Full Name
Dr Kate Cornick
Job Title
CEO
Company
Tech Council of Australia and Strategic Examination of Research and Development panel member
Speaker Bio
Kate is a passionate technology and innovation leader, with experience working across startups, corporate, academia and government.
Kate started her role as the CEO of the Tech Council in May 2026. She was previously the CEO of LaunchVic, Victoria’s lead startup agency. Under her leadership LaunchVic has supported over 13,000 entrepreneurs to upskill, 2,200 startups to grow, helped launched 16 venture capital funds and 11 angel networks unlocked over $1b private capital and supported tens of accelerator programs across Victoria.
Passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion, Kate is the founding CEO and Investment Committee Member of the Alice Anderson Fund – a fund led by LaunchVic dedicated to supporting women founders. To date the fund has made over 45 investments into women-led startups.
Kate is the Deputy Chancellor and Council Member of Charles Sturt University, and Chair of the Investment Committee for the University of Melbourne’s Genesis Pre Seed Fund.
In 2024 Kate was selected by the Federal Government to be a Panel Member for the Strategic Examination of R&D – a once in a generation review of the national R&D system. The Panel handed its report to Government in December 2025.
Kate previously founded a human resources technology startup and led it through an ASX listing. She was also the Senior Telecommunications Adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and worked as a General Manager at NBN Co.
Kate has a PhD in optical telecommunications from the University of Melbourne.
Kate started her role as the CEO of the Tech Council in May 2026. She was previously the CEO of LaunchVic, Victoria’s lead startup agency. Under her leadership LaunchVic has supported over 13,000 entrepreneurs to upskill, 2,200 startups to grow, helped launched 16 venture capital funds and 11 angel networks unlocked over $1b private capital and supported tens of accelerator programs across Victoria.
Passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion, Kate is the founding CEO and Investment Committee Member of the Alice Anderson Fund – a fund led by LaunchVic dedicated to supporting women founders. To date the fund has made over 45 investments into women-led startups.
Kate is the Deputy Chancellor and Council Member of Charles Sturt University, and Chair of the Investment Committee for the University of Melbourne’s Genesis Pre Seed Fund.
In 2024 Kate was selected by the Federal Government to be a Panel Member for the Strategic Examination of R&D – a once in a generation review of the national R&D system. The Panel handed its report to Government in December 2025.
Kate previously founded a human resources technology startup and led it through an ASX listing. She was also the Senior Telecommunications Adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and worked as a General Manager at NBN Co.
Kate has a PhD in optical telecommunications from the University of Melbourne.
