Mr Tony Surtees

Chair of the Entrepreneurs’ Programme Committee, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science 

Biography 

Mr Tony Surtees is a hands-on investor who gets involved in helping companies scale to take full advantage of changing markets. He has held Vice President and CEO positions in investment, media and marketing with traditional and digital businesses, and operational and management experience in companies in the US, Asia and Australia.

Mr Surtees also has public and private board experience specialising in businesses that are undergoing growth and changes in their business model. He has helped small organisations manage the challenges of rapid growth in both scope and scale, and large organisations navigate the challenge of working with entrepreneurs and start-ups as well as scale-ups.

Currently, Mr Surtees is the Director of the Menzies Foundation; Chairman of the Entrepreneurs’ Programme Committee, Australian Federal Department of Industry, Innovation and Science; Investment Committee Member of CapitalPitch (Sydney); Risk Committee Member, Aurora Education Foundation; Global Advisory Board Member for Advance; Vice President and co-founder of the Stanford Australia Association Entrepreneurship Series, and Partner, Santa Clara Group and co-founder of Laava.id and Zeetings.com.

Mr Surtees has been founder and Director of various private and public companies, and CEO of various companies in Australia and overseas, including most recently External Advisor for the Victorian Innovation Strategy and Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier of Victoria (2007-2008); and, adviser and founding Chair of Starlight Children’s Foundation’s Livewire project (2007-2009).