26/02/2020
John Bancroft will become QCIF’s new CEO as of Monday, 9 March 2020.
John succeeds Phil Gurney, who stood down as QCIF’s CEO in late 2019 due to family commitments in Melbourne. QCIF’s Nigel Ward has been Acting CEO since Phil’s departure.
John has extensive experience working at the intersection of academia, government and industry.
For 13 years, he has specialised in optimising high-performance computing (HPC) and related big data science and technology to support scientific research and promote industrial innovation and growth.
During his time with the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council he established the Hartree Centre as its founder and first Director to provide UK industry with HPC, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
More recently, John has worked at Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ) and the Auckland University of Technology’s Research and Innovation Office, creating and supporting partnerships between researchers and industry across NZ and around the world.
John is a graduate Chemist from the University of Manchester. He was a Fellow of the UK’s Institute of Sales and Marketing Management for 20 years and Visiting Professor in Science and Innovation at the UK’s University of Huddersfield for five years.
QCIF Chair David Gray said John will be a great fit for the organisation. “His experience in the management of research and its translation into application will be very valuable as QCIF increases its focus on domain-specific software platforms that service both researchers and policymakers.”
John said he is pleased and proud to be joining QCIF, especially at a time of rapid change in HPC and big data research and technology. “QCIF has a great reputation for delivering excellent research support and I can’t wait to combine its expertise with my experience to deliver innovation and promote economic impact for its members and for Queensland,” he said.
“By partnering with government and industry to deliver new applications and offerings, we can really make a difference and bring significant economic benefit to all our stakeholders.”
Both David and Nigel will be on hand over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition into John’s tenure as QCIF CEO.
John Bancroft.