Chair

The organisation

4DMedical is an Australian-based medical technology company, commercialising four-dimensional lung imaging solutions.

Andreas Fouras first conceptualised a novel four-dimensional X-ray imaging technology to study the function of the breathing lungs in 2005. He developed subsequent technology of the 4DxV platform in the years following with his research group, the Laboratory for Dynamic Imaging at Monash University.

Having raised over AUD$10 million in research funding from agencies including Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the American Asthma Foundation, Andreas, his collaborators and his research team successfully translated the technology into the laboratory where it could be developed for clinical use.

4Dx was incorporated in December 2012 to commercialise the technology and commenced operations in July 2013 with key researchers involved in the technology’s research also engaged with its commercial development.

The technology has been extensively patented, with core patents granted in key jurisdictions including the United States and Australia. The technology has been proven through published preclinical studies over the years.

The brief

4Dx commenced its first prospective study in 2016, and subsequently rebranded as 4DMedical. The name change was an element of the company’s evolution from a devices development operation into a globally-focussed commercial entity listed on the ASX. As such, Dr Fouras concluded that an Independent Chair needed to be brought in to support the Board’s governance.

Brooker Consulting was chosen to undertake the search, and the 4DMedical Directors agreed that the same process and rigour needed to be applied to this governance appointment, as would be utilised in an executive recruitment campaign.

The process

Brooker’s combination of advertisement in the public domain and targeted candidate sourcing elicited a nucleus of potential candidates who had the necessary industry knowledge, along with strong credentials in the governance of a listed entity.

The outcome

Bruce Rathie emerged successfully, and was favoured due to his remarkable record of achievement in the life sciences industry. A solicitor, Bruce is a Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Governance Institute of Australia. Bruce was initially appointed as a Non-Executive Director in December of 2019, with his position as Chair confirmed soon afterwards.