Executive Directors
Brad O'Connor
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Brad O'Connor has been Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CogState Limited since December 2005. Brad has responsibility for CogState’s overall strategic direction and day-to-day operations as well as development of expansion opportunities outside of the core clinical trials business. Brad is also a director of CogState Inc., CogState Sport Inc., and Axon Sports LLC (CogState’s joint venture in the North American sporting market). Prior to taking the position of CEO at CogState, Brad joined CogState as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary in May 2004. Prior to that, Brad held senior positions at Spherion Group, Australian Wine Exchange and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Brad is a chartered accountant who holds a Bachelor of Business degree.
Non-executive directors
Martyn Myer
Chairman
Martyn Myer (BMEng, MESc, MSM) is Chairman of CogState Limited. Mr Myer also chairs the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and the Audit and Compliance Committee. Until 30 June 2007 he was President of the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine and was a director of the Florey Neuroscience Institutes until May 2009. At the Howard Florey Institute he participated in the transition of the Institute’s research focus towards diagnostic and therapeutic neuroscience, including a focus on degenerative brain diseases. Mr Myer was appointed to the Council of the University of Melbourne in February 2009. Mr Myer obtained his Master of Science in Management at MIT in Boston, and his Master of Engineering Science at Monash University, Melbourne. During the last three years, Mr Myer has also served as a director of the following listed companies:
- Diversified United Investment Ltd
- SP Australia Networks (Transmission) Ltd
- SP Australia Networks (Distribution) Ltd
David Simpson
Independent non-executive director
David Simpson (BA, Hons) is an independent non-executive Director He sits on the Audit and Compliance Committee as well as the Remuneration and Nomination Committee. Most recently he was the CEO of the Bluearth Institute, a Melbourne based not-for-profit enterprise established to develop programs that promote health and fitness through increased physical activity. Previously he was Senior Partner at Doremus Communications, the largest US business to business agency. From 1985 to 2001 he held a series of senior management positions in Asia, South Africa and North America as well as Australia for the multinational advertising agency, J.Walter Thompson.
Richard van den Broek
Independent non-executive director
Mr van den Broek (Graduate of Harvard University, CFA) is an independent non-executive director. He is founder and managing partner of HSMR Advisors LLC, a U.S. based fund manager with an investment emphasis on small and mid-cap biotech public companies. From 2000 through 2003 he was a Partner at Cooper Hill Partners, LLC, an investment fund focused on the healthcare sector. Prior to that Mr. van den Broek had a ten year career as a biotech analyst, starting at Oppenheimer & Co., then Merrill Lynch, and finally at Hambrecht & Quist.
Mr. Rodolfo (Rudy) Chapa
Non-executive director
Mr Chapa is a principal of US-based Quixote Investments LLC. Mr Chapa previously served as the global director of sports marketing at Nike Inc. He left Nike in 2001 to pursue his own entrepreneurial interests. Through a controlling interest in BC Sports, Quixote founded SPARQ, Inc in 2004. SPARQ (Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness) became the standardised test for athleticism as well as leading manufacturer of athletic training equipment and programs. The test, called the SPARQ Rating, is a sport specific assessment of athleticism with unique testing protocols for six sports including; American football, soccer, baseball, basketball and general athleticism. SPARQ was sold to Nike in 2009 for an undisclosed sum.
