Summit: syd16


Length: 40:50

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This talk is presented by

Fran Sanderson - Head of Arts & Culture Innovation Lab, Nesta (National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts) (UK)

Fran heads up the Arts, Culture and Creativity team at Nesta, and also has primary responsibility for the Arts Impact Fund, a £7m initiative backed by Arts Council England, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Nesta. Along with Seva Phillips, she advocates for social investment in arts and culture, promotes the fund, undertakes due diligence on prospective fund applicants, manages a portfolio of social investments and looks after funder relationships.

Fran went into fund management at JPMorgan following an MA in Philosophy and Maths and periodic work in charity administration and fundraising. After this, she took a career break during which she travelled around Europe and settled for a year living off-grid in Portugal with her young family. On her return, she started working at Big Society Capital as an investment director, where she worked on a wide variety of social investment deals.

Fran is also Treasurer of Cambridge House, a settlement in Walworth, South London, and works closely with UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, in a non-exec capacity.

Fran is passionate about literature and creative writing, and is a member of the National Academy of Writing. She also enjoys music, theatre and dance as an enthusiastic observer. 

Fiona Menzies - CEO, Creative Partnerships Australia

Fiona Menzies is CEO of Creative Partnerships Australia, a role she commenced in February 2013.  Before this, Fiona was Development Manager at the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, where she was part of the inaugural team that established the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne in 2009. Fiona’s interest in private giving to the arts began at the University of Melbourne, where she completed her undergraduate thesis on a private arts collection donated to the State of South Australia.  Fiona completed a Masters degree at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, focussing on a donated collection - costume designs for a ground breaking 1914 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Following this, Fiona took a sidestep into politics where she worked as Adviser then Chief of Staff to two Commonwealth Government Arts Ministers.  During that time, Fiona worked across the arts and film portfolio, but continued her interest in giving by playing a key role in the introduction of new measures in the taxation system to increase private sector support for the arts.

Fiona has served on the board of the Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust, is a trustee of the Gordon Darling Foundation  and is currently on a school foundation board in Melbourne.

Anna Rooke - Chief Executive Officer, QUT Creative Enterprise Australia

As CEO of QUT Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) since 2007, Anna’s goal is to build a vibrant and scalable creative industries sector in Australia. CEA is focused on accelerating the growth of creative companies through dedicated incubator, investment and business development initiatives. 

Anna has over 20 years’ experience in leading commercialisation, incubation and business development initiatives in the UK and Australia. She is passionate about early stage investment, establishing CEA’s Startup Fund, the first early stage fund for creative ventures in Australia in 2013. She also was one of the founding partners of the $1M Arts Business Investment Fund in 2014.

Prior to her relocation to Australia in 2006, she was the Director of the UK’s first National Science City and created a $1m proof of principle fund in Yorkshire to enable entrepreneurs to exploit their commercial potential.

Anna is a Director of Metaverse Group Pty Ltd and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She was the Chairman of Fame & Partners Pty Ltd until February 2016 supporting the company from startup through to USA Series A investment. She is a member of Brisbane’s Economic Development Advisory Board, Creative Economy Board, Queensland Startup Committee and the Advance Queensland Expert Industry Panel.