Heat One
Mike Boyd
Entrepreneur
Mike Boyd has been a serial entrepreneur and change maker for over a decade. He has founded, run, developed and mentored over a dozen businesses ranging in value from 0-$30M, in varying industries including entertainment, technology, professional services, e-commerce, education & not-for-profit.
Starting his entrepreneurial career at age 11 selling lost golf balls, he didn't look back, going on to (co)found no less than 7 businesses before the age of 25. As founder and director of The Hive Brisbane, Mike has built the largest not-for-profit community of entrepreneurs anywhere in Queensland and supported the development of The Hive right across Australia. Mike has an innate ability to spot opportunities and execute them with business savvy beyond his years.
Luke Brannelly
Creative Director, V2i & 3Dme
Luke Brannelly; entrepreneur, business founder & owner, Designer, Master Planner & Urban Designer, and Creative Director of V2i & 3Dme, has an established track record in business & the creative industries with over 27 years’ experience in international planning & design & 15 years’ experience in 3D visualisation & creative digital story-telling. Luke is the Managing Director & Creative Director of V2i & 3Dme, two companies operating from a creative studio based on the Gold Coast.
Karina Collins
Partner, BDO | Performance Improvement Consulting
Karina is a Partner within the BDO Performance Improvement Consulting team. Karina has over 13 years experience as a management consultant and prior to joining BDO spent over eight years with Ernst & Young (Director) and 12 months with Deloitte (Director). Karina specialises in the analysis, development and implementation of business strategies that drive both corporate and operational performance improvement. Her approach to helping businesses build and execute their strategic goals is built around her background in finance, business and technology which enables her to deliver an organisation-wide perspective of strategic change.
Mike O’Hagan
Founder/Owner, MiniMovers
His business career started with buying and selling goods as a second-hand dealer. 8 years later the entrepreneur in Mike surfaced when he launched a short distance furniture removal business. This evolved into MiniMovers. MiniMovers is today an innovative market leader, growing from an initial investment of $200 and a Ute, to an annual turnover exceeding $30 million with over 450 employees. To keep “on the edge” Mike recently completed a 3 year Entrepreneurs Masters Program at MIT in Boston USA.
Nigel Hall
Terra Rossa Capital
Mr Hall began his career at Ernst & Young in Germany and then joined Biosym Technologies, a Molecular Design software company. Prior to joining Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast, Mr Hall was Managing Director of Equator Investments Pty Ltd, a VC advisory and seed capital provider in Cape Town, South Africa. Mr Hall has been involved in raising over $160 million in funding for various businesses.
Heat Two
Dr Paul Campbell
Principal Consultant, Cogentia
Paul is the Principal Consultant at Cogentia, a consultancy specialising in the broadband enabled digital economy, Green IT and commercial impacts of climate change adaptation. He is also the Executive Officer of the ICT Industry Workgroup the peak body he established to represent the Queensland IT industry in advising the Queensland Government of governance, procurement and industry development policy.
Paul has established three successful companies and has been instrumental in setting up three landmark industry associations, The Australian Interactive Media Industry Association, Software Queensland and the ICT Industry Workgroup.
Jason Titman
Director,4SME
Jason is a direct investor in a number of business ventures, including hospitality, property, professional services and various online ventures. He also undertakes some specialised consultancies through 4SME.
He has the ability to consistently ‘think outside the square’, while at the same time following through with his ideas in a practical manner to ensure that optimising the bottom line is always his main focus. He started his career as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and then went on to complete an MBA.
Judy Robertson
Senior Partner, Corporate Enhancement Pty Ltd
Judy Robertson is a successful business woman, entrepreneur and Senior Partner of Corporate Enhancement Pty Ltd. Judy possesses broad experience in a diverse range of roles both operationally and strategically.
As a 20 year old graduate in 1988, and in the middle of a recession, Judy founded an IT business. This business went on to successfully float on the ASX, in 2000 and employed 120 professional staff plus contractors. In 2011, Judy’s primary business focus is on driving efficiency and profitability through the implementation of expert process improvement, redesign, standardisation and simplification.
Patrick Silvey
Managing Director, VenturePro Pty Ltd
Patrick specialises in writing and managing multi-partner bids for R&D funding, preparing business cases and business plans for technology companies and research organisations, and undertaking industry analyses for government. For the last 7 years Patrick has been a member of the i.lab technology incubator Advisory Panel and the QUT Research and Innovation Committee. He has a PhD in biotechnology and an MBA (University Medal) majoring in entrepreneurship and new venture finance.
Cole Wilkinson
Manager, Business Advisory Services, Johnston Rorke
Cole is a manager in the Business Advisory Services division of Johnston Rorke in Brisbane and is involved with Private Client Services within the firm. Cole commenced his career with Johnston Rorke in 2004 and was appointed as a manager in July 2009.
Cole’s client base ranges from individuals with investment portfolios to large private companies to Australian subsidiaries of international listed corporations.
Throughout his career Cole has gained significant experience providing services to clients within the property development, construction, medical and manufacturing industries.
If you are interested in becoming a judge in future competitions, please contact Bobbie Gosse bobbie.gosse@qut.edu.au. Please include a short biography or CV outlining your expertise.