2024 Pearcey Entrepreneur Award
ACT Entrepreneurs Ian Croser AM and David Gaul were awarded the prestigious
2024 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award at the Pearcey Foundation National Event on 19 November 2024 in Brisbane. The presentation was
made by Emeritus Professor Roy Green AM.
Chosen from this year's State and Territory Pearcey Awardees (see list below), the national award gives prominence to one of the State Pearcey recipients for inspiring leadership, scale, impact, innovation and acclaim on the world stage.
Over 40 years, Ian and David have grown CEA Technologies to become a critical Defence industry supplier with over 600 staff across Australia and over $200 million in revenue. Today, the intellectual property and solutions built by CEA Technologies are Australian owned and controlled with a strong Australian-based supply chain. CEA products have more than 75% Australian industry content which is more than any other large-scale Defence supplier.
Rick Harvey, Pearcey National Judging Coordinator, commented,
As in past years, the Pearcey State entrepreneurs are all impressive people who have taken risks, made a difference, and are an inspiration. After intense discussion, the Pearcey National Judging Committee selected Ian and David to represent this group as an example of what Australians can achieve on the world stage. Their phased array radar technology is world-leading and fitted to Royal Australian Navy warships. In 2023, the Federal Government partially nationalised CEA to protect crucial sovereignty in CEA's large-scale all-Australian innovation, R&D and manufacturing capabilities. Theirs is a truly remarkable story.
For more information about Ian and David, please see the 2024 Pearcey ACT Award.
2024 Pearcey State Entrepreneurs
The 2024 Pearcey National Entrepreneur is selected from one of the 2024 Pearcey State Entrepreneurs.
ACT: Ian Croser AM and David Gaul, founders of CEA Technologies
NSW: Michael J. Biercuk, CEO and founder of Q-CTRL
QLD: Andrew Bate, co-founder and CEO of SwarmFarm Robotics
VIC: Chris Piastri, co-founder and CTO of HP Tuners
WA: Peter van der Made, founder of BrainChip
