More than 600 people filled the Grand Ballroom of the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins for BioMelbourne Network’s highly anticipated 2025 Connecting Women Lunch – a flagship celebration of women and people identifying as women across our health technology sector. With guests flying in from interstate, the energy was unmistakable.
The event drew founders, senior executives, researchers, clinicians, investors, and policy leaders representing start-ups, scale-ups, multinationals, and manufacturers, research institutes and universities, government bodies, legal, regulatory, and clinical trial experts, investors and financers, as well as talent-matching agencies – a powerful cross-sector mix spanning early-career professionals to accomplished CEOs. As one regular Connecting Women Lunch attendee noticed: “The room reflects our entire sector. And I see it’s getting stronger every year.”
Among the guests were the Honourable Georgie Crozier MP, Victoria’s Shadow Minister for Health; the Honourable Cindy McLeish MP, Victoria’s Shadow Minister for Women, Prevention of Family Violence and Crime Prevention; Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne Roshena Campbell; Councillor Gladys Liu and senior executives from CSL, BioMelbourne Network’s Premier Sponsor since 2010.
BioMelbourne Network CEO and host of the Connecting Women Lunch, Karen Parr, acknowledged the Traditional Owners of the land, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, and paid tribute to the generations of First Nations women whose knowledge and leadership continues to shape health and wellbeing today. She also highlighted that the presence of the distinguished guests and the generous support of the event sponsors confirmed the importance of championing diversity, leadership, and inclusion across the health technologies sector.
Karen Parr also reminded the room that the event was not just a celebration, but a call to action: “Diversity isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a strategic advantage. And inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.”
From courageous conversations to catalytic careers
Two powerful on-stage discussions with a deeply human lens explored women’s health and careers experience, innovation, and leadership, and proved a bright highlight of the day for many. These stories captured the event’s core theme: leadership shaped by lived experience, purpose, and connection.
Associate Professor Misha Coleman of the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer (ACPCC) sat down for a candid conversation with Kerrie Castor, a proud Djab Wurrung woman, drama and dance educator, and community advocate.
Together, they shared reflections on access, innovation and impact in a heartfelt, open and humorous way, spotlighting how self-collection HPV testing is transforming cervical cancer screening across Australia and the Indo-Pacific. The self-collection testing is one of Australia’s great health success stories, empowering more people to screen safely, confidently, and on their own terms. It’s a game changer for many women in particular in remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and women facing cultural or personal barriers to much more intrusive, traditional screening methods.
As a global leader in cervical cancer elimination, Australia is on track to become the first country in the world to achieve it. The ACPCC – the Connecting Women Lunch 2025 charity partner – plays a pivotal role in this effort with programs across Australia and the Indo-Pacific to improve early detection, support healthcare professionals, and drive health equity.
Misha and Kerrie’s openness, humour and clarity captured the room. As one attendee said: “It was raw, funny, but beautiful and grounded in real-world impact. And I loved that they reminded the men in the room to think about bowel cancer testing too.” Donations are still being accepted to support ACPCC’s work in Australia and the Indo-Pacific via their website.
The power of visibility and the value of lifting others
A panel discussion, hosted by Dr Bev Menner, CEO of Cell Therapies, delved into career journeys – sometimes unexpected, often nonlinear, and always meaningful. Dr Amandeep Hansra (GP, investor and co-founder of Australian Medical Angels), Sally Kinrade (Vice President, Medicines Development for Global Health), and Prof Vera Ignjatovic AM (Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins; Principal Consultant, Translational Research, BioMelbourne Network Director) each shared stories of career pivots, imposter syndrome, and the critical role that allies, mentors and courage have played in their professional growth.
Dr Hansra’s reflection resonated widely: “I remember thinking, ‘I don’t look like a CEO.’ But just because I hadn’t seen it, didn’t mean I couldn’t be it.”
Prof Ignjatovic spoke about her decision to invest in herself – quite literally – by completing an executive MBA after recognising a gap in her ability to engage with industry; a decision she has not regretted, although many thought it would unnecessary. Reflecting on her career journey, she also reminded the audience that sometimes we’re hired not for what’s on our CV, but for the value others see in us: “At some point, I was not employed for the skills that were actually advertised … but it was because of my elite sport experience [as an Olympian] that I had all of these other skills that they recognised as being important.”
Sally Kinrade shared how her current work, delivering new medicines to women in sub-Saharan Africa, is only possible because one person saw her potential and backed her. “Now I’m doing that for others,” she said. “And that’s how change multiplies.”
An honest and powerful start
The event began with a deeply moving video from Premier Sponsor CSL, featuring women across the organisation candidly sharing their experiences of women’s health. Described as “honest, wonderful and raw,” the video set the tone for a program that balanced humour and seriousness, celebration and strategy.
CSL’s Executive Director of HR, Devon Anderson, introduced the video, reflecting on CSL’s commitment to equity, leadership and impact across more than 100 countries.
At the close of the event, CSL gifted attendees a curated selection of books exploring themes of agency, health equity, identity, and empowerment. From confronting the beauty myth to rewriting personal and professional narratives, the books served as a thoughtful take-home reflection on the afternoon’s themes and were extremely well received.
Marking ten years of the BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership Awards
BioMelbourne Network CEO Karen Parr also took time to acknowledge the 10-year anniversary of the BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership Awards – a milestone that feels especially poignant in a time when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are being questioned or rolled back.
This year’s awardees included:
Dr Jane Oppenheim – Impact for Industry (Ego Pharmaceuticals)
Sally Kinrade – Making it Happen (Medicines Development for Global Health)
Dr Anne-Laure Puaux – Mover and Shaker (WEHI & WEHI Ventures)
Explore the Roll of Honour here.
Sponsors, supporters, and a sector united
As the event drew to a close, with door prizes, flowers, a room still buzzing, and more networking available, many reflected on how much the event has grown over the years. One guest, who attended the very first Connecting Women Lunch, remarked: “Back then, there were only a handful of men. Now they’re at nearly every table. That’s progress worth celebrating.”
BioMelbourne Network thanks its generous sponsors of the 2025 Connecting Women Lunch whose support made this highly-popular event possible:
Premier Sponsor: CSL
Major Sponsors: City of Melbourne, Radium Capital, Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick
Signature Sponsors: Avatar, Melbourne Convention Bureau
Supporting Sponsors: mexec, Cell Therapies, Telix Pharmaceuticals, Crux Biolabs, La Trobe University
To everyone who attended, donated, spoke, shared and connected: thank you. Together, we’re building a sector that is innovative, inclusive and, above all, human. We’ll publish a photo gallery soon. Please keep an eye on our LinkedIn page and sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter In the Loop for news about it.
