The Pearcey State Entrepreneur Awards recognise outstanding achievers in ICT within each Australian State and Territory who have:
The Pearcey Foundation embraces all aspects of the ICT industry from traditional Information Science to the latest technological advances in social networking, multimedia, games, Internet technologies and artificial intelligence - the very broadest spectrum of the Australian innovative sector.
Nominations are welcome at any time.
The awardees are selected by state-based judging committees.
Each year, one of the awardees is selected for the Pearcey National
Entrepreneur 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
At a gala iAwards luncheon held on Friday 27 June 2014 at the Adelaide Convention Centre, the Premier of South Australia, the Hon. Jay Weatherill MP, presented the 2014 Pearcey SA Entrepreneur Award to Dr Henry Detmold.
The 2014 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Bevan Clark and Guy King as part of the Victorian iAwards ceremony held on Wednesday 4th June in the Telstra Theatrette, Melbourne.
On 23th October 2013 the 2013 NSW Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented by Mr Paul Toole, Parliamentary Secretary for the Deputy Premier, to joint winners Simon Clausen, founder of Startive Ventures and PC Tools, and Naomi Simson, founder of Red Balloon.
The 2013 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Leni Mayo as part of the Victorian iAwards ceremony held on Wednesday 5th July in the Telstra Theatrette, Melbourne.
At a gala State iAwards presentation evening on 20th June in the Henry Jones IXL Art Hotel, the Premier of Tasmania, the Hon Lara Giddings, presented Lawrence Howson with the 2013 Tasmania Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The 2013 South Australia Pearcey Entrepreneur of the year award was presented to Dr Alex Grant, Director of the ITR at the University of South Australia at the SA iAwards gala presentation event held at KPMG boardroom (Pirie St) Adelaide on 19 June 2013.
At a gala event held on Tuesday evening 17 June at Canberra's Aboretum, Senator Kate Lundy presented the 2014 Pearcey ACT Entrepreneur Award to John de Margheriti.
The 2012 ACT Pearcey Award was presented to Dr Vikram Sharma on Thursday evening 15th November at the Boat House by the Lake as part of the ACS ACT Branch annual Canberra ICT Awards night.
The Pearcey NSW 2012 "Entrepreneur of the Year" Award was jointly presented to Mitch Harper and Eddie Machaalani (founders of BigCommerce) and Jo Burston (founder of JobCapital and other companies).
The 2012 Tasmanian Pearcey Award for mid-career ICT entrepreneurs was presented to Jared Hill, CEO & Co-Founder of eight year old insight4, a thirty man Professional Software Services company based in Hobart.
The 2012 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Oliver Roydhouse as part of the Victorian iAwards ceremony held on Wednesday 4th July in the Telstra Theatrette, Melbourne.
The 2012 Pearcey Queensland Entrepreneur Award was presented to Neil Glentworth by Hon Ros Bates MP, Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts (DSITIA), at a gala dinner on 3d July held this evening at the Sebel Citigate as part of the 2012 iAwards program.
The 2011 Tasmanian Pearcey Award for younger ICT entrepreneurs was presented to Mr Daniel Harrison, Founder and CEO of QikID, an early stage company focussed on the biometric identification technology for the mass market.
The 2011 SA Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Matthew Michalewicz at a reception held at InnovateSA Board Room (19 Greenfell Street Adelaide) on Thursday evening, 17 November 2011.
The 2011 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Simon Poole and Steve Frisken, founders of optical communications company Engana and now Finisar Australia by the Hon Andrew Stoner MP, NSW Deputy Premier in front of over 150 industry leaders. The event was held at NSW Parliament on Wednesday 12th October 2011 in Sydney.
The 2011 ACT Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Matt Bullock by Senator Kate Lundy, Senator representing the ACT and Parliamentary Secretary Prime Minister and Cabinet, as part of the annual combined ACS and Pearcey Foundation Awards held this evening at ‘The Boathouse’ in Canberra.
The 2011 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Dr Elaine Saunders as part of the Victorian iAwards ceremony held on Wednesday 6th July in the River Room at Crown, Melbourne.
The 2011 Pearcey Queensland Entrepreneur Award was presented to Janine Garrett and Bevan Slattery by the Queensland Minister for ICT, The Honourable Simon Finn MP, and Ms Natalie MacDonald, Director General, Queensland Department of Public Works, at a gala dinner on 5th July held this evening at the Hilton Brisbane as part of the 2011 iAwards program.
The 2010 Tasmanian Pearcey Award for young ICT entrepreneurs was presented to Mr. Paris Buttfield-Addison and Mr. Jon Manning, co-founders of Secret Lab, by Mr David Bartlett, Premier of Tasmania in his role as Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology.
The 2010 South Australian Pearcey Award was presented to Dr Anton van den Hengel, inventor of the Videotrace image modelling system and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Adelaide.
The 2010 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Lars and Jens Rasmussen, founders of Google Maps and Google Wave by the Hon Eric Roozendaal MLC, NSW Treasurer and Minister for State and Regional Development in front of over 220 industry leaders. A further 9 entrepreneurs were inducted into our Hall of Fame. The event was held at NSW Parliament on Tuesday 19th October 2010 in Sydney in conjunction with National ICT Australia's NICTA @ NSW Parliament research showcase.
Peter Ward, Founder and Chief Technical Architect of Wardy IT Solutions, was presented the 2010 Queensland Pearcey Award by Robert Schwarten MP, the Queensland Minister for Public Works and Information and Communication Technology. This award recognises and celebrates the achievements of Australia's ICT and Digital Media entrepreneurs; Peter’s achievements were acknowledged at a gala dinner in Brisbane on 20th September as part of the 2010 World Computer Congress (WCC).
