Scott Watkins

About

CHEMISTS HAVE SOLUTIONS

I am based in both Seoul, Korea and in Melbourne, Australia.

In Seoul I am the Chief Sustainability Officer with KISCO, a Korean chemicals and inks manufacturer. My role is to help develop and implement our CSAG policies. I also continue to oversee our technical marketing and to assist with the development of new strategies and business areas.

In Australia, I have three main, voluntary roles. I currently serve as a non-executive director and Chair of the Board for both Pollinate Group and parkrun Australia and I am a board member of the Australia Korea Foundation (AKF). Pollinate Group is a social business based in Australia, India and Nepal. Pollinate Group empowers women as leaders of change to distribute household products, such as solar lights and cooking appliances, that improve health, save time and save money for the world’s most neglected communities. The parkrun organisation is the world’s largest running body. We organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in. The AKF was established by the Australian Government in 1992 to promote bilateral relations between Korea and Australia.

I have a PhD in Chemistry from UNSW and spent four years in the UK working in two start-up companies in the area of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). I spent 10 years with CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, as a research scientist and manager. Immediately prior to choosing to leave CSIRO, I was the Research Leader for Thin Film Photovoltaics in CSIRO’s Manufacturing Flagship, based in Melbourne, Victoria. In this role, I managed the research directions of our team and had responsibility for planning the commercialisation of our work. I managed projects on both OLEDs and solar cells and I coordinated CSIRO’s involvement in a number of national and international consortia aimed at developing applications of flexible electronics by linking industry with research.

I am an experienced manager of both people and projects. I have been successful in developing research and commercial strategies for the teams I manage as well as presenting results and capabilities to partners. I have managed projects with both government and commercial stakeholders. I am an experienced public speaker and have written extensively for scientific and general audiences across a range of media. In particular, I am experienced with a range of social media tools and with content creation for both video and radio interviews. I have personally planned a number of communication campaigns and have produced videos to promote the work I have been involved with.

Experience

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL IMPACT ARE MY PASSIONS

While I trained in Chemistry I have always had an interest in technology in general and the impact it can make on our communities. I have worked in a variety of management roles and am an experienced communicator.

WORK

Chief Sustainability Officer
Kyung-In Synthetic Corporation (KISCO)
Jan 2015 – Present
Seoul, Korea

I am leading the development and implementation of our CSAG policies. I also continue to manage marketing and communications for the company outside of Korea, particularly with regards to the development of new business activities. This is a role I began when I first joined KISCO as Chief Marketing Officer. My key responsibilities are leading our new sustainability, business and science strategies, marketing our capabilities to other companies, overseeing tradeshow preparations and designing campaigns in conjunction with our partners in countries around the world. I am responsible for all digital content and exhibitions as well as leading our new business development activities in several areas. I regularly represent the company and present on behalf of the company in industry forums.

President / Non-executive Chair of the Board
parkrun Australia
Dec 2016 – Present
Melbourne, Australia

I am currently serving as the Chair of the Board of parkrun Australia. My role is to assist with the governance and growth of parkrun’s operations in Australia. With over 400 events and around 1 million registered participants, parkrun Australia is now a significant contributor to the facilitation of health and community events across Australia. We organise weekly, free, timed, volunteer-run 5km run or walks that are open to everyone.

Chair, Non-Executive Director
Pollinate Group
Sep 2015 – Present
Melbourne, Australia

Pollinate Group is a social business based in Australia, India and Nepal. Pollinate Group empowers women as leaders of change to distribute household products, such as solar lights and cooking appliances, that improve health, save time and save money for the world’s most neglected communities. I began volunteering with Pollinate Group in 2014, as a Program Participant and have served as a director and Chair of the Board since 2015. As Chair of the Board, I oversaw our merger with Empower Generation in 2018 and the transition to our first non-founder CEO in 2019.

Research Leader Thin Film Photovoltaics
CSIRO
Feb 2009 – Aug 2014
Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

I managed our research projects on Thin Film Photovoltaics, specifically solar cells that can be made using printing processes. We worked on organic solar cells and nanoparticle-based inorganic solar cells. I developed this area of expertise within CSIRO and took it from a new area of fundamental science through to an investable manufacturing process. I managed projects involving 25 people in both Clayton and Newcastle, NSW. In my research management role I also coordinated our involvement in a number of national and international collaborations with other research institutes and companies. My role involved developing commercial and research plans for the teams I managed as well as presenting our results and capabilities to potential partners. I am an experienced public speaker and have written extensively for scientific and general audiences across a range of media. In particular, I participated in a number of television and radio interviews and directed and produced videos to promote our work.

In the final 6 months of my time at CSIRO I was an Acting Program Leader, responsible for around 80 staff. After choosing to leave the organisation my final contribution was to assist in the selection of the incoming management team for the new Manufacturing Program.

Research Scientist
CSIRO
Aug 2004 – Jan 2009
Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

I am a chemist by training but developed my expertise in the areas of materials characterisation and device fabrication for both organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs)

Research Scientist
Cambridge Display Technology
Jan 2001 – Aug 2004
Oxford, United Kingdom and Cambridge, United Kingdom

I worked initially as a postdoc at Oxford University, then as a research scientist at Opsys Ltd and then, following their acquisition of Opsys, as a research scientist and scientific consultant at CDT. I was mainly responsible for the development of phosphorescent emitters for OLEDs. I also spent one year as a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge.