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The Pearcey Foundation

The Pearcey Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1998 in memory of a great Australian ICT pioneer Dr Trevor Pearcey. The Foundation operates broadly across the Australian Information Computing and Telecommunication (ICT) technologies sector, from celebrating achievements through national and state awards, to being involved in debate and public policy on critical national issues such as productivity, the digital economy and national infrastructure.

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This is our 27^th year of awards, focussed exclusively on outstanding individuals drawn from across our vast geography.

We present 12 awards each year, and have done so for a long time - recognising over 245 Australian ICT luminaries and entrepreneurs, as highlighted on this website.

Latest News

Aug 28, 2017

2017 Vic Award

The 2017 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Cyan and Collis Ta'eed as part of the Pearcey Oration held on Monday 28th August at the Hub, Melbourne. The award was presented by Rick Harvey, Victorian Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation who noted that the award is not just about success, it is also very much about Cyan and Collis being great entrepreneurs and really special people "taking a risk, making a difference and being an inspiration".

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Aug 19, 2017

Emeritus Professor Peter Poole passes away August 2017

Emeritus Professor Peter Poole passed away peacefully in Perth on 19 August 2017, in the company of his daughters, and three of his seven grandchildren. He was a pioneering leader at the University of Melbourne and elevated to the Pearcey Hall of Fame in 2010. Prof. Poole's legacy will continue to influence the ongoing activities of the School of Computing and Information Systems, and the University of Melbourne as a whole.

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Aug 15, 2017

2017 ACT Award

The 2017 Chief Minister's Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented by the Chief Minister, the Hon. Andrew Barr MLA. to joint winners as the judges could not distinguish between two highly qualified contributors to ACT's burgeoning ICT industry. The 2017 ACT winners were Phillip Williamson co-founder and Chief Innovator at Intelledox and Mark Riley, co-founder and CTO of ContentKeeper.

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Jul 12, 2017

Innovation in a handout culture

Sandy Plunkett is perplexed by how entrenched Australia's "waiting for government" mindset is

When economists Paul Frijters and Gigi Foster released a study in 2015arguing Australia was a plutocracy where our richest amass their wealth by political connections rather than innovative endeavour, the struggling tech startup community should have been all over the data.

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Jul 6, 2017

Beware the wolves of Silicon Valley

Sandy Plunkett shares her perspective on recent industry events and calls out how money, fame, power and hubris inevitably brings with it bad behaviour

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Jul 2, 2017

Passing of Frank Hirst

It is a sad day for Australia's ICT industry with the passing of one of Australia's early computer pioneers, Frank Hirst. After service in World War II, Frank completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne and in 1954 was appointed to head the university's newly formed Computation Laboratory.

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Jun 16, 2017

2017 WA Award

Matthew Macfarlane (BCom GAICD CA) was presented with the 2017 Pearcey WA State Award at the WAITTA Incite Awards held on in Perth on Friday 16th June 2017.

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Dec 20, 2016

2016 Review

In 2016, the Pearcey Foundation had many events and recognised a wide variety of ICT entrepreneurs and industry contributors, including the 2016 Pearcey National Awards, 2016 Pearcey State Awards, the 2016 Pearcey Oration, and an extensive Australia 3.0 program.

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Dec 19, 2016

2016 Industry News

1 December 2016 - StartupAUS releases its CrossRoads Report 2016(PDF, 6.6 MB) on the Australian startup ecosystems. Contains good analysis and recommendations, though perhaps could have more broadly considered industry initiatives from organisations like Pearcey, AIIA or ACS and also successes in our public markets where 180+ tech companies have listed in the last 3 years.

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Dec 1, 2016

2016 Pearcey Medal

At a gala dinner held on Thursday 1 December 2016 at Sydney's Star in Pyrmont, Stephen (Steve) Baxter was presented the 2016 Pearcey Medal by Adrian Turner, CEO of Data61 at CSIRO.

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Dec 1, 2016

2016 Pearcey Hall of Fame

At a gala dinner held on Thursday 1 December 2016 at Sydney's Star in Pyrmont, Stephen Baxter, Jim Ellis OAM and Robin Eckerman (AM) were elevated to the Pearcey Hall of Fame.

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Dec 1, 2016

2016 Pearcey Entrepreneur Award

The 2016 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Aaron Birkby at ACS's Digital Disruptor's gala dinner on 1st December 2016. The Award was presented by Dr Alex Zelinsky AO, Australia's Chief Defence Scientist and also the 2013 Pearcey Medallist.

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Nov 29, 2016

Pearcey Institute Executive Overview

The Pearcey Institute is an initiative to bring together industry, government, academia and investors to do socio-economic research focused on creating a globally competitive Australian technology sector.

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Oct 26, 2016

2016 SA Award

The 2016 Pearcey South Australian Award was presented to Stewart Bartlett at an ACS lunch on Wednesday October 26. Stuart is co-founder of Signostics and Global Head of Urologic Care.

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Oct 24, 2016

2016 Qld Award

The 2016 Queensland Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Aaron Birkby. The Award was presented at the ACS Queensland 50^th birthday celebration dinner on Monday 24 October at BCEC by the Hon Chris Whiting, State Member of Parliament for the Seat of Murrumba, just north of Brisbane.

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Oct 18, 2016

2016 NSW Award

The NSW Pearcey Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented in a packed NSW Parliament House on Tuesday 18th October at NSW Parliament House, at 5.30pm by the Hon Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation. The overall winner, was Richard White, Founder and CEO of WiseTechGlobal with Hall of Fame Awards going to the founders of Avoka, Digivizer, Expert360, Invoice2Go, Saasu, Sentral Education, Showpo, Tyro and WiseTech Global.

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Sep 6, 2016

2016 Vic Award

The 2016 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Martin Hosking at a special Pearcey event Tuesday 6th September in Melbourne as part of the Victorian Government Digital Innovation Festival.

The Award was presented by Dr Amanda Caples, Lead Scientist to the Victorian Government, who also gave the 2016 Pearcey Oration.

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Sep 6, 2016

2016 Pearcey Oration

The 2016 Pearcey Oration was delivered by Dr Amanda Caples, Victoria's Lead Scientist and Deputy Secretary, Sector Development Division of theDepartment of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources.

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Sep 2, 2016

2016 Digital Innovation Festival

Pearcey was proud to host a series of events as part of the Digital Innovation Festival Victoria www.vic.gov.au/digitalinnovation. These events (2-6 September 2016) included a Pearcey Institute breakfast, Melbourne's Digital Changemakers panel and the 2016 Pearcey Oration.

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Jun 28, 2016

2016 ACT Award

At a gala dinner held in the Gandel Hall at Australia's National Gallery in Canberra, Dean Spaccavento was awarded the 2016 ACT Chief Minister's Pearcey Award.

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Jun 27, 2016

How Australia played the world’s first music on a computer

We don't think twice about playing music via a computer - we have them in our pockets, and in our homes and offices, with music on tap. But playing music on a computer was once an almost unthinkable leap of the imagination and the most devilishly difficult programming challenge.

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Jun 15, 2016

The Birth of the Computer Revolution

Computing underpins every aspect of our lives, from smart phones to the robots that assemble our cars.

It gathers data on traffic, schedules deliveries and tracks parcels. It is embedded in cameras, remote controls, air-conditioners, and even toasters. It matches us to partners, suggests our purchases, and tracks our fitness. And so much more.

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Jun 14, 2016

Pearcey Foundation announces formation of new Research body – the Pearcey Institute (PI)

Press Release: The formation of the Pearcey Institution, under the auspices of the Pearcey Foundation*, was announced on Tuesday evening, 14 June by the Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation, Mr Wayne Fitzsimmons. The announcement was made in conjunction with Melbourne University's "60th Anniversary of Computing in Victoria" celebration held at the Melbourne Museum, Victoria, where the original CSIRAC computer is located.

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Jun 14, 2016

2016 - 60 Years of Computing in Victoria

14 June is an important date in Australian computing history and in particular for the Pearcey Foundation. It's the date CSIRAC was switched on at The University of Melbourne and began the first university computing facility in Australia.

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Mar 21, 2016

Andy Grove, semiconductor pioneer

One of the founders of semiconductor giant Intel, Andy Grove, passed away on the 21st March 2016 at the age of 79.

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Feb 25, 2016

PC Pioneer Wesley Clark Passes Away

PC pioneer, Dr Wesley A. Clark, passed away in February 2016, aged 88. Many of us in Australia may not recall Dr Wesley Clark from the Lincoln Labs at MIT in Boston, MA who introduced the LINC - the Laboratory Instrument Computer- in 1961.

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Jan 26, 2016

2016 Australia Day Honours recognise two Pearcey National Awardees

Two past National Pearcey Awardees were recognised in the 2016 Australia Day Honours lists. These were Emeritus Prof. Mary O'Kane, 2014 Pearcey Medal winner and Dr Craig Mudge, 2012 Pearcey Hall of Fame.

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Dec 19, 2015

2015 Industry News

24 September 2015 - Dr Elaine Saunders (2011 Vic Pearcey Award) wins one of the Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards for 2015. She is recognised in the Innovation category for her contribution to hearing aid development, research and education (media release).

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Dec 11, 2015

Supporting Australia's Ideas Boom

What a breath of fresh air to think that the government of the day 'gets it'!

How long have we all waited to have a leadership team who actually can connect with the tech educated populace of Australia? Many of us have been guilty of 'telling the government what they ought to do'.

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Nov 17, 2015

2015 Pearcey Oration

The 2015 Pearcey Oration was delivered by Mr John Grant, Managing Director of Data#3 and Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission. This was part of the Pearcey Awards held in conjunction with the ACS Disruptors Awards gala dinner held on Tuesday 17 November 2015 at the Sydney Star.

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Nov 17, 2015

2015 Benson Award

Tim Power was awarded the 2015 Benson Entrepreneur Award at the 2015 gala ACS Reimagination dinner held on Tuesday November 14th 2015 in Sydney.

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Nov 17, 2015

2015 Pearcey Medal

At a gala dinner held on Tuesday 17 November 2015 at Sydney's Star in Pyrmont, David Merson was presented the 2015 Pearcey Medal by Hon. Victor Dominello, MP and NSW Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation.

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Nov 17, 2015

2015 Pearcey Hall of Fame

At a gala dinner held on Tuesday 17 November 2015 at Sydney's Star in Pyrmont, David Merson, Geoff Huston AM and Adrian Di Marco were elevated to the Pearcey Hall of Fame.

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Nov 16, 2015

2015 A3.0 Forum

On Monday 16 November, a lively Australia 3.0 forum took place at Data61/NICTA's HQ in Eveleigh. The topic entitled "The Lucky Country Disrupted" was a play on Donald Horne's 1964 book "The Lucky Country" suggesting that Australia's days of riding a wave may be nearly over.

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Nov 3, 2015

2015 Tas Award

The winner of the 2015 Tasmanian Pearcey Award was James Riggall. Commercially, James is MD of BitLink and he is also an active member of the Tasmanian startup community. James is the president of Startup Tasmania and one of the founders of both the Innovation Circle and Macquarie House Innovation Hub in Launceston, Tasmania.

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Oct 22, 2015

Today’s smart machines owe much to Australia's first computer

Australia's first computer weighed two tonnes, filled a large room and had a tiny fraction of the capacity of today's typical smartphone. But why would such a machine continue to be relevant today?

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Oct 20, 2015

2015 NSW Award

The 2015 NSW Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented at NSW Parliament by the Hon Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, on behalf of the Pearcey Foundation and the technology industry with the pinnacle award, the winners special recognition award, going to Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva.

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Oct 7, 2015

2015 Vic Award

The 2015 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Alison Hardacre at the ACS Branch Forum on Wednesday 7th October in Melbourne. Alison was recognised for being both an outstanding person and, via her company HealthKit, making disruptive changes in the very challenging health industry.

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Sep 28, 2015

Digital disruption 2015 – it’s real and it’s now!

Digital Disruption is something that all (or almost all) of us are aware. We see the impact of Airbnb, Uber, realestate.com, Seek and so on. Some disruptions are welcomed but many are not; and so, understandably, significant negative reactions appear.

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Sep 16, 2015

Pearcey welcomes new PM

The Pearcey Foundation welcomes appointment of the new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who was sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia on 15 September 2015.

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Jul 15, 2015

Background to the Pearcey Institute July 2015

The Pearcey Foundation (PF) has long envisaged the establishment of an Australian digital economy research institute - the Pearcey Institute (PI). It would be an independent multi-disciplinary studies institute capable of analysing the strategic economic impact of advanced technologies on our nation with particular emphasis on disruptive technologies that the ICT sector continues to introduce globally.

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Jun 25, 2015

2015 Qld Award

he 2015 Queensland Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to prominent young Queensland businessman Wayne Gerard on Thursday, 25 June 2015 at the EDGE Auditorium, Queensland State Library. Wayne is a passionate digital entrepreneur and business leader in Queensland having been a founder of several companies including RedEye, Waterline Projects and SDG.

