Mark Dawson

Executive Director

I am a Board and Advisory Committee Member and Microbiology Specialist with two decades of board-level experience and particular expertise in Food & Beverage Manufacturing, Health Technology and Not-for-Profit sectors. At board level, what I do is drive research and development for business growth. I do that by leveraging my knowledge in biotechnology, microbiology, food safety, environmental management, policy development, strategic leadership, technical & hazard analysis and people management. Board-level highlights include: Life Sciences Accreditation Advisory Committee Member at NATA, Executive Board Member at DMG MicroLabs and Independent Board Member at the Australian Handball Federation. In an executive capacity, I have most recently been the Microbiology Technical Director of Asia Pacific at Mérieux NutriSciences, having also served as a Microbiology Technical Support Manager for Australia. Here, I assisted newly acquired laboratories in China and Malaysia integrate into the corporate quality system, facilitated the transfer of a new allergen testing process from Italy to China, and introduced two new advanced screening/testing technology methods for suspected pathogenic bacteria to Australia, retained multiple key customers, and secured four significant new customers. Previously, I was the Microbiology Technical Director and Co-Owner of DMG MicroLabs. I achieved NATA accreditation within 4 months after the company launch and grew operations to $2.5M gross income and 18 staff within 10 years. Earlier, as the Microbiology National Manager at Symbio Laboratories, I increased the laboratory-generated annual income from $400K up to $1.4M within 4 years. Finally, I hold a PhD in Biotechnology from Massey University.