Alison Deans joins Main Sequence as New Venture Partner

Main Sequence, the deep tech investment fund established by CSIRO in Australia, has recently added a new member to its team. Today, it has been announced that Alison Deans is becoming their new Venture Partner.

Deans' rich career history that includes the roles of a director, executive and venture capitalist, combined with the fact that Main Sequence currently has over $1 billion committed investments and over 50 deep tech startups in its portfolio, greatly ensures her capability to guide these startups towards international expansion.

This fresh appointment underlines Main Sequence's dedication to fostering future founders and advancing its mission of closing the gap between Australian research and commercialisation to solve global problems.

In the wake of Main Sequence's first close of its third fund that vaulted its capital over the $1 billion mark, Deans will closely collaborate with the portfolio to help elevate some of Australia's most innovative startups. Her vast experience in leading and cultivating technology firms will surely be an invaluable asset. Although her role is new, Deans has been a committee member of the Main Sequence Investment since its conception in 2017 and will still retain this position.

Deans' career has been punctuated with numerous respectable roles within the technology and innovation scene. She is currently Chair of Cochlear, the international frontrunner in implantable hearing solutions, and a non-executive director of Ramsay Health Care, Deputy and Calix Limited. Furthermore, she held the position of the first managing director of eBay Australia and proceeded to take up the CEO posting at two technology funds: publicly-listed Ecorp and then Netus. Her career origins can be traced back to McKinsey and Company in Australia and the UK.

Mike Zimmerman, Partner at Main Sequence states, "Alison has been a part of the Main Sequence journey since our earliest days, providing input on investments through her role on the IC and informal guidance and coaching to our founders as they transitioned from concept to commercial reality. We're excited to have her deepen her involvement, becoming an even more integral part of Australia's burgeoning deep tech community."

Deans' new role comes at a critical time for Main Sequence, as many of its portfolio companies are at a stage of global expansion. They will certainly benefit from her broad operating, team building and strategy skills.

As she possesses a unique understanding of the Australian business and startup environment, Deans is set to play a key part in fostering the deep tech founders of the future. Her involvement will no doubt aid Main Sequence's ongoing mission: to tackle the world's biggest challenges by linking research and commercialisation.