Dr Michele Allan AO

CHAIR

Dr Michele Allan AO is the Chair and an independent non-executive Director of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute Board. Dr Allan is Chancellor of Charles Sturt University and is also Chair of the Boards of Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence CRC, Wine Australia and 20 Degrees.

In May 2024, Michele was appointed as an independent reviewer of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity (IGAB), an agreement between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to strengthen the biosecurity system and enhance national collaboration among Australian governments.

Dr Allan’s previous Board roles include CSIRO, Meat and Livestock Australia, Grain Growers Limited, Tasmanian Irrigation, Innovation and Science Australia, Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, Forest and Wood Products Australia, William Angliss Institute, Callaghan Innovation (NZ) and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand. Dr Allan held executive roles with Amcor Limited, Kraft Foods, Bonlac Foods Limited, ICI, Tasmanian Bioinformatics Centre of Excellence Tasmania, Johnson & Johnson and Nestle.

Dr Allan has a Bachelor of Applied Science Major – Biomedical Science – Cytology from University of Technology Sydney, Master of Management (Technology) from the University of Melbourne, Doctor of Business Administration from RMIT and a Master of Commercial Law from Deakin University. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.

Dr Allan served as one of the founding members of the SmartSat CRC Board, before being appointed Chair in 2023 and serving in th eposition until the CRC’s end.

Professor Andy Koronios, PhD

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Professor Andy Koronios is the CEO and Managing Director of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute (ASII). He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of South Australia. Professor Koronios was previously CEO & Managing Director of SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre, which transitioned to ASII effective 1 July 2026.

Professor Koronios has previously held the positions of Dean: Industry & Enterprise at the University of South Australia and Head of the School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences at the University of South Australia.

He has extensive experience in both commercial and academic environments and his research areas include data quality, information management & governance, data analytics and the strategic exploitation of information.

Professor Koronios has led the establishment of several research concentrations, labs and research centres. He was the lead in the successful bid for the SmartSat CRC established in 2019 and is instrumental in SmartSat’s transition in 2026 to ASII. He is also a Founding Director of the Andy Thomas Space Foundation, established late 2020.

Professor Koronios is a Professor of information systems and holds academic qualifications in Electrical Engineering, Computing and Education as well as a PhD from the University of Queensland. He is internationally known for his work in data quality, he has been an adjudicator for the European Corporate Data Quality Awards for several years, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Information Quality.

Professor Koronios has worked both as a consultant as well as a professional speaker on IT issues in Australia and Southeast Asia and has over thirty-five years’ experience in the academic environment. He is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, a Founding Fellow of the International Institute of Engineering Asset Management, a Distinguished Speaker of the ACM. He was recently appointed member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

Mark Allison

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Mark Allison is a Director of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute. Mr Allison joined Elders Limited as a non-executive director in November 2009, served as Chairman and Executive Chairman, before being appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in May 2014.

His 44-year agribusiness career spans technical, manufacturing, supply and distribution roles and businesses. Previous roles include Managing Director/CEO of GrainGrowers Limited, Jeminex Limited, Farmoz Pty Ltd, Wesfarmers Landmark Limited, Wesfarmers CSBP Limited, CropCare Australasia Pty Ltd and General Manager of Incitec Fertilisers.

Mr Allison is a former Chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resources End-User Advisory Board of the SmartSat CRC, the Agrifood and Wine Advisory Board of the University of Adelaide, and a current member of the Rabobank Food and Agriculture Advisory Board.

He is also the former Chair of Agribusiness Australia, AuctionsPlus, CropLife, Agsafe, the APVMA, as well as a number of other agricultural and industrial and safety businesses. Mr Allison oversaw the development and implementation of the four Elders’ Eight Point Plans from 2014. This strategic plan returned the company to a pure play agribusiness and resulted in the first shareholder distribution in nearly a decade in 2017. Since 2014, Elders has grown from a market capitalisation of $50 million to a peak of $2.3 billion.

In 2023, Mr Allison was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Adelaide for his experience and lifelong contribution to agriculture and agribusiness.

Mr Allison is from Far North Queensland, and is a passionate advocate for agriculture, and regional and rural Australia.

Catherine Cooper

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & COMPANY SECRETARY

Catherine Cooper is an experienced lawyer, non-executive director and company secretary having served on a significant number of boards for over 25 years. Her current board roles include Reliable Affordable Clean Energy 2030 CRC, and Sovereign Manufacturing Automation of Composites CRC.

She is also Chair of the SA Environmental Protection Agency and acts as a director of three national RDC’s.

Cooper has a recognized profile in strategy, business development, risk management, and corporate governance with an ability to leverage insights across a number of sectors. She is highly skilled in the areas of strategic planning, budget setting, financing structures, and performance reporting. Cooper has held a significant number of roles as company secretary of publicly listed entities, NFP organisations and other entities. Catherine is also an experienced Risk and Audit Committee Chair.

She is a principal of Cooper Consult Pty Ltd which provides independent corporate governance and company secretarial advice to several CRC’s, research organisations and other bodies.