Our Champions
Our champions are respected and influential members of society who share our commitment to innovation that contributes to the public good.
Thank you to each of our Champions, who play a vital role in raising awareness in the broader community about the impact of IMB, the important role that discovery and translational research play in tackling health and environmental challenges, and the need for both private and public sector support.
To join our Champions program, please contact IMB's Head of Advancement and Engagement, Ms Wendy Mansell.
Ms Kylie Blucher
Managing Director, Nine Queensland & Nine Northern NSW
After more than 25 years working in the television and radio industry, Kylie Blucher has gained extensive knowledge of the Australian media landscape.
Working with both Southern Cross Austereo Radio Network and the Nine Entertainment Company, Kylie has held various sales, marketing, promotions and publicity positions to become a knowledgeable, highly respected and sought-after authority within the media industry.
Prior to Kylie’s tenure with Nine, Blucher moved through the ranks within the Southern Cross Austereo Radio Network, holding Executive roles in Brisbane at B105 and in Sydney at 2Day FM and Triple M.
Returning to Brisbane in 1997, Kylie began her career in television at Nine Queensland as the Marketing Director. Blucher swiftly moved through the Programming and Marketing ranks, before taking on her current position as Managing Director in 2010. Six years later, Kylie took the helm of NBN Television in Newcastle and now holds the position of Managing Director.
Kylie has held several board positions over the past 10 years, including Major Brisbane Festival (Deputy Chair), Surf Lifesaving Queensland Foundation, the Queensland Eye Institute Foundation, Youngcare, the Queensland Performing Arts Trust and currently sits on the Tourism & Events Queensland Board and is the President of the Committee for Brisbane.
Ms Lorraine Chiriou
Chief Executive Officer at AusBiotech
BA (PR), PDM (Mktg), GAICD, MBA
Lorraine leads AusBiotech as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director and has worked as a dedicated advocate for the biotechnology sector since joining AusBiotech over a decade ago. In this role she works closely with public policy impacting the life sciences sector at state and Federal levels, including economic development, tax incentives, patent protection, medical research and its commercialisation.
Lorraine works with the broad biotechnology community and AusBiotech’s 3,000+ members to inform and support industry development and has previously held the roles of Deputy CEO, Chief Industry Affairs Officer and National Communications and Media Manager at AusBiotech.
Prior to joining AusBiotech, Lorraine has worked in corporate and public affairs roles for a multinational biopharmaceutical company, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the University of Melbourne and for a (mental) health consumer organisation as an advocate.
Lorraine has an undergraduate degree in public relations, majoring in journalism, a postgraduate diploma in marketing management, an MBA and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
She has recently been appointed Chair of the CSIRO Manufacturing Business Unit Advisory Committee and a member of the NSW Government Trade and Industry Advisory Committee; she sits on the International Council of Biotechnology Associations, the Federal Government’s Clinical Trials Collaborative Forum, the Therapeutic Goods Administration Consultative Committee and the Global Talent Scheme (GTS) Start-up Advisory Panel. Lorraine is one of 120 Club Melbourne Ambassadors, who work to promote economic growth of Victoria via business events.
Ms Tonianne Dwyer
Managing Director, Independent Non-Executive Director
Tonianne Dwyer has been a University of Queensland Senate Member since 2014 and Deputy Chancellor since 2017. She is Chair of the Campus Infrastructure Committee, a member of the Governance, Finance, Senior Executive Remuneration, and Honorary Awards Committees and the Investment Sub-Committee.
Having graduated in law from the University of Western Australia, Tonianne had a successful 17-year career in investment banking in London with Societie Generale / Hambros Bank before joining LSE-listed property company Quintain Estates & Development plc in 2003, where she was appointed Head of Fund Management and in 2006 was appointed to the Board as an Executive Director. Quintain was the developer of the two largest urban renewal projects in London – at Wembley and on the Greenwich Peninsular. Tonianne led the creation and development of a successful specialist property fund management business in Health, Student Housing and Science Parks.
Since returning to Australia in 2010, Tonianne has built a portfolio of Board appointments. She is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of Dexus Fund Management, Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, ALS Group, Oz Minerals Ltd and Incitec Pivot. She was formerly on the Board of Metcash Limited, Queensland Treasury Corporation and Cardno Limited. She is a Director of the General Sir John Monash Foundation, a member (and former director) of Chief Executive Women Ltd and a Graduate Member of AICD.
