New SIA executive director

Duncan Jones has accepted the position of executive director of Science Industry Australia Inc and commenced his duties on 5 June.

Duncan will be based in Melbourne and will work very closely with Pam Danby, market development manager, in leading the SIA through the exciting opportunities presented by the Science Industry Action Agenda's (SIAA) implementation and also the renewed interest of potential members.

Duncan has been involved in the science industry in Australia for over 25 years and started off at Melbourne University Vet School as the laboratory manager. He has worked his way through many large organisations including Millipore, ABI, Perkin-Elmer and Vision BioSystems Ltd and, more recently, as the CEO for the past five years of Qiagen.

The SIA has extended its thanks to Alan Lawrenson, who has retired from his position as executive director of the SIA, a position which he has held for several years. Alan led the SIA through many challenging times and, more recently, has worked with the federal government to have the science industry awarded Action Agenda status. The implementation of the SIAA is currently proceeding and Alan has indicated his willingness to continue to participate in the Action Agenda process in an honorary capacity, as he is very passionate about the significant opportunities the SIAA offers all stakeholders in the science industry.