After graduating as a Mechanical Engineer in 1984, Michael joined Sola Optical for 10 years; it was one of the early international “Medical Devices” companies as we now call them in this sector.
Michael completed an MBA in 1998 and established Adelaide Consulting, with clients including The University of Adelaide. After managing the establishment of the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics at the Waite Precinct in 2002, Michael joined it as General Manager. ACPFG employs 130 staff, mainly scientists, in three states of Australia.
ACPFG has raised over $150m in research funding since it commenced.
Between 2004 and 2010, Michael was a Director of AusBiotech and chaired its Risk and Audit Committee.
He is a member of the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property, the organisation that advises IP Australia and the Federal Government on IP matters. Michael is also the Company Secretary of ACPFG.