SPEAKERS

Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM became Australia’s ninth Chief Scientist in January 2021 after an extensive career at Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, including as the agency’s Chief Scientist.
Dr Foley is an internationally recognised physicist with major research achievements in superconductors and sensors which lead to the development of the LANDTEM sensor system to locate valuable deposits of minerals deep underground.

Dr Foley’s scientific excellence and influential leadership have been recognised with numerous awards and fellowships, including election to the Australian Academy of Science in 2020, and an Order of Australia for service to research science and to the advancement of women in physics. She received the Australian Institute of Physics Medal for Outstanding Service to Physics in 2016. She is a Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering (2008) and an honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics (2019).

Dr Foley is an inspiration to women in STEM across the globe and focused strongly on equality and diversity in the science sector.

PETER BARRETT

Founding Partner, Playground Global

Peter Barrett, an Australian native, is a globally renowned entrepreneur, investor, and technology leader.

He serves as a founding partner of Playground Global, a venture capital fund, managing US$1.2 billion in deep, rich tech investments.

With over 20% of Playground’s portfolio companies having achieved unicorn status, and with his fund leading a series A investment in PsiQuantum in 2016, his reputation is that of a visionary who focuses on investing in transformative technology start-ups across various sectors, including #ai, #next-gencomputing, #robotics, and #quantum technologies.

Before his venture capital career, Peter held the position of lead engineer at Microsoft. Additionally, he co-founded Rocket Science Games where he notably hired Elon Musk for his first job in Silicon Valley. Peter holds more than 100 patents to his name.

A supporter of innovation and entrepreneurship Peter will discuss Australia’s untapped potential in the global rollout of semiconductors, quantum and photonic technologies, the nations ability to create ecosystems for our high-tech industries that include advanced computing, AI, defence, advanced manufacturing, space and renewables, and what Australia needs to do to be a strategic player in these domains at the global level.

JONATHAN BELZ

Founder & CEO, BFA Global

Jonathan is the co-founder of BFA Global Investments, an Investment Management business dedicated to providing Australian and Asian investors with world-class private markets access and expertise. The business has built over A$300mn in AUM, has over 300 investors and has invested in leading companies including Groq, Epic Games, PsiQuantum and others, as well as leading funds such as Playground Global, M13, SKKY and Smash Capital.

Prior to forming BFA, Jonathan was responsible for overseeing the private assets of the Victor Smorgon Group (VSG), a large family office based in Melbourne. Before VSG, Jonathan spent over 12 years in broad-ranging Investment Banking positions at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse across Sydney, New York, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

He is a fluent Mandarin speaker having passed the highest level of Mandarin Fluency and was awarded as a finalist by the Australian Government for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in 2021. He holds a dual Bachelor of Economics (with Distinction) / Laws from UNSW and was awarded the Premier’s Award for Academic Excellence (99.8 UAI) following his academic study at Sydney Grammar.