Director
Dr Nick Austin
Chair of the Agriculture and Food Forum, President of the Policy Advisory Council on International Agricultural Research, Member of the Governing Board of the Bill and Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations LLC
Dr. Nick Austin is an internationally recognised expert in agriculture and natural resources, with extensive experience across public, private, and non-profit sectors both in Australia and globally.
About
He chairs the Agriculture and Food Forum at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), serves as President of the Policy Advisory Council on International Agricultural Research, and is a member of the governing board of Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations LLC, a St. Louis-based startup focused on accelerating technology translation.
Previously, Nick was the Director of Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, where he managed a portfolio of investments worth approximately USD 2.8 billion and led the development of the foundation’s climate strategy. He has also held key leadership roles, including interim Executive Director of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in Montpellier, CEO of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and Executive Director of Agriculture and Deputy Director General of Science and Research at the NSW Department of Primary Industries.
Originally from a sheep station in Far North South Australia and currently based in the ACT, Nick holds a BEng (Agriculture) (Hons) and a PhD in the sustainable use of water and fertiliser in Australia’s irrigated dairy industry. He is an elected Fellow of ATSE, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and an experienced non-executive director, having served on numerous agriculture-related boards, including Cooperative Research Centres.
