Massey Ventures’ Mark Cleaver awarded industry honour

For the past 13 years Mr Cleaver has overseen Massey Ventures – a company that commercialises the university’s intellectual property and innovative research.

Regarded by many as a pioneer of public research commercialisation in Aotearoa New Zealand, Mr Cleaver has built Massey Ventures from a passive holding company into a successful early-stage investment company, leading the creation of more than 20 start-up companies and helping negotiate the largest licensing deals in Massey’s history.

His commitment to championing commercialisation is evident in his work with students and researchers to support the next generation of commercialisation professionals.

"This is an amazing profession that we work in. To be the bridge between the curiosity driven world of science and the fast-paced world of business is hard, but also incredibly rewarding,” Mr Cleaver says.

“I consider it a privilege to work in this space, and my hope is that this award means I have made some contribution to the development of our profession over the past 25 years.

“To see the quality of the people working in commercialisation is really encouraging, none more than the super talented young team at Massey Ventures who I share this award with.”

Massey’s Director of Commercialisation and Intellectual Property, Dr Dan Carlisle said Mr Cleaver is a worthy recipient of the honour.

“We’re thrilled to see Mark recognised as the Australasian Commercialisation Professional of the year. Mark’s expertise and thought leadership continues to drive commercialisation of innovative research at Massey, and he has had a profound impact on New Zealand’s commercialisation ecosystem.”

During the conference, KCA released the annual Survey of Commercialisation Outcomes from Public Research (SCOPR) report. Massey retained its place in the top 10 institutions across Australasia judged by number of active start-up and spinout companies.