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Liza Noonan, an executive director at Investment NSW, has been appointed to lead Sydney-based deep-tech incubator Cicada Innovations.
Noonan replaces interim CEO Ingrid Marsh who stepped into the role after the departure in June of Sally-Ann Williams after six years during which she expanded the incubator to new facilities in Sydney and Melbourne for biotechnology, health tech and space.
Over the past 25 years, Cicada Investments has supported more than 400 startups, helping raise over $6 billion in funding and creating thousands of jobs.
The incubator works at the forefront of innovation with ventures that seek to create life-changing technology and apply cutting-edge science such as advanced materials, synthetic biology and artificial intelligence to challenges such as the future of human health, food security and the climate crisis.
Noonan is a founding CEO of female entrepreneurship network Springboard Enterprises in Australia and a former global director of CSIRO with experience in the innovation sector across the UK, Europe, Singapore and Australia.
"Liza brings extensive experience in innovation leadership, systems change and global collaboration,” says Katherine Woodthorpe, chair of Cicada Innovations.
“She has a great appreciation of the missions that deep tech founders and the public service share in trying to build a globally competitive sovereign tech economy.
"What unites the facets of Liza’s career is a clear throughline: a commitment to building vibrant, inclusive and connected innovation ecosystems.”
Woodthorpe says this closely aligns with Cicada’s mission to grow Australia’s deep tech economy and support ventures tackling society’s greatest challenges.
“We’re confident Liza will bring the right vision and momentum to lead Cicada’s next stage of growth,” she says.
"We are especially grateful to Ingrid Marsh for her steady and thoughtful leadership as acting CEO. Ingrid’s commitment and leadership have been instrumental in maintaining stability and focus during this transition."
Noonan, who was only appointed executive director of Investment NSW in July this year, says that joining Cicada Innovations is an “absolute career highlight” as the latest custodian of an organisation “so deeply purpose-driven and committed to supporting deep tech founders”.
“In 2024, two-thirds of venture deals in Australia were directed towards deep tech, so momentum and funding is flowing; but there’s still work needed to position Australia globally,” she says.
“Deep tech requires time and patience - not only because the science is so new, but because the problem space is highly complex.
“As a result, founders need more than just investors; they need access to industry groups, public policy networks, regulatory guidance, and global peers.
"We’re at a moment where Australia recognises that it holds both the natural endowments and the intellectual capital to arrest the assault on planetary boundaries, build national sovereignty in intelligent productivity and innovate to ensure the future resilience of our health system.
“But to realise this potential, Australia must position itself as a globally effective collective - one capable of attracting and securing the talent, customers, and capital needed to deliver at scale.”
Noonan says she believes that over the next five to 10 years, Cicada Innovations can become a leading force in accelerating transformative, science-based innovation, particularly across the Indo-Pacific.
“We can do this by becoming the destination and community of choice for deep tech founders, and by providing the critical inputs they need to scale on their own terms,” she says.
“I’m excited to lead action towards this vision.”
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