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You are Silicon Coast

Silicon Coast is the leading representative body for entrepreneurship and innovation across the Sunshine Coast. Igniting collaboration by supporting and developing the regional ecosystem;
Silicon Coast advocates for a give first value driven approach; a critical component of the “Boulder Hypothesis”, a term referenced globally by community stakeholders seeking pathways to build a region's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Since 2014 this ethos has led to introductions between entrepreneurs; knowledge exchange; new collaborations and development of new community leaders.

Our Vision
To be a conduit in co-creating the most innovative and entrepreneurial region within Australia.

Our Mission
To develop, support, and steward a nationally accessible, vibrant ecosystem that maximises collaboration, creativity, innovation, and sharing. This is achieved through continuous involvement in activities with stakeholders, supporting industry associations by connecting talent with facilities and councils, and those organisations that aspire to greater success through innovation.

Our Board

Craig "CJ" Josic

Co-Founder & Chief Engagement Officer at Silicon Coast & Forward Fest

CJ is a visionary leader with a passion for inspiring innovation, fostering collaboration, and building a lasting legacy. With over a decade of dedicated work in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation on the Sunshine Coast, his contributions have been instrumental in shaping the success of Silicon Coast and its mission to become the most innovative and collaborative region in Australia.

As the co-founder and director of Silicon Coast, CJ's vision and dedication have been the driving force behind the organisation's achievements. Through flagship events like Forward (FWD) Fest, Silicon Coast actively drives economic growth while supporting and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, including startups, SMEs, universities, and government agencies, Silicon Coast has built a powerful ecosystem that propels progress and positions the region as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

CJ's unwavering commitment to collaboration has been recognized by Advance Queensland, further solidifying his role in building a legacy of shared knowledge and strategic partnerships. Over the years, his experience and expertise have laid the foundation for Silicon Coast's continued success, fostering an environment where businesses and ideas can flourish, and economic growth is continuously fueled.

With CJ's leadership and a thriving community of like-minded individuals, Silicon Coast stands at the forefront of innovation, actively shaping the region's future while leaving a lasting legacy for generations.

Renee Coman

Director Silicon Coast and Associate Director Stanford University

Thriving in a digital landscape, Renee has an inherent ability to identify pain points and create viable solutions. She has done this previously within various National HR roles in Australia’s telecommunications industry and locally here on the Sunshine Coast at Australia Zoo.

As an entrepreneur Renee founded Distance Assistance in 2017, delivering sustainable health & wellbeing solutions for organisations with remote workforce via Wellbeing Express, an innovative 24/7 wellness platform delivering relevant content with activity-based metrics.

Renee is also a Community Leader connecting local entrepreneurs, businesses, government stakeholders and community members. This is achieved by organising experiential learning events, such as Startup Week and Startup Weekend, delivering workshops to improve the digital literacy of Queenslanders as a 2019 Queensland Digital Champion. Finally, as the Business Development Marketing Manager of the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast. Her drive is to grow innovation and business capacity on the coast, providing a platform for others to stand up, speak up and cause a ripple effect.

Bryton Wishart

Chairperson of Silicon Coast & Co-Founder of VINTI Tech

A Solution architect who focuses on designing solutions leveraging telecommunication networks and Microsoft technologies. A strong focus on automating solutions to help businesses focus on their business instead of technology. Enjoys working in the start-up world where business environments are dynamic and skills in developing new business units such as managed services from design, implementation and lifecycle.

Simon Kaplan

Non Executive Board Member of Silicon Coast & Founder at Urban Institute

Simon Kaplan is an outstanding entrepreneur, academic, strategist and organisational leader. Highlights of his career include:

• Over $100m of research funding from sources including the Australian Research Foundation, Australian Government, National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, US Army, IBM, HP, Intel, AT&T, Texas Instruments, Fujitsu, Bull, Sun Microsystems and Digital Equipment Corporation.
• Academic positions at the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign, University of Queensland and University of Cape Town.
• Executive Dean, Faculty of Science & Technology at QUT.
• Head, School of ITEE at UQ.
• Principal Scientist, CRC for Distributed Systems Technology.
• Director, NICTA Queensland.

Currently, Simon is CEO of [ui!] the urban institute in Asia-Pacific, and founder of the [ui!]'s Asia-Pacific operations. His primary focus is on business development across Australia, New Zealand and into the broader Asia-Pacific region.
Simon's unique background and experience allow him to work with clients across technology and organisational issues to develop multi-faceted solutions that catalyze improved organisational vision and strategy, service provision, performance and technology delivery.

Angela Lisle

Non Executive Board Member of Silicon Coast & Director - Technology, Cybersecurity, Creative & Adv Manufacturing TAFE Queensland

Savvy diplomatic skills and a natural affinity for cultivating relationships and persuading, convening and building consensus among diverse individuals. Extensive professional experience with strong analytical and interpersonal skills, providing strategic advice and direction in digital transformation and change management, with a history of award-winning performance in information technology, cybersecurity, creative industries, project management and innovation.

Rob Steffler

Non Executive Board Member of Silicon Coast & Founder of GCC DeLorean Project

DeLorean Project Founder/Facilitator, Educator, Disruptor, Entrepreneur, Speaker/Presenter... believing for radical change to our Education System.

Experienced educator with a demonstrated history of working in the primary/secondary education industry. Strong and proven leadership/management skills. Expertise in Timetabling, Classroom and Behaviour Management, Educational Technology, and Curriculum Development. Passionate about innovation and disruption to Education and believing for radical change to the system.

Our Volunteers

Ben Walker

Louise Bertram

Luke Humble

Jordan Josic

Elana Morrow

Gary Swanepoel

Proudly supported by Advance Queensland and Sunshine Coast Council.

@SILICONCOAST_AU

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