Fullbright Scholar Dr Raymond Choo was presented the 2010 ACT Pearcey Award by Senator Kate Lundy, Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister & Cabinet, at a gala dinner held at 'The Boathouse' in Canberra on 16 September 2010.
The 2010 Victorian State Pearcey Award was presented to Mr Brett Paterson as part of the the Victorian ACS Fellows dinner on Tuesday 22nd June 2010 at the RACV Club in Melbourne. The event was sponsored by Multimedia Victoria, Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development and the Australian Computer Society.
The 2009 Queensland Pearcey Award was presented to Mr Paul Gampe at a dinner on Wednesday 25 November 2009 at the Sebel & Citigate King George Square in Brisbane. The presentation was made by Mr Paul Russell, Director of Enabling Technologies at Queensland's Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. Highly Commeneded Certifcates were also presented to Janine Garrett, Andrew Jessett and Andrew Eddie.
The 2009 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year was awarded to Ian Gardner, founder of online video and digital media specialist Viocorp.
The 2009 Victorian State Pearcey Award was presented to Mr Robert Murray as part of the the 2009 National Pearcey Event on Thursday 1st October 2009 at the Sofitel on Collins in Melbourne.
The 2009 ACT State Pearcey Award was presented to Mr Michael McGoogan on Wednesday 16th September 2009 in Canberra at the Canberra Business Events Centre, Regatta Point. The award was presented by Mr Jon Stanhope MLA, Chief Minister for the ACT during the Business in Focus Month and jointly sponsored with the Australian Computer Society, ACT Branch.
The 2008 Queensland Pearcey Award was won by Raeleen Gillett, CEO and Founder of Octahedron Pty Ltd. The presentation was made by Mr Tony Waters Deputy Director General of the Queensland Dept of Public Works at a gala dinner held on the 11th of November 2008 at the Sebel Hotel, King George Square, Brisbane. As Ms Gillett happened to be in New York city at the time, the presentation was made across a VOIP link involving Skype video.
The 2008 NSW Pearcey Young Achiever's Award were presented to two young entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, co-CEO's of Atlassian Software Systems by the NSW Minister for Education & Training, the Hon. John Della Bosca. The presentation occurred on the 11th of September 2008 as part of the 2008 National Pearcey Event in Sydney at the Westin Hotel.
On Tuesday 2nd September 2008 the inaugural ACT Pearcey Award was presented to Mathew Purcell by ACT Chief Minsiter, the Hon Mr Jon Stanhope, at the Regatta Point Business Centre in Canberra. The Canberra Branch of the Australian Computer Society joined forces with the Pearcey Foundation to select Matthew Purcell alias "The Silicon Kid", as the winner. Thanks to strong financial support from the ACT Government, the Pearcey foundation has been able to extend its highly competitive peer recognition award process to ICT professionals in the ACT.
The 2008 Victorian State Pearcey Award was presented to Mr Mike Giuffrida at an award ceremony held on Friday 1st August at Melbourne High School. It was held on the opening night preceding the Victorian IT Teachers Association ICT and Careers Expo all part of a National ICT Careers week organized nationally by the Australian Computer Society (ACS).
The winners of the 2007 NSW State Pearcey Award were Pia and Jeffrey Waugh, a husband and wife team who work in their jointly owned software design and consulting business based in Sydney. This is the first time a joint award has been made and the recognition of their joint contribution to the Australian ICT industry makes their award all the more meaningful. They were presented with their certificate at a ceremony held on 6th December 2007 at the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney. This presentation was made at the conclusion of the VC Connect conference at the Museum and was made by Mr Ian Dennis, Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation.
At the annual Pearcey Foundation Awards event held this year in Brisbane on the 1st of November 2007, Ms Tammy Halter was awarded the 2007 Pearcey State Award from fellow finalists Kirsty Garrett and Joanne Jacobs. The award was presented by Mr Peter Grant, CIO, Queensland State Government.
An audience of nearly 100 ICT luminaries warmly applauded the presentation of the Victorian Pearcey Award 2007 to Ashley Herring, and Pearcey Victoria Commendations to Dr. Stan Skafidas and George Parthimos, at a cocktail party in central Melbourne on 27th August 2007.
The 2006 Queensland Pearcey Award has been won by Mr Brett Hooker, CEO of Sauce Software. The presentation was made on Thursday 2nd November 2006 at the Carlton Crest Hotel in Brisbane.
The 2006 Tasmanian Pearcey Award was won by Mr Ian Cumming, founder of Insight4. The award was given at a joint Pearcey and ACS function on Friday 10th November 2006.
The 2006 NSW Pearcey Award has been won by Dr. Matt Barrie. Dr Barrie is currently the CEO and Founder of Sensory Networks and still maintains time to lecture at the University of Sydney.
The co-founder of Brisbane company Sundata and chairman of Software Queensland, Kon Kakanis, has been named recipient of the 2005 Queensland Pearcey State Award.
The 2005 Tasmanian Pearcey Award presented to Luke Bereznicki on 5th November 2005.
The 2005 Victorian State Pearcey Award was presented to Graeme Huon. The presentation was made by the Victorian Minister for ICT, Marsha Thomson during the National Pearcey Banquet on Friday 14 October 2005.
The 2005 New South Wales Pearcey Award was presented to James Dalziel by The Hon. John Della Bosca, Minister for Commerce. The presentation was made at the Pearcey Cocktail Function at the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo. The Award forms part of the ICT Outlook Forum initiated by CSIRO, DSTO, NICTA and the ICT Council of CRC's.
