Sarah Pearson is an internationally experienced Open Innovation practitioner, innovation ecosystem builder, scientist and advocate for collaborative innovation and entrepreneurship in Australia. She currently serves as the inaugural Chief Innovation Officer (CXO) at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). This role is responsible for leading, developing and scaling innovation practice and culture across DFAT and through whole of government activity.

Sarah has been actively involved in leadership of all parts of the innovation pipeline over the course of her career, as an employee, as a Board Director and through professional roles. She is passionate about helping Australia become an innovative nation, creating economic and social impact, and her advice is sought out regularly at all levels of Government regarding new policy, strategy and programs for Australian innovation.

She contributes to the growth of innovation in Australia through external roles in addition to her core roles. Relevant current examples include her position as Australia’s Innovation Leader in DFAT’s MIKTA group, member of Questacon’s Advisory Council, and member of the Investment Committee for CSIRO’s $200M VC fund, Main Sequence Ventures.

Sarah has published extensively through the media of TV, radio, books, academic journals, magazines and newspapers, and is an inventor on eight international patent applications for cancer diagnosis and novel confectionary. She was awarded a DPhil from the University of Oxford in particle physics, and has published research in the areas of particle physics, medical physics, artificial intelligence, innovation, science communication and science policy.