Executive Director of new Defence Trailblazer named

Senior engineering and management professional Dr Sanjay Mazumdar has been announced as Executive Director of the four-year Defence Trailblazer for Concept to Sovereign Capability (CSC), a program allocated $50 million by the previous federal government.

University of NSW – which leads the Trailblazer with University of Adelaide – described Mazumdar as a “proven chief executive and board director” in a statement on Monday, with over 30 years in the sector. 

Mazumdar’s CV includes roles as Head of Engineering Operations and Acting Engineering Director at BAE Systems Australia and, most recently, Technology and Defence Industry Partner at KPMG Australia. He said he was pleased to be contributing to the defence innovation ecosystem through the new role.

“My initial focus will be to work with the team to ‘understand, plan and mobilise’ the project. We will understand the priorities for all the stakeholders, plan the programs to deliver on those priorities and mobilise the team to deliver at pace,” Mazumdar said on Monday.

“The four-year timeline for the program reflects the urgency of the strategic threat landscape as well as the urgency of the need for change within the innovation system. It also means we will need to be very focused in the program and work at pace in an agile manner.”

According to a statement it made in April regarding its successful application, the CSC will include $50 million in contributions from its two universities, $10 million from the CSIRO, and over $140 million from more than 50 industry partners located around the country, with a total of approximately $250 million pledged.

It estimates a net economic benefit of $1.5 billion over 10 years through its upcoming projects.

The former federal government’s Trailblazer initiative, worth $362 million funding in total, was part of the former federal government’s strategy to improve the commercialisation of publicly-funded R&D. Each Trailblazer focusses on a theme within manufacturing – including mineral processing, defence, and space – with $50 million in federal money per centre supplemented by cash and in-kind contributions from university and industry partners.

Funding for each Trailblazer was confirmed in last week’s federal budget delivered by treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Picture: credit UNSW