Dr Rowan Gilmore was previously CEO of EM Solutions, an advanced manufacturer of high-speed microwave radio and mobile satellite communications terminals. Prior to that, he was CEO of the Australian Institute for Commercialisation, where he helped numerous start-up companies and worked to accelerate technology transfer between research institutions and industry. He has worked extensively in the ICT industry, and spent over a decade in the US and later in Europe, most recently as Vice President of Network Services for the airline IT company SITA, now France Telecom’s Orange subsidiary. He is Foundation Chair of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Engineered Quantum Systems, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is also a Director of Analog Quantum Circuits, and Silvertech. Rowan is a graduate of the University of Queensland (UQ) and Washington University in St Louis, Missouri where he earned his doctorate in electrical engineering.

Dr Gilmore's seminal research into design methodologies for nonlinear, high frequency electronic circuits and their subsequent commercialisation into CAD tools has enabled the optimisation and design of microwave components which are the backbone of systems used throughout the telecommunications and wireless industries. Through his subsequent leadership of the AIC and implementation of public programs to support innovation, increase skills, and establish collaborations between research and industry, he has raised community awareness of the importance of science and technology, and increased innovation among entrepreneurs, small business, and research organisations by applying technology to solve business challenges.