Professor Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson is the Pro Vice Chancellor Research, Innovation and Enterprise at Macquarie University in February 2020. The PVC Research, Innovation and Enterprise provides strategic and operational leadership on all matters relating to research and development, consultancy, innovation, translation, commercialisation, entrepreneurship, start-up company incubation and corporate partnerships.

 

Prior to joining Macquarie University Dan was Managing Director of The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) from 2011 to 2020, where he retains an Honorary Fellowship. AWRI is a not-for-profit research and development organisation that employs >130 scientists, engineers, viticulturists and winemakers and provides professional and scientific services to agricultural industries, particularly grape growers and winemakers, and the broader community. It is one of the world’s most highly regarded research agricultural science institutions and has been a major force in the Australian wine sector’s development to an $US8 billion sector employing more than 60,000 people.

 

Dan has extensive experience as Chair, Director or member of numerous Boards and committees in the research and agricultural sectors, including entities related to education and training, social policy and investment, scientific and trade publishing, technology transfer, scientific leadership, research strategy (in various disciplines), sector leadership and innovation precinct leadership.

 

Dan has worked in research, development, technology transfer and innovation for nearly 20 years, primarily in the not-for-profit sector. Dan has been directly involved in raising and/or administering >$300 million for research institutes, start-up companies and venture capital firms and been directly involved in establishing nine start-up companies. Dan is an exemplary scholar and has an outstanding research publication record in his own right.

 

He holds an MBA from the University of Adelaide and a PhD and Bachelor of Science (Hons) from Flinders University. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD); the Harvard University Authentic Leadership Development course; the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy course; the IESE Business School Negotiation program, and the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Program.