Damien Thomas is a leader with a focus on strategy and commercialisation. He has strong connections in the private,
government and university sectors across Australia, Asia, USA and Europe.
He has led his team in assisting industry through the uptake of innovation and technology. Damien is passionate about
building a competitive advantage based on open innovation, new technology and collaboration.
Accomplishments
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Established strategic relationships between a major Australian research organisation and an American multinational conglomerate, to accelerate Australian innovation by linking Australian research and industry with a global technology leader. This results in the creation of a $20 million, five-year R&D alliance to address tough challenges in healthcare, materials, energy, resources, ICT and analytics.
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Designed, developed and implemented the research translation strategy for a leading Australian university, as well as its Industry Engagement Community of Practice.
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Completed multiple license deals between industry leaders, research organisations and startups.
Key Capabilities
Research Translation
Commercialisation Pathways
Technology Transfer
Strategy
About Damien
Damien brings expertise in connecting world-class technology and innovation with companies across the globe. He has over 20 years' experience in the development and implementation of business development strategy for globally unique technology and innovation-based enterprises.
He is passionate about connecting highly innovative technology and people, to develop unique products and processes. Damien possesses a detailed understanding of the global business environment, intellectual property and the innovation capacity of the companies he works with.
Damien holds a Bachelor of of Economics (Honours) from La Trobe University and completed his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Melbourne. He has also spent time in Europe, conducting research across a number of universities as a recipient of the Churchill Fellowship.
In his spare time...
When Damien is not working on innovation challenges and technology (which he loves!) he is learning to speak Spanish, continuing to build his tennis skills, developing his ability to cook Indonesian and other foods and being with his family in Australia and Europe. Damien is also working on an opportunity to sail across the Mediterranean Sea with some friends from Spain.