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Dr Lyndal Thorburn, Viria Pty Ltd

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Dr Thorburn is Managing Director & principal of Viria Pty Ltd, which she founded in 1996, and co-founder of Innovation Dynamics Pty Ltd (currently being voluntarily wound up). She is an experienced company director with over 15 years working in financial management, strategic planning, technology transfer, innovation & research commercialisation in the private sector, CSIRO & government. She continues to be a Research Associate at Macquarie University and in 2006 was appointed Adjunct Professor in Commercialisation at the University of Canberra. She has formal qualifications in science and legal studies and a PhD in economic geography, with her specialisation being innovation networks and development of technology-based industries in Australia.

Dr Thorburn is currently a Director of the National Health Sciences Centre Ltd and the National Folk Festival Ltd, the latter winning the Qantas National Tourism Award for Festivals in 2009. She was a past Director of The Australian Biotechnology Association (now AusBiotechLtd) for four years since then has held Councillor positions in Canberra Business Council and (then) Australian Business Ltd. Dr Thorburn was awarded the Telstra ACT Businesswoman of the Year Award in 2004 and for several years was a member of the International Advisory Board of the University of Ulster Research Park in Northern Ireland. www.viria.com.au

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  • Knowledge Economy Opportunities for Australian Firms in the Asia Pacific Region (Research)
    Feb 2004

    This briefing paper was produced for the Australian Business Foundation to stimulate debate and to explore options for engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.  Through a series of industry case studies, this paper demonstrates that there are untapped opportunities for Australian business in high growth knowledge intensive industries in the Asia Pacific region.  Although traditional commodity industries have contributed significantly to exports, the future lies in competing on superior knowledge and skills.  Within these industries there are hidden strengths that could be capitalised on, ie, adding valuable services to traditional products to provide customised solutions and adopting more sophisticated sales and marketing techniques.

    With a few exceptions, SMEs are lagging behind their competitors in adopting knowledge management approaches to capture their share of the export dollar in this rapidly growing regional economy.  These businesses would be better served by government policy which supports the potential for Australian businesses to tap into global production chains through better knowledge management processes and capabilities, rather than focusing on information and communications technology hardware and infrastructure. 

  • Friend or Foe? Leveraging Foreign Multinationals in the Australian Economy (Research)
    Jan 2002

    To what degree do multinationals influence, either positively or negatively, the growth, capacity and skills of Australian firms?  This study found that multinationals are more friend than foe but that the relationship is fragile and firms and policy makers need to be smarter about engaging with them to maximise the benefits of access to global knowledge, skills and markets. 

    By being demanding customers, multinationals contribute to better quality products and services which are more sought after in global markets.  If firms and policy makers can encourage multinationals to set down deeper roots in research, innovation and product development here, Australian firms can continue to capitalise on skills and knowledge transfer for their own gain, and this investment will act as a magnet for further investment to encourage more sustainable relationships with multinational firms.

  • Friend or Foe: Report Launch (Presentation)
    Tue Jan 01 2002
    Dr. Thorburn's powerpoint presentation from the launch of the research Friend or Foe? Leveraging Foreign Multinationals in the Australian Economy