NICTA boss to chair NSW innovation council

National ICT Australia (NICTA) CEO Hugh Durrant-Whyte has been named the new chair of the NSW Government’s Innovation and Productivity Council following the current chair’s departure.

Hugh Durrant-Whyte

Durrant-Whyte, NICTAs CEO since 2010, will replace Morgan Stanley Australia CEO Steven Harker as chair of the council, who stepped down after completing the maximum allowable six year term in October.

The IPC provides policy guidance for innovation in economic development and productivity to the NSW Government. Durrant-Whyte has been a member of the IPC since 2011. He will fulfil the role of chair until the end of his three-year tenure in July 2014, with a further three-year extension possible.

Four new members have also been appointed to the council to replace those with expired tenures, including CSIRO deputy chairman Eileen Doyle, Macquarie Bank board member Diane Grady, ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan and Deutsche Bank head of global transaction banking for Australia and New Zealand Naomi Flutter.