, and entrepreneur. In 2014 together with Dr Adam Osseiran Peter co-found Innovate Australia. He has been a Director of number of companies ranging from geophysics to manufacturing electric vehicle charging stations. Peter also headed WA bid group to create the Sustainable Electric Transport Cooperative Research Centre (SET CRC) in Western Australia and is the Convenor of the Hydrogen Society of Australia.
Over his career, Peter has gained experience in Europe, the United States, and Australia in fields of emerging technology, automotive industry, energy, environment, and financial services. In the USA, Peter Recycling Education Program founded by Peter was featured on the cover of the UN Observer magazine during the United Nations Global Youth Forum on Environment in New York and received an official commendation from the Mayor of Los Angeles. Peter also worked in various roles with Mission Australia as well as the Department of the Premier and Cabinet with the State Government Graffiti Program. Peter is a past President of Inventors Association of Australia, a long-standing Committee member of Australian Crime Prevention Council WA and a member of the Western Australian Club.
Adam Osseiran
Adam Osseiran is the Co-Founder and Director of Innovate Australia. He is a technology specialist, and an entrepreneur. Over the past decade, he has co-founded three technology companies, advises several technology startups, and was a winner for the prestigious WA Innovator of the Year Award 2018. Adam is also the President of the Hydrogen Society of Australia.
Adam served on the board of BrainChip Holdings, an Australian company that specializes in accelerated artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. He holds eight patents in areas including CMOS structure design for optoelectronics image sensors in automotive applications, display architecture, acoustic systems, and sensors for environmental and medical monitoring.
In addition to his entrepreneurial achievements, Adam has held prominent leadership roles, including President of the Inventor Association, Chairman of the WA IEEE section, and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board at Brainchip. He has received eight certificates of appreciation, a Continuing Service Award, and a Meritorious Service Award from the IEEE and the Computer Society for his significant contributions to the electrical engineering community.
After earning his PhD in 1986, Adam spent 15 years at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, where he focused on industrial-related projects. He also served as a Professor of Microelectronics at the University of Applied Sciences of Geneva. In 2002, Adam relocated to Australia to contribute to a Major National Research Facility program in microelectronics. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia.
Michael Mischin
The Hon. Michael Mischin is a lawyer by background, with extensive experience at the highest levels of government and the workings of public sector institutions. A former Member of the Western Australian Parliament, he served for 12 years representing the Legislative Council’s North Metropolitan Region. While in Government he was the State’s Attorney General and Minister for Commerce and retained those portfolios as a shadow minister while in Opposition, along with Heritage, Culture and the Arts. During his parliamentary and ministerial career, he was chair and member of various parliamentary committees and ministerial councils.
His Commerce portfolio included responsibility for the Department’s Industry and Innovation Division, the Bentley Technology Park, Innovation Centre of WA, WA Innovator of the Year Awards and Henderson Marine Complex.
Michael is a long-time supporter of Western Australian innovation and confident that Western Australians are among the best in the world in finding novel and universally beneficial solutions to challenges.
Colleen Yates MBA
Colleen has worked and volunteered for the past 35 years in a number of multi-faceted, composite and challenging roles within the private, government and not-for-profit sectors delivering outstanding cutting-edge outcomes. Since 2013 she has been the CEO with Regional Development Australia Perth, having delivered a number of initiatives to drive new business investment and job growth for the Perth region.
These include: “Driving Change: Perth and Peel an Economic Development Strategy and Infrastructure Priorities Plan” (2015); “Security and Defence in Western Australia: An Economic Perspective” (2017); “Lithium Valley: Building the Case for Energy Metals and Battery Manufacturing in WA” (2018), “Establishing the Perth DroneHub” (2019), “Enabling the Western Trade Coast: Creating WA’s World Class Industrial Destination, A Perspective from Industry” (2020) and “Perth Hills Strategic Visioning” (2020). She is currently working with the RDAWA network to develop a WA Regional Investment Prospectus.
Peter Damen
Peter Damen is the Chairman of the Board Directors of Innovate Australia, an industry body that was established to encourage, assist and proactively promote Australian innovation. The organisation works with industry to bring about and encourage innovation, and to develop programs and innovation networks. It is a not for profit, independent facilitator with a wide national footprint.
Peter is considered a national and international expert in emerging transport technologies, automated vehicles, parking and traffic management, road safety and future transport planning. He is a qualified civil engineer with over 25 years’ experience in the industry including both government and the private sector. He has been involved in some of Australia’s largest transport infrastructure projects and he has an industry network that extends to most parts of the globe. Peter believes that innovation is the key to Australia’s future – in making better investment decisions and accomplishing more for the community.
Peter has chaired or participated in numerous industry associations, state advisory committees, accreditation panels, and learned societies and amongst other roles he is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Level5design, a specialised advisory and design firm dedicated to achieving better outcomes for its customers in the rapidly evolving transport technology and infrastructure planning and design spaces.
In previous roles Peter had responsibility for programs such as the National Road Safety Partnership Program and the National Assets Centre of Excellence. He was also the Chair of the Executive Steering Committee of the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative (ADVI), a peak body that he was instrumental in establishing.
Stephen Carroll
Stephen has over 20 years of innovation experience, working with thousands of businesses in a diverse range of industries, from start-up innovators to large multi-national corporations, across all styles of industries and technologies. Stephen is a registered R&D Tax Agent and has been an R&D Tax Partner and Director in some of the largest accounting firms in Australia.
Stephen founded his own start-up to educate people on the Innovation Journey as well as another company to assist companies with their R&D Tax and grant funding.
Stephen takes an active role in the Innovation Ecosystem: Chair of the WA Innovation Vouchers program, Judge for WA Innovator of the Year, Mentor, Presenter and Facilitator on the Curtin Ignition Program and many other Accelerators, events and programs, Judge for Springboard Australia, Ambassador for Women in Technology WA, and Chair for the Licensing Executive Society Australia New Zealand national conference in WA.
Steve also was a Representative on National and State R&D Tax Groups with the ATO and AusIndustry and represented the R&D Tax industry at the Federal Senate Economics Committee and an active R&D Tax presenter and author in many public and private forums.
Craig Gregory
Craig Gregory, a luminary in professional investigations and regulatory management, brings over 25 years of experience to his role as Director at Innovate Australia. His career is marked by notable achievements in tackling complex fraud and corruption investigations, risk management, payment integrity, and quality auditing. Craig’s leadership and strategic vision have been instrumental in driving positive changes across diverse sectors, including health insurance, commercial insurance, finance, government, and mining and metals. Before joining Innovate Australia, he served as a Senior Executive at Medibank Private Limited and as Group Manager for Loss Prevention at HBF Health Limited. He held prestigious senior roles in government and as a decorated police detective.
Craig’s academic credentials include an MBA from the University of New South Wales and an Associate Degree in Social Science in Policing from Edith Cowan University. His multiple diplomas further prove his commitment to professional development in areas crucial to his expertise.
Currently, Craig is also making significant contributions as the Executive Treasurer of the Australian Crime Prevention Council and leading the Perth team at PKF Integrity. His role involves overseeing forensic services, investigations, risk management, training, and the implementation of whistleblower policies. His extensive experience across various industries and his leadership in strategy development, stakeholder management, and financial management have made him a valuable asset to Innovate Australia and the broader community.