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Jun 23, 2015

2015 ACT Award

The 2015 ACT Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Mr Greg Boorer at the Digital Canberra gala dinner in the Gandel Hall of the National Gallery of Australia. Mr Boorer is a well-known identity in the ICT industry in the nation's capital having started Canberra Data Centres (CDC) just eight years ago in 2007. Today CDC is the dominant data centre vendor in the ACT with more than 40 Federal and ACT government agencies as customers.

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May 7, 2015

Reshaping ICT Summit 2015

Recognising the significant disruption now occurring in the Australian economy driven by digital technologies, rapid growth in computing power and global online connectivity, the ACS in partnership with the Pearcey Foundation will host a Thought Leaders' Summit, "REIMAGINATION, to reshape Australia's digital future" on 17 November 2015.

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Nov 6, 2014

2014 NSW Award

The 2014 NSW Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award was presented to Ben Richardson and Dave Greiner, founders of Campaign Monitor and Tim Power, managing director for 3P Learning.

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Aug 29, 2014

2014 Pearcey Oration

The 2014 Pearcey Oration as delivered By Senator Kate Lundy on the 29th August 2014 at the 2014 iAwards Lunch hosted by Ms Kathy Coultas, Vic Gov, at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

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Aug 29, 2014

2014 Pearcey Hall of Fame

At the 2014 iAwards Gala dinner held on Friday evening 29 August 2014 at Melbourne's Exhibition and Convention Centre, three eminent Australians were elevated to the Pearcey Hall of Fame - Mary O'Kane AC, Peter Vogel and Dr Bob Frater AO.

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Aug 29, 2014

2014 Pearcey Medal

Mary O'Kane AC, BSc., PhD., FATSE., FIEAust. was awarded the 2014 Pearcey Medal at a gala dinner held on Friday evening 29th August at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

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Jul 18, 2014

2014 Digital Economy Submission

Pearcey Foundation’s input to the Victorian Government’s Digital Economy strategy

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Jul 3, 2014

2014 Tas Award

As part of the 2014 Tasmanian iAwards gala evening event held on Thursday 3 July 2014 at the Henry Jones Art Hotel in Hobart, the Minister for State Growth, Minister for Energy and Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage., the Hon. Mathew Groom MP presented the 2014 Pearcey Tasmania Entrepreneur Award to James Cuda.

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Jun 12, 2014

2013-14 Qld Award

At a gala Queensland iAwards event held at the Brisbane convention Centre on 12 June, Senator Steven Conroy, Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy presented the 2013 Queensland Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year to Andrew Jessett, CEO and Founder of Mineware.

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Awards

The Pearcey Foundation's annual awards recognise and celebrate outstanding individuals in Australian ICT.

National Awards • State Awards • Nominations

The Heritage Project

The Pearcey Foundation intends to extend the Heritage Project well beyond Phase One (the book) – with the aim to become ‘the’ central repository – hosting a ‘virtual museum’ of Australia’s computing artefacts, documents and oral histories from key players.

The Project

Kind Words

Australians have all too often seen themselves as observers rather than participants in the digital revolution, but that does not do justice to our history. The Pearcey Foundation plays a very important role in highlighting the real contributions Australians have made in the past, and in so doing will help inspire the next generation of Australian digital innovators.

Charlie Day
Former CEO, Innovation and Science Australia

The Pearcey Foundation’s project to document Australia’s achievements in the computer age is a critically important endeavour. A central repository, that documents the central role of our universities and CSIRO and the individual contributions of academics and entrepreneurs, will be an essential resource for future policy makers and for students, research workers and entrepreneurs.

Alex Zelinsky AO
Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Newcastle

Australians are a nation of storytellers. Stories make us laugh and they make us cry, they remind us who we are and they inspire us, and let us celebrate our successes and failures. Australia has much to celebrate when it comes to the digital age, from pioneering work in computer science through to innovative cloud services. The Pearcey Foundation Heritage Project will be an inspiration to future generations of Australians.

Founder
Australian Ocean Lab and Former Engineering Director, Google Australia

Initiatives

The Pearcey Foundation is actively involved in many initiatives to help promote and accelerate the Australian ICT industry.

Thought Leadership • Australia 3.0 • Australia 4.0 • ICT Heritage • Pearcey Institute

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In memory of

Dr Trevor Pearcey

The Pearcey Foundation Inc. was established in 1998 to raise the profile of the Australian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Industry and profession. It was created in the memory of one of the greatest pioneers of the Australian ICT industry, Dr Trevor Pearcey.