Uniseed has appointed Alastair Hick as its next Chief Executive Officer, marking a new chapter in the fund’s 25-year history. He will formally take the helm in January 2026, succeeding Peter Devine, who will leave the organisation in December after 20 years in the role.
Hick’s appointment follows an extensive executive search and reflects Uniseed’s ambition to accelerate its impact at the intersection of research, innovation and investment. He joins the fund from Monash University, where he has spent the past 20 years driving innovation and commercialisation outcomes. Since 2021, he has served as Monash’s inaugural Chief Commercialisation Officer, leading translation, investment and entrepreneurship. In this role, he has been responsible for overseeing Monash’s successful commercialisation program, establishing proof-of-concept and investment funds, and building strategic partnerships with investors and industry. Under his leadership, Monash has expanded its integrated commercialisation programs and strengthened investor networks, delivering a 500 per cent uplift in commercialisation revenues and contributing more than $200 million in research revenues.
Before this, he held senior leadership positions within Monash Innovation and chaired Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia, helping to shape national best practice in technology transfer and research impact. He also brings significant board and investment experience in Australian spin-outs and venture initiatives through tenures with Monash Ventures, IP Group Australia and BioCurate.
Uniseed Chair David Miles said, “Following an extensive executive search process, we are delighted to appoint Dr Alastair Hick as Uniseed’s next Chief Executive Officer. With his proven track record in research commercialisation and exceptional understanding of how academia and industry can intersect to drive innovation, Alastair is ideally positioned to lead Uniseed into its next phase of growth. I would like to acknowledge the outstanding leadership of Dr Peter Devine, whose vision and dedication over the past two decades have positioned Uniseed as both a national and global leader in research commercialisation, and seen it named the Most Impactful Research Investment Firm. Uniseed’s scorecard includes 74 start-ups which have raised more than $1.58 billion and employed more than 1,000 people, with 12 exits being achieved. The Board sincerely thanks Peter for his strong leadership and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.”
Having represented Monash on the Uniseed Board since 2023, Hick brings a deep, embedded understanding of Uniseed’s mission, portfolio and stakeholders. In addition to the Uniseed venture funds, which currently have $96 million committed, Uniseed has a $100 million partnership with UniSuper and another partnership with Uniseed's Co-Investment Fund Stoic Venture Capital.
Dr Hick said, “It is an honour to step from the Uniseed board into this important leadership position. Together with our research partners and with the support of our lead investor, UniSuper and co-investor Stoic Ventures, I look forward to building on the exceptional record established under Peter’s leadership, and to accelerate the translation of world-class discoveries into companies that deliver real impact.”
Outgoing CEO Dr Devine said, “Uniseed is at an important point in its history, and I congratulate Alastair on his appointment – he brings the expertise, vision and energy needed to build on our foundations and lead Uniseed in delivering the next wave of impact from Australian research. I’m immensely proud of what we have achieved at Uniseed with our partners over the past 20 years. We transformed from a proof-of-concept fund, primarily managed by two university tech transfer offices, into a leading commercialisation fund manager. I look forward to seeing Uniseed’s ongoing evolution and success.”
Founded in 2000, Uniseed is Australia’s longest-running early-stage commercialisation fund. It invests in research emanating from ten of Australia’s leading research organisations. They are The University of Queensland, The University of Sydney, The University of New South Wales, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, Macquarie University, University of Western Sydney, University of Newcastle, University of Technology Sydney and CSIRO. The fund facilitates the commercialisation of its research partners’ most promising intellectual property and secures targeted investment in resulting products and technologies. Several of its investee companies have gone on to become successful commercial enterprises.