As a scientist, founder, investor and board director, Cather Simpson has built companies, commercialised research and helped shape New Zealand's innovation ecosystem.
In this session, Cather shares reflections from her journey turning ideas into impact, exploring the opportunities, challenges and lessons learned at the intersection of science, innovation and enterprise.
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Cather Simpson
Chief Executive Officer , Orbis Diagnostics
Cather Simpson is an entrepreneurial academic who moved from the US to New Zealand in 2007. At the University of Auckland, she founded the Photon Factory, a high-tech, industry-facing laser centre. Her work there has resulted (thus far) in four deep-tech spinouts: Engender Technologies (acquired by CRV, Ltd.), Luminoma Diagnostics, Orbis Diagnostics, where she is currently CEO and Founder Director, and most recently Beam Agritech. She is a Partner at Pacific Channel, and sits on the boards of Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology, SPIE the International Society for Optics and Photonics as President-Elect, and a handful of startup companies. A Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, Cather also serves on the Academy Executive. Recent accolades include the 2019 Pickering Medal, 2022 KiwiNet Commercialisation Icon award and the inaugural NZ Institute of Physics Te Tohu mō Whaihua i te Mātai Ahupūngao Impact Award (2023). She is keenly interested in the research-commercialisation interface, and how innovation drives productivity and economic growth.
