Jack Gance opened his first pharmacy store in 1972, promptly developing a distribution business through pharmacy. He created the Le Specs, Le Tan, Australis and Colours of Australia brands of sunglasses, suntan lotion, fragrances and cosmetics. Through his operation, Jack created the largest pharmacy distributor business in Australia. He sold that business in 1991, and after completing an MBA at Monash and NYU Stern School of Business, he returned to pharmacy to revolutionise the industry.
By 1993, Jack was running 35 stores through the My Chemist Pharmacy chain. This had phenomenal growth over the years, with 50 stores by the year 2000. It was then that Jack decided to radically change the face of pharmacy. Chemist Warehouse was created, becoming a major industry disruptor of the industry. Chemist Warehouse took the industry by storm, allowing Jack, his partners and team create a multibillion-dollar chain, commanding over 50% market share front of store and around 20% of all prescriptions.
It is now in New Zealand with around $1.3 B sales out of 57 stores. Ireland with over 12 stores and has 3 succesful stores in Dubai.
With over 650 stores world wide and over $10 Billion sales Chemist warehouse is well placed for further expansion nationally and internationally In 2024 Chemist Warehouse underwent a rverse take over of Sigma on of Australias largest wholesalers and is now a Public Listed company with a market cap of over A$34Billion and arguably the largest successful Pharmacy group in the world.
Fireside Chat: Disruptors in Healthcare: Capital, Conviction & Scale Thursday @ 10:00 AM
Where Capital Can Actually Move the Needle in Health Thursday @ 2:30 PM
Innovation Showcase: What’s Actually Being Built in Health Thursday @ 3:45 PM
Chris Blake is Group CEO of St Vincent’s Health Australia, Australia’s largest not-for-profit health and aged care services provider. He brings more than 30 years of leadership experience, having guided major Australian organisations through periods of transformation and change. Prior to joining St Vincent’s in 2022, Chris held senior leadership roles at Latitude Financial Services, Australia Post and National Australia Bank, following an earlier consulting career as a Partner at PwC.
Chris has a long connection with healthcare and medical research. He is a Board Member of The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, a member of the Advisory Committee for the Australian Epilepsy Project, and was previously Chair of the Brain Research Institute.
Closing Keynote: Investing in the Future of Health Thursday @ 4:30 PM
Martin Cook is a recognised leader in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) with more than two decades of experience advancing cardiac assist technologies. He previously served as Vice President of Product Development at Sunshine Heart and held key leadership roles at Ventracor (LVAD) and Percutaneous Cardiovascular Solutions (acquired by Edwards). Martin has directed multiple device development programs through CE mark and FDA approval and has advised CEOs and CTOs across the MCS sector as a consultant and mentor to MedTech startup leaders.
He holds undergraduate degrees in aerospace engineering and physics, a PhD in fluid mechanics, and is the author of numerous scientific publications as well as the inventor of multiple patents. Martin also contributes to the broader MedTech community as a reviewer for medical technology journals and related grant programs.
Innovation Showcase: What’s Actually Being Built in Health Thursday @ 3:45 PM
Women’s Health: An Overlooked Opportunity for Capital and Impact Thursday @ 11:30 AM
Georgie Drury is Co-Founder and CEO of Metluma, a doctor-led, technology-enabled women's health company helping women better navigate peri-/menopause and midlife health, with plans to expand into endometriosis, surgical menopause and other underserved women's health conditions. A passionate advocate for health equity, Georgie believes data, technology and personalised care can help shape the future of healthcare and help close the gender health gap.
In 2024, Metluma was recognised at the Garmin Health Awards for its innovative use of data to drive health outcomes and behaviour change. More recently, the company launched the 2026 Australian Menopause Experience Report, helping shine a light on the lived experiences, symptom burden and health impacts facing women across Australia. Georgie is committed to turning data into insights that influence research, policy and better health outcomes for women globally.
Prior to Metluma, Georgie founded Springday (now part of APM), a digital wellbeing platform that scaled across 13 countries. She is also a regular speaker, mentor and advisor to emerging founders and women pursuing careers in STEM.
Outside of work, Georgie is a keen knitter, skier and sailor, including competing in the iconic Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Women’s Health: An Overlooked Opportunity for Capital and Impact Thursday @ 11:30 AM
Cameron Ferris is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Inventia Life Science, a position he has held since March 2018. Based in Sydney, Australia, his work focuses on transforming drug discovery and biomedical research through advanced 3D cell models.
Before founding Inventia Life Science, his career included roles spanning commercialization, R&D, and academia:
Commercialisation Manager at The iQ Group Global (2016–2018), Manager - Research & Development at EY (2013–2016) and Technology Research & Development Associate at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science.
He is a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Biofabrication from the University of Wollongong and a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from the Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong. He is also an active voice in his field, recently participating in roundtables and publishing content on the need for reproducible, scalable 3D biology to improve preclinical research and decision-making in the pharmaceutical industry.
