Dr Laurie Hammond

Dr Laurie Hammond was the independent Chariman of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC from its start up in 2013 until November 2018. Laurie passed away in November 2018 after a short battle with illness.

Laurie managed funds invested in early-stage companies that are commercialising Australian innovation. He was a founder and director of the iQ Funds group, which includes iQ Capital Management and inQbator, both managers of investments in start-up and early-stage technology ventures.

He was also is a non-executive director of private-sector (both for-profit and not-for-profit) and government-sector entities. Along with his role as independent Chairman of Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, he was the independent Chairman of CMTE Development Limited (which trades as Mining3), formerly a CRC that is a developer of new technologies and equipment for the global mining industry. He was a director of a number of technology-based companies in Australia and the USA.

Since 2000, Laurie had variously been a member of the national Industry Research and Development Board, chairman of the R&D Tax Concession Committee, a member of the Cooperative Research Centres Committee and the Innovation Australia Board, and Chairman of the Commercialisation Australia Board.

Laure was an adjunct Professor in the Business School at Queensland University of Technology, a role in gained in late 2015, and conducted research on research impact assessment and aspects of the performance of CRCs.