Early-stage fund Uniseed appoints Monash’s Alistair Hick to replace Peter Devine as CEO

Uniseed, Australia’s longest running early-stage commercialisation fund, has named Dr Alastair Hick to replace CEO Dr Peter Devine when he steps down from the role at the end of December.

Hick, who has spent the past 20 years driving innovation and commercialisation outcomes at Monash University, will officially become CEO in January.

His appointment follows the announcement in June by Devine that he would be leaving at the end of this year after almost two decades with the fund.

Uniseed says Hick, who has represented Monash on the Uniseed board since 2023, will lead the fund through the next phase of its 25-year history, following a transition period through December.

Uniseed was founded in 2000 as a $20 million joint venture between the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland and since then has emerged as one of Australia’s leading venture funds focused on early-stage opportunities, connecting university discoveries with industry to drive innovation.

Chairman David Miles says Hick was appointed to lead the fund after an extensive executive search process.

“With his proven track record in research commercialisation and exceptional understanding of how academia and industry can intersect to drive innovation, Alastair is ideally positioned to lead Uniseed into its next phase of growth,” says Miles.

“I would like to acknowledge the outstanding leadership of Dr Peter Devine, whose vision and dedication over the past two decades have positioned Uniseed as both a national and global leader in research commercialisation, and seen it named the Most Impactful Research Investment Firm.”

Miles notes that Uniseed’s scorecard includes 74 startups which have raised more than $1.58 billion and employed more than 1,000 people, with 12 exits being achieved.

Among them is Fibrotech, a biopharma company that developed a new class of drugs for the treatment of fibrosis, which was acquired by Shire Plc in 2014 for US$557 million.

The list also includes Spinifex, a developer of pain drugs, which was sold to Novartis International the next year for US$700 million, and headlice treatment company Hatchtech, which was sold to Dr Reddy's Labs in a US$200 million deal.

“The board sincerely thanks Peter for his strong leadership and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours,” says Miles.

Hick has served as Monash’s inaugural chief commercialisation officer since 2021, leading translation, investment and entrepreneurship.

The role saw him oversee Monash’s successful IP commercialisation program, establish proof-of-concept and investment funds, and build strategic partnerships with investors and industry.

Uniseed says that under his leadership, Monash has expanded its integrated commercialisation programs and strengthened investor networks, delivering a 500 per cent uplift in commercialisation revenues and contributing more than $200 million in research revenues.

Hick also brings significant board and investment experience in Australian spinouts and venture initiatives, through tenures with Monash Ventures, IP Group Australia and BioCurate.

“It is an honour to step from the Uniseed board into this important leadership position,” says Hick.

“Together with our research partners and with the support of our lead investor, UniSuper and co-investor Stoic Ventures, I look forward to building on the exceptional record established under Peter’s leadership, and to accelerate the translation of world-class discoveries into companies that deliver real impact.”

In addition to the Uniseed venture funds, which currently have $96 million committed, Uniseed has a $100 million partnership with UniSuper and another partnership with Uniseed's Co-Investment Fund Stoic Venture Capital.

Devine has welcomed Hick’s appointment as CEO at an “important point” in Uniseed’s history.

“He brings the expertise, vision and energy needed to build on our foundations and lead Uniseed in delivering the next wave of impact from Australian research,” he says.

“I’m immensely proud of what we have achieved at Uniseed with our partners over the past 20 years.

“We transformed from a proof-of-concept fund, primarily managed by two university tech transfer offices, into a leading commercialisation fund manager. I look forward to seeing Uniseed’s ongoing evolution and success.”