Innovation Showcase: What’s Actually Being Built in Health Thursday @ 3:45 PM
Roo Harris is a leader at the intersection of venture capital and diversity. As the co-owner of Scale Investors, she is a driving force behind investments in women-led startups.
With a background in commercial law and a global career that includes advising Qatar’s ruling family on venture deals, Roo has a unique perspective on how capital can be a powerful lever for both economic and social change. This experience fueled her belief in conscious capital - a human-centered model of capitalism that is both relational and sustainable - and ignited a passion for impact innovation, particularly in the care and climate sectors.
Beyond her work at Scale Investors, Roo is a staunch advocate for the neurodivergent and disability communities, serving on the boards of several disability tech startups. She is also a member of the advisory board for the T-EDI Standards (Tech Council of Australia) and Just Gold's Autistic Pride Day initiative. Roo is an active participant in Equity Clear, a gender transparency initiative spearheaded by Scale Investors, which was recently recognized on Fortune's "Change the World" list.
Roo believes that achieving impact doesn't require returns to be concessionary, a philosophy backed by her long history of startup investing, which includes an early 27x return.
Women’s Health: An Overlooked Opportunity for Capital and Impact Thursday @ 11:30 AM
A global leader in inclusive innovation, Pete Horsley is dedicated to harnessing technology to elevate all human potential. As the Founder of Remarkable, the global startup venture arm of Cerebral Palsy Alliance, he is investing in and accelerating the next generation of Disability Tech solutions that build better technologies, break down barriers and drive equity. With over 20 years in the disability sector, Pete has led global collaborations across industry, NGO, and academia, to foster systemic change. As a co-founder of the +N Inclusive Innovation Network, he brings together global technology leaders to scale impact.
Technology, Innovation and New Models of Healthcare Delivery Thursday @ 12:15 PM
Technology, Innovation and New Models of Healthcare Delivery Thursday @ 12:15 PM
Chair of the ACMD Board, Brenda Shanahan has had her exceptional achievements recognised in this year’s Australia Day Honours List. Brenda was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to medical health research, to the business and finance sectors, to corporate governance, and to philanthropy.
Brenda’s contributions are wide and varied. She has taken an active role in medical research in Australia, with roles (among others) at St Vincent’s Health, St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research and the ACMD.
Welcome from Brenda Shanahan AO Thursday @ 9:20 AM
Lessons in Innovation, Impact and Commercialisation Thursday @ 10:30 AM
Simon Skalicky is an Australian glaucoma sub-specialist ophthalmologist, and an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne and Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne. Simon is the founder and inventor of Eyeonic, an internationally acclaimed software company that provides visual field testing on any computer or tablet, with 45,000 tests performed and 14 research papers validating a similar accuracy to conventional perimetry machines. Simon is the Past President of Glaucoma Australia and is actively involved in the World Glaucoma Association. In 2015 he wrote an authoritative textbook on ocular and visual physiology, that is adopted as a core textbook by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmology.
Simon is an internationally recognized clinician and researcher with over 70 publications of research that has led to interventions to improve glaucoma patients’ quality of life. Simon is a skilled computer programmer, versed in python, javascript and cloud computing.
Technology, Innovation and New Models of Healthcare Delivery Thursday @ 12:15 PM
Aizaz Syed is the Senior Portfolio and Investment Manager at Tenmile based in Melbourne, where he leads, originates and manages investments as well as overseeing the overall portfolio. He has spent the last 10 years investing in early-stage technologies, particularly across deep tech, software and manufacturing, as well as providing strategy, financial and commercial advice in Australia.
Before Tenmile, he was an Investment Director at early-stage investment firm Nightingale Partners and in Corporate and Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Aizaz graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons.).
Where Capital Can Actually Move the Needle in Health Thursday @ 2:30 PM
Doctor of Medicine University of Cologne, Neonatal Fellowship & MBA at Johns Hopkins University. Christiane completed her basic medical training in Germany before completing training in paediatrics in the United States. She worked for more than 20 years in the Johns Hopkins NICU and received an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. She moved to Melbourne and commenced work at the Royal Women’s Hospital as a Senior Neonatal Consultant, and works in the PIPER paediatric retrieval team at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Christiane leads clinical research and supports the engineering activities at Navi.
Innovation Showcase: What’s Actually Being Built in Health Thursday @ 3:45 PM
Angela Webster MBBS MM PhD FRACP FRCP FAHMS FISN JP is a clinical leader and researcher who works at the University of Sydney as Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and as a Transplant Physician at Westmead Hospital in Western Sydney. She is an internationally renowned health services researcher and evidence integration expert. Her research program tackles health literacy, risk tolerance and eliciting and integrating patient preferences, to support effective patient self-management in multi-morbidity, as well as integrating real world data for innovative sustainable health service re-design to better meet the needs of individuals and the nation.
Healthcare Hype - Separating Noise from Real Impact Thursday @ 9:30 AM
