Chief Executive Officer

The organisation

The ANFF was established in 2007 under the Commonwealth’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. The company has 19 Members, including most research intensive Australian universities and CSIRO, and provides research infrastructure support for nanotechnology-related research in Australia, which comprises over 10% of research activities supported by the Australian Research Council.

The brief

Brooker Consulting was engaged by the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) in March 2019 to support the organisation in its recruitment of a Chief Executive Officer.  The position is responsible for the strategic development and day-to-day operations of the entity, which comprises eight Nodes, each with specialist competencies, serving the micro and nano fabrication requirements of 3,000 researchers drawn from universities, public sector research organisations and industry. 

The process

Brooker Consulting undertook a comprehensive executive search campaign, combined with print media, to identify and present the very best available candidates for consideration.

The outcome

After a particularly rigorous assessment process, the ANFF appointed Dr Ian Griffiths to the position of CEO.  Dr Griffiths was most recently the CEO of Wound Innovations Pty Ltd, a spin-out from the Wound Management Innovation Cooperative Research Centre of which he was Director and CEO. 

Over an illustrious career in Australia and the UK he successfully established companies based on new technologies and worked with universities, industry, and government in fostering high-end research and innovation. 

Dr Griffiths was selected based on his extensive experience in advanced manufacturing, including the development of novel materials, nano-lithography, ion deposition, a range of laser-based processing technologies and in the fabrication of medical devices.