Multi-university-backed incubator Cicada Innovations has lost its chief executive and managing director Petra Andrén, who has decided to spend more time with her family.

Petra Andrén (pictured) has stood down as chief executive and managing director of Cicada Innovations, an Australia-based incubator backed by multiple universities, after almost three years in the post. Cicada Innovations is a deep tech-focused startup accelerator owned by Australian National University, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Andrén intends to spend more time with her family overseas following her resignation, according to the Australian. She started with Cicada in March 2012 as director of strategy and business development, before receiving a promotion to become joint chief executive in 2015 and then securing the leadership in her own right the following year. Andrén has performed her duties on top of a number of other roles for academic and industry bodies, including an advisory chairwoman appointment at government grant-making body Science and Industry Endowment Fund and a global ambassador role at incubator trade body International Business Innovation Association. Since 2016, Andrén has also acted as the director of mezzanine lending firm Bizcapital and as an advisory board member for the advanced MBA program at UTS Business School. She previously served on the advisory board for University of Sydney’s accelerator program Incubate from 2015 until 2017, and was a post-graduate lecturer on that university’s international business, startup and new opportunities course from 2013 until 2015. Andrén’s earlier jobs included almost five years with Australian government-owned research institute Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation as an ad-hoc consultant, business development and commercialisation manager from 2002 until 2006. She was welcomed on board by human protein products maker Octapharma in 2007, joining initially as a government liaison manager and business manager for intensive care before taking on a leadership role as managing director for Australia and New Zealand in 2010.

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