Chairman of the Board, Professor Andrew Scott, with great pleasure advised that the next Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Trials Australia (CTA) will be Dr Kurt Lackovic. Professor Scott said “The CTA Board’s search committee conducted an extensive review of possible candidates for the role of CEO, taking into account CTA’s current and future strategic plans, the importance of engaging with our member stakeholders, and ensuring we have a professional and supportive environment for our staff. We are convinced that Kurt will both maintain the high standards of our organisation, and bring energy and strategic vision to our future”.
Kurt has a PhD in chemistry and subsequently spent four years as a post-doc in medical genetics at the University of Umeå, Sweden. Since returning to Melbourne in 2006, Kurt has worked in early stage drug discovery with a focus on oncology targets before taking over management of WEHI’s High Throughput Screening Facility. Kurt has also led multiple Cancer Therapeutics CRC projects involving national and international partners, and more recently has overseen day-to-day management of the Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance. He has extensive experience in leading complex academic and clinical programs, strong connections to Industry, and strategic linkages to senior executives in Government and major teaching Hospitals.
Kurt is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a member of the Licensing Executives Society of Australia and New Zealand, Ausbiotech and the NH&MRC Research Translation Faculty. Kurt is currently completing an MBA at the Melbourne Business School.
Kurt will officially begin his role with CTA on 30th January 2017.