Jane O’Dwyer is the CEO of Cooperative Research Australia, working at the intersection between research and industry with a mission to advance Australia by unlocking its potential for innovation. She has 25 years of Australian and international experience stretching across universities, politics, media, peak bodies and corporate affairs.

Prior to taking up the role of CEO of the Cooperative Research Australia, she was Vice-President (Engagement and Global Relations) at The Australian National University. During her 15-year ANU career, Jane established the university’s office in Washington DC as part of the Australian Embassy and was the long-time leader of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs. Before joining ANU, she spent four years in Tokyo working in journalism and public diplomacy.

She has previously worked in corporate affairs at the Australian Local Government Association and Sports Medicine Australia, and as a political advisor covering Trade, Regional Development and Resources and Energy portfolios. Jane holds a Master of Management (ANU), a Master of Journalism (Wollongong), and a Bachelor of Arts (Curtin), and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

She is Chair of the Canberra Writers Festival, which she helped found, an Honorary Fellow in the Practice of Government Relations at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and a member of the ACT Government Priority Investment Program Advisory Panel.