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South West Sydney native and Tesla chair Robyn Denholm is stepping down as a member-elected director at the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) after five years on the board, alongside two appointed directors from political backgrounds - Kate Jones and Victor Dominello.
The council highlights Denholm's central position in shaping the TCA since its formation, playing a key role in setting its strategic direction as a founding director and former chair - a role she handed over to Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar earlier this year.
"Robyn has been instrumental in shaping the TCA since its earliest days and the organisation is stronger because of her leadership and contribution. I also want to thank Kate and Victor for their service and the expertise they brought to the Board.
"I’m incredibly proud to have served on the TCA board for the past five years, and even prouder of what we’ve built together," Denholm says.
"While I’m stepping off the Board, I’ll absolutely remain a strong supporter of the TCA and a champion for our sector. This is a great moment for new leaders to put their hand up, join the Board, and help drive the mission forward.
"A huge thank you to our incredible members, my fellow Board directors and the entire TCA team."
In the spirit of the political bipartisanship the council aims to achieve, Jones and Dominello - former Labor and Liberal politicians respectively in the state parliaments of QLD and NSW - will be replaced by Jaala Pulford, Victoria's former Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, and Paul Fletcher, who held a range of portfolios in the Turnbull and Morrison governments.
The TCA notes that in her time in politics Pulford supported small businesses to modernise, partnered with global biotechs advancing rare disease treatments, and helped farmers increase productivity and profitability.
In recent years she has continued this work, collaborating with universities, founders and high growth companies to help them scale and compete on the world stage.
Meanwhile, Fletcher served as Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts in the Morrison Government and, more recently, as Shadow Minister for Science, Arts, Government Services and the Digital Economy.
Before entering Parliament he spent eight years on the senior management team at Optus, and since leaving politics he has continued to work across the communications, infrastructure and digital sector.
"Robyn has been instrumental in shaping the TCA since its earliest days and the organisation is stronger because of her leadership and contribution. I also want to thank Kate and Victor for their service and the expertise they brought to the Board," says TCA chair Scott Farquhar.
"As we welcome Jaala Pulford and Paul Fletcher, we are adding deep experience in public policy, technology and national industry development. Their appointments reflect the bipartisan approach that has always underpinned the TCA’s work and our focus on representing the full breadth of the Australian tech sector.
"With nominations now open for a new Member Elected director, this is an important moment for our members to help shape the next chapter of the organisation. We look forward to hearing from candidates who bring strong governance capability and a desire to support the sector’s growth."
Denholm's departure will take effect at the Annual General Meeting on 17 February 2026, while the departure of the outgoing appointed directors took effect yesterday and the new appointments of Pulford and Fletcher will take place tomorrow.
Nominations are now open for a member elected director to fill the vacancy left by Denholm, with the council encouraging nominations from across the full breadth of its membership.
Other current directors include Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen, Canva co-founder Cliff Obrecht, PEXA Group (ASX: PXA) CTO Eglantine Etiemble, CultureAmp founder Didier Elzinga, Silicon Quantum Computing founder Michelle Simmons, and the council's CEO Damian Kassabgi.
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