Dr Dan Johnson
Managing Director
Bsc (Hons), PhD Flinders University of South Australia, MBA The University of Adelaide
Dan Johnson has been the Managing Director of The Australian Wine Research Institute since 1 December 2011. Dan obtained a BSc(Hons) and PhD in chemistry at Flinders University, and an MBA at the University of Adelaide. Prior to this current role, Dan spent five years as the AWRI’s General Manager – Business Development, where he was responsible for strategy, operations management, and commercial affairs.
In total, Dan has been directly involved in raising and/or administering more than $150 million for research institutes, start-up companies and venture capital firms and been directly involved in 9 biotechnology start-up companies.
A participant in the Australian wine industry Future Leader’s program, Dan has been instrumental in driving various initiatives in the Australian grape and wine research and development community. One significant example is the leveraging of levy-payer funds invested in the AWRI to attract substantial revenue from a diverse range of funding agencies and corporate partners. In effect, industry is now receiving more ‘bang for their buck’. In addition, Dan has been actively involved in the formation of the Wine Innovation Cluster on the Waite Precinct, in the activities of the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference and in AWRI’s move into the scientific disciplines of metabolomics and bioinformatics.
Prior to joining the AWRI, Dan held the position of Business Development Manager at Bio Innovation SA. In this role Dan worked as part of a team that annually administered several million dollars in grant funding and formed South Australia’s first dedicated life science venture capital fund, Terra Rossa Capital, which has funds under management of approximately $35 million.
Dan’s career choices and achievements reflect his two great professional passions – science and business. Having worked as a scientist and in various roles closely aligned to science, he is passionate about R&D but is equally passionate about the practical application of that R&D.
Dan has published several peer-reviewed articles in journals including the Journal of the American Chemical Society and Biochemistry, and presents in scientific and industry fora on topics such as the wine industry and biotechnology, and is the inventor and owner of a granted patent which formed the basis of his own biotechnology company.
Tertiary Education
Master of Business Administration (2008)The University of Adelaide
- Dean’s list of outstanding graduates
- Baron Partner’s Prize in Strategic Management
Flinders University of South Australia
- Thesis: Studies on the immobilisation and direct electrochemistry of redox active proteins
- Recipient of an Australian Postgraduate Award (scholarship) and other miscellaneous prizes.
- Research interests in biology and chemistry
- Ranked in the top four postgraduate students in South Australia
Flinders University of South Australia
- Honours thesis: Synthesis and characterisation of novel iron and nickel dithiocarbamates: application to the Ni/Fe hydrogenase active site.
- Major in chemistry, minor in psychology
- First Class honours grade
Other professional education
- The Australian Institute of Company Directors (2005)
Selected prizes, awards and personal scholarships
- South Australian Bioscience Young Achiever of the Year (2009)
- Australian Wine Industry Future Leader’s program (2009)
- Baron Partner’s Prize in Strategic Management, University of Adelaide MBA program (2008)
- Dean’s list of outstanding graduates, University of Adelaide MBA program (2008)
- Bio Innovation SA Commercial Management Grant (2006-2009)
- Monash Postgraduate Fellowship (2004-2005)
- Flinders University Travel Scholarship (2004)
- Cathy Candler bursary (2003)
- Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship (2001-2004)
- Honours degree, first class (2000)
Membership of professional societies, associations, committees and boards
- Director of company boards
- The Australian Wine Research Institute Ltd
- Chairman of the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC) Pty Ltd
- Tacnia Pty Ltd
- Member of professional societies
- Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology
- Member of councils and committees
- Wine Industry Technical Advisory Committee of the Winemakers' Federation of Australia
- Wine Innovation Cluster Leadership Group
- Waite Strategic Leadership Group