In this episode, we were pleased to have a wide-ranging discussion with Professor Paul Wood AO. We talk about his start at CSIRO and the pathway to his breakthrough in TB tests for cattle in the Northern Territory, and how it opened a pathway into animal and human health research leadership. We discuss a few 'sliding door' moments with Paul around Qiagen, Cellestis, CSL and Pfizer, and how he ended up with the 'keys to the lolly shop' with Pfizer Animal Health (now Zoetis) in North America.

On Paul’s return to Australia, as both mentor and entrepreneur, we discuss external collaborations, coaching and the need to be thinking globally early in terms of markets and financing. We close with Paul’s reflections on innovation leadership and management in Australia, and his current commentary and insights into the tech transfer challenges of alt-protein, pointing to the Business 101 failures as much as the scale-up challenges.