The National Reconstruction Fund’s inaugural chief investment officer Dr Mary Manning has joined a stellar line-up of speakers at the 2024 InnovationAus Awards for Excellence in Sydney on the evening of October 30.
As the lead investment officer at the federal government’s signature $15 billion industrial development fund, Dr Manning’s keynote will be eagerly anticipated as the industry’s best entrepreneurs and innovators look for insights into the NRF investment strategy.
Dr Manning has hit the ground running since she joined the National Reconstruction Fund in July after more than 25 years’ experience in finance, economics and investment in Australia and overseas, including in New York, London and Singapore.
Now in its fourth year, the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence are a celebration of Australia’s best entrepreneurs, innovators and deep tech researchers. The winners will be announced at the Awards black-tie extravaganza at The Venue Alexandria in Sydney. You can book your tickets here.
Dr Manning joins federal Future Made in Australia assistant minister Senator Tim Ayres and NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey in making presentations on the night.
Before her role at the NRF, Dr Manning had been a portfolio manager at Ellerston Capital and Aphinity Investment Management, and also held senior investment positions at Oaktree Capital and Soros Funds Management.
She has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a PhD in Economics from the University of Sydney and has completed additional courses at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership.
“The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence celebrate the achievements of Australia’s leading innovators and the ground-breaking products and services that they are developing,” Dr Manning said
“I look forward to speaking at the event and sharing more about the NRFC’s progress and our ambition of supporting and commercialising Australian-made innovations.”
The NRF is a cornerstone industry policy of the Albanese government, and will be the largest single investment in Australian industry in the nation’s history.
InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod said the Awards for Excellence provided a great opportunity to get the different parts of the Australian innovation system into the same room for some serious networking.
“We are absolutely delighted that Dr Manning has agreed to speak at these awards. Given the scale and ambition of the NRF, I have no doubt that the 500 entrepreneurs, VCs, researchers and policymakers in the room will hang on to every word,” Ms McLeod said.
“We will put a giant, glitzy spotlight on our finalists at these awards. But we also make sure that there is plenty of time to network, and to rub shoulders with amazing people from the different parts of the system.”
You can reserve your seat for the awards here or sponsor a table to support your favourite finalist.
The InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence are supported by the Australian Computer Society, Investment NSW, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Technology Council of Australia, TechnologyOne, National Artificial Intelligence Centre, CSIRO’s ON Innovation Program, Reason Group, Q-CTRL, University of New South Wales, South by South West Sydney and IP Australia.
Looking for brand exposure in front of Australia’s tech ecosystem? Purchase a table of 10 for the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence and have your logo displayed on screens across the venue and in the event program as a table sponsor.
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.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.