Dr Darren Cundy
CIS is pleased to welcome back Darren who leads our commercialisation activities including the establishment of our National Agriculture and Food Incubator (NAFI).
Darren has had an outstanding career working at the interface of research and commercialisation for nearly two decades. He has worked as a medicinal- and agri-chemical researcher, as a venture capitalist, and as CSIRO Executive Manager – Commercial. In this role, Darren oversaw multiple licensing and new venture transactions and served as the organisation’s nominee director on a number of its subsidiary companies. He has led the technology transfer units at the University of Tasmania and the University of Newcastle. In addition, he has been the interim CEO for the Blue Economy CRC and the CEO of an Agtech spin-off company Davren Global. He is highly experienced in leading major research funding initiatives including CRC applications and has led the delivery of a series of popular programs to support start-up companies.
In addition, Darren has an exceptional academic background, having a PhD from the University of Queensland and a Masters in Science & Technology Commercialisation from the University of Adelaide. He is a registered technology transfer professional (RTTP), and has completed the Executive Management course in Private Equity and Venture Capital at Harvard Business School (Boston). Darren is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and Opteon’s, “Licensing Masterclass: Negotiating Controversial & Complex Issues” and Negotiation Partners’, “Professional Negotiation Skills”.
Our Team
