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Geoff Drenkhahn

Director, Strategic Funding, Partnerships, Innovation and Communications (SF PIC)
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Background

Geoff Drenkhahn is an executive with 20+ years of experience in the R+D sector with a record of identifying opportunities and developing strategies for expansion and growth, and building new business operations and partnerships.

As Director, Strategic Funding, Partnerships, Innovation and Communications he has responsibility for identifying income generation opportunities and the appropriate mechanisms for commercialisation of the Institute’s research portfolio. He brings a business perspective to the management of the R&D pipeline with a background in strategic planning, financial and contract management, business and organisational growth, and governance.

He has established various mechanisms for developing and commercialising Burnet technologies, including spin out entities BioPoint Hong Kong and Nanjing BioPoint, Optima Consortium for Decision Science (OCDS) and 360Biolabs, holding Board and advisory positions during the early growth phases of those initiatives.

Geoff is a member of the Institute’s Executive Committee and plays a lead role in the Institute’s strategy development and performance management i.e. setting and then monitoring and reporting of performance against the Institute’s strategic objectives.

He is the Institute’s previous Chief Operating Officer (2008-2016) and prior to that the Deputy Head of the Institute’s Centre of International Health. He joined the Institute in 1998 following a career with CSIRO and the Victoria State government.

Geoff has an MBA (Technology Management) from Deakin University and has completed executive education programs at Harvard Business School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Melbourne Business School. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders, a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a Member of the International Association for Strategic Planning.

Qualifications
  • MBA (Technology Management)
  • GAICD
  • FAIM
Appointments
  • 2019-current: Director, Strategic Funding & Partnerships, Burnet Institute
  • 2017: Head, Business Development and Commercial Operations, Burnet Institute
  • 2008-2016: Chief Operating Officer, Burnet Institute
  • 1998-2008: Deputy Head, Centre for International Health, Burnet Institute