Merete Daniel Nielsen

President  - TCI Network / Director - Cluster Excellence Denmark

Merete Daniel Nielsen is co-founder and co-director of Cluster Excellence Denmark, supporting Danish clusters on competence development, professionalisation and internationalization. For the last 20 years, she has acted as an expert and leader in cluster and innovation projects at regional, national and international level mainly in Europe. She is member of the new Commission Expert Group on Clusters, at the European Commission.

Dr Christian Ketels

Chairman - TCI Network Board of Advisors

Christian holds a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and further degrees from the Kiel Institute for World Economics and Cologne University. He was awarded an Honorary PhD in Economics and Business Administration by Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland.

His research themes include the impact of structural changes in the global economy on business, from macroeconomic trends to global trade, the role of innovation, and the repercussions of changes in political and societal conditions. He has also deep expertise in developing growth strategies for countries and regions, and analyzing the strategic role of locational choice for companies..

Tracy Scott-Rimington 

Oceania Chair - TCI Network

Tracy Scott-Rimington works with RDA Brisbane, facilitating the internationalisation of the region's high value knowledge-based clusters and supporting the formation of national clusters. As economic developer and cluster expert, she raises awareness of the value of a cluster approach for economic competitiveness in different forums and specialized events.

Eric McNulty

Associate Director and Program Faculty at the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI)

Eric J. McNulty holds an appointment as Associate Director and Program Faculty at the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI), a joint program of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and as an Instructor at the Harvard School of Public Health. His work centers on leadership in high-stakes, high-stress situations. McNulty also works with the Program for Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Harvard Chan School.

In addition to his work with the NPLI, McNulty teaches in executive education programs as the Harvard Chan School, Harvard Medical School, Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, the University of California/San Diego, and the UVA Darden School of Business. He has led executive trainings in North and South America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He has spoken at conferences and symposia worldwide.

Madeline Smith

Head of Strategy at the Innovation School, The Glasgow School of Art

Madeline Smith specialises in strategy and evaluation for clusters, innovation and triple helix collaborations.  She has a strong interest in innovation, the role that collaboration can play, and how evaluation needs to evolve to capture the wider value of collaborative working and behavioural change.

Madeline combines experience from public, private and academic sectors, having started her career in industry, before moving to Scottish Enterprise leading their approach to clusters and industries strategy.  She leads TCI’s International Working Group on Cluster Evaluation, and is on the board of a number of triple helix collaborations including the Digital Health Institute and the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre.

Bill Greuel 

CEO - Protein Industries Canada

Bill Greuel is the CEO of Protein Industries Canada. Applying his passion for all things agriculture, Bill will lead the development of PIC’s programs, resources, and initiatives to connect and inspire Canada’s plant protein potential.

Bill brings an extensive background in the agriculture industry. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Deputy Minister, Regulatory and Innovation for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. His Ministry experience also includes Executive Director of the Crops and Irrigation Branch, Provincial Oilseed Specialist and Research and Development Manager. In addition to his public sector experience, Bill has also worked for a biotech start-up, spent several years in the canola industry and earned progressive leadership roles in a large multi-national agriculture company.

Emma Greenhatch

General Manager, Food Agribusiness Network (FAN), Sunshine Coast, QLD

For the past 4 years Emma has been leading Australia's fastest growing NFP food and agribusiness cluster. She is a food industry specialist who has held senior roles in the not-for-profit, government and private sectors, including a focus on business growth strategies, international trade, marketing and event management.

Renowned for her leadership, resourcefulness and communications skills, she has managed a wide range of complex projects. She has built a strong reputation for problem solving and action.

Dr Colin McIvor 

Cluster Manager at Subsea Innovation Cluster, Perth WA

Dr Colin McIvor has over 28 years’ experience with global consulting firms in engineering, resources and management consulting.  Col started his career as an aircraft fitter in Belfast and holds an engineering degree and PhD from Kings College, London and has a strong background in engineering computer simulation and running expert teams and applying this to technical risk management.  He has extensive experience in establishing communities of practice, lessons learned, knowledge and collaboration platforms and initiatives.

Shamubeel Eaqad

Economist – Sense Partners NZ

Shamubeel is one of New Zealand’s highest profile economists.  He is a thought leading public speaker, author and media commentator with a keen interest in regional development and clusters.  He has over a decade of experience as an economist in Wellington, Melbourne and Auckland with leading international banks and as a consultant.  He is on various boards of charities and commercial firms.  He writes on issues that matter to New Zealand and gives voice to the unheard.