Professor Bob Graham AO
Head, Molecular Cardiology and Biophysics Division, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
Professor Bob Graham served for 25 years as the inaugural Executive Director, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and Professor of Medicine, UNSW. In 2003 he was appointed as the Des Renford Professor of Medicine, UNSW (2003).
A Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS; 2002), Foundation Fellow, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2014), and Foreign Member, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters (2010), his research for many years has focused on molecular cardiology, with emphasis on circulatory control mechanisms, hypertension, receptor signalling and cardiac hypertrophy. More recently, his work has focussed on cardiac regeneration and cardioprotection, and spontaneous coronary artery dissection. He is the author of over 300 peer-reviewed papers that have received over 20,000 citations. He is co-founder and director of Infensa Bioscience Pty Ltd, and currently serves as a member of Council, AAS (2021).
The Hon. Kate Jones
Commissioner, NRL
Kate Jones has more than 20 years experience in senior government and leadership positions. Kate served as a Minister in the Queensland Government for more than eight years in a range of portfolios including State Development, Education, Tourism and Major Events and Innovation and Climate Change.
Kate was also the Minister for the Commonwealth Games working closely with key industry partners and all levels of government to successfully deliver Queensland’s largest ever event, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Throughout 2020, Kate was instrumental in working with many national sporting codes to ensure they could continue to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic and she led the government’s economic response for the tourism and events industries.
Kate is a Director on the Board of Paralympics Australia having been appointed in July 2022.
Kate has also served as a member of the Cabinet Budget Review Committee developing and implementing Queensland’s state budget and overarching economic strategy for the state. Kate has a Masters in Environmental Law (ANU) and a Bachelor of Arts, Journalism Major (QUT).
Throughout her career Kate has also served on a number of government and non-government boards at both a state and national level. Kate has strong skills in strategy development and partnerships, crisis management, media relations and communications.
Mr Richard McDougall
Managing Director and Co-founder, Hamilton12
Richard’s experience in financial markets spans more than 20 years having held advisory and executive roles with banking and investment firms both domestically and abroad.
Prior to co-founding Hamilton12, Richard was a Director at the Westpac Group where his insight and experience helped its Private Bank clients make informed investment decisions.
Before joining Westpac, Richard was the Queensland State Manager for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and was responsible for establishing its wealth management presence in Queensland following the global acquisition of Smith Barney from Citigroup.
Prior to Morgan Stanley, Richard was a Director of UBS Wealth Management, a Swiss global financial services company and the Australian General Manager for Currencies Direct, a UK based foreign exchange broker and international payment provider.
Richard holds a Bachelor of Laws and Commerce from Bond University and a Master of Business Administration (Hons) from The University of Queensland.
Dr Christian Rowan
Dr Christian Rowan is the State Member for Moggill in the Queensland Parliament. He is the Shadow Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for the Arts.
Christian is a Specialist Physician. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ Chapter of Addiction Medicine, the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, the Australasian College of Health Service Management, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
He is also a member of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
Christian completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree at the University of Queensland.
Christian holds a number of clinical and administration fellowships as well as a Master of Diplomacy and Trade from Monash University specialising in international relations, trade, contemporary politics and public policy.
Christian is a former President of both the Australian Medical Association of Queensland and the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland. Christian was previously a member of the Queensland Mental Health Commission’s (QMHC) Mental Health & Drug Advisory Council.
Christian is an Honorary Patron and Chair of UpBeat Arts, Queensland. He is also an Honorary Ambassador for Diabetes Queensland.
Ms Tanya Titman
Chief Digital and Innovation Partner at BDO in Australia
As Chief Digital and Innovation Partner, Tanya is responsible for leading BDO’s strategic innovation program through the creation of business opportunities that drive innovation, diversification and new value propositions. Tanya manages a portfolio of innovation projects that are centred around:
- Business Process Improvement
- Extending existing services and markets
- New Products and Services for clients
- Special Projects
Tanya has a strong history in the field of Innovation, she is widely recognised for building teams with an innovation mindset. She has superior skills in NLP and EQ frameworks and has used these to successfully build high performing teams. Tanya possesses a commercially driven and creative mindset. She continually challenges and inspires BDO to develop innovative ideas that truly make a difference to our people and our clients.
A professional speaker and facilitator, Tanya is the founder of Acceler8 and the creator of the BDO for Startups Program and Business Growth Program.