David Thodey to weave magic as CSIRO chairman

Former Telstra chief David Thodey had been ­appointed for a five-year term as the chairman of the CSIRO.

He was the saviour of Telstra, the humble chief executive who drove an old Toyota and who said he couldn’t justify his massive executive salary in light of humble working wages.

Now David Thodey will turn his particular brand of genius to the ­nation’s premier research ­organisation.

Mr Thodey had been ­appointed for a five-year term as the chairman of the CSIRO. The federal government is banking on the Thodey magic to help turn the research institution into a patent-filing, research-monetising, commercially motivated outfit that is deeply connected to business.

“The issue is about creating a greater culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Australia,” Mr Thodey said. “The CSIRO is the nationally funded science and research link with industry but there are many other pathways to creating a greater innovation ecosystem.”

Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane said under the leadership of Mr ­Thodey and freshly minted chief executive Larry Marshall, the CSIRO was going to have to increase its non-government sources of revenue.

“The CSIRO currently gets about a third of its budget separate to the money the government supplies,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“It would be great if we are able to increase that.”

Mr Thodey was keen to hose down concerns that the government’s relentless push for commercial results might come at the cost of science and research.

“It’s a balance. We need pure scientific research because that underpins innovation. We must be very careful not to compromise that core basic scientific research while still driving commercial outcomes,’’ he said.

The same was true for good research in areas such as the ­environment and border protection.

When asked about successive government funding cuts, including $110 million last year, Mr Thodey said he wasn’t really in a position to comment but “for me, cost management has ­always been a part of life”.

“We just to focus on whether we are truly creating value,” he said.

Mr Thodey’s appointment was widely applauded by many in the science community, including predecessor Simon McKeon, who described it as “extraordinary”.

“It doesn’t get any better than that. The only downside is he is going to make my term look pretty ordinary,’’ he said.

Brian Schmidt, a Nobel laureate who will take over as the vice-chancellor of the Australian National University in January, described it was “an outstanding appointment”, while Alan ­Finkel, a neuroscientist and ­entrepreneur, said Mr Thodey’s track record was perfect.