Larry R. Marshall

Larry Marshall
Born Sydney
Education Macquarie University
Occupation CEO of CSIRO
Employer CSIRO
Known for Physicst
Venture Capitalist
Chief Executive
Website CSIRO profile

Larry R. Marshall is an Australian venture capitalist and physicist. In January 2015, he became chief executive of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency and one of the most multidisciplinary research organisations in the world.[1]

Marshall was born in Sydney and he received both his undergraduate and postgraduate education, including a PhD in physics, at Macquarie University. He was a cadet scientist at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

Following his PhD work, Marshall went to the United States where he participated in R&D efforts as an entrepreneur. [2] He is the inventor of some 20 US patents[3]

Laser development

At Macquarie University, Marshall performed research with J. A. Piper on stimulated Raman scattering.[4][5] While in the United States his research work was mainly on the development of parametric oscillators,[6] diode laser-pumped solid-state lasers,[7] fiber lasers,[8] and laser stabilization.[9]

Marshall's views on the CSIRO

As Chief Executive of CSIRO, Marshall has argued that this organization is uniquely positioned to help tackle Australia's "innovation dilemma".

"Australians are great inventors: as a nation, we’re responsible for more than 100 great inventions, such as fast WiFi, ultrasound for medical imaging and the Cochlear implant. But of those, only one has built a great domestic tech company. This is our innovation dilemma."[10]

He credits the diversity of CSIRO as the driver behind its successes so far, and the foundation for its potential in the future.

"The genius and the power of CSIRO is distributed – it’s in our people, our partners and our community. We know a diversity of views is critical to innovation performance."[11]

In July 2015, Marshall launched CSIRO's 5 year strategy for 2015-2020, "Australia's Innovation Catalyst". In a novel approach for the 90-year-old science body, it crowd-sourced ideas and suggestions from more than 7000 people including its research partners, other collaborators, its own staff and the public to help determine the direction of the strategy.

"Australia currently ranks 81st* in the world when it comes to innovation efficiency - the bang for our buck we get when we transform innovation investment into results. If that was a team sport ranking, we'd be outraged. As a country, we need to work together to improve this result. Australia's prosperity, health and sustainability is closely bound to our capacity for innovation – and CSIRO has a key role to play here."[12]

The strategy identifies a number of key ways CSIRO will deliver on its strategy: crowd sourcing; collaboration; entrepreneurialism; customer focus.[13]

A more 'entrepreneurial' CSIRO

Dr Marshall, described in the business press as a ‘serial entrepreneur’ and a ‘venture capitalist’, has speculated that the combination of ‘technical capability, business ability and risk-taking instinct’ figured strongly in his appointment as CEO.[14][15][16] In welcoming Dr Marshall’s appointment, former Industry Minister, Ian McFarlane, said his “significant commercial experience”, particularly his “experience in Silicon Valley, R&D development and the commercialisation of products and ideas” would assist in “fostering stronger links between business and science”.[17] CSIRO chairman Simon McKeon said Marshall’s combination of scientific and business experience equipped him to develop commercial opportunities for research and technology developments.[18]

Marshall has referred to himself as a ‘company builder’, and he has urged CSIRO to be more entrepreneurial: “I think [CSIRO scientists] are hungry to be entrepreneurial, I think they’re hungry to increase their customer awareness, but they just don’t know how to do it because they haven’t done it before.”[19] At the time of his appointment Marshall indicated his intention to break down “technology silos” within the CSIRO, and make the organisation more ‘market facing’.[20] Marshall has stated that he wants to replace the “treadmill” of ‘bad revenue” (“the revenue that you have to go out and earn starting from zero every quarter”) with “good revenue”, founded upon “a really good market vision”: “You can’t just go to industry and say tell me what problem to solve; you have to go to your customers and try to understand their markets … and then invest the money to create the solution that you think their market is going to need.”[20]

However, Marshall – who says he has found inspiration in Netflix’ “high performance culture”[21] – has struggled in his attempts to apply the language of ‘startups’ and the logic of market disruption within the CSIRO.[22] Moreover, in making the transition from 'venture capitalist' to being the CEO of a large public sector institution with a 100 year history of public good science, Marshall has had to confront challenges of scale as well as culture. Marshall himself admits that prior to his appointment to the CSIRO the largest company he has ever run had only 300 employees, whereas the CSIRO has 5000 employees and an annual budget of AUS $1.2 billion.[20]

Marshall has also been dogged by controversies from his time in the private sector, including allegations of misconduct by a group of former investors from collapsed IT company, Arasor International.[23] In an ongoing claim before the Federal Court, it has been alleged that Dr Marshall, former Arasor executive chairman Simon Cao and other directors produced highly misleading prospectuses and financial reports and falsely claimed the company was on track to make millions of dollars in profit.[24][25]

Controversy over climate research cutbacks

Australian and international scientists have criticized Marshall's cutbacks to CSIRO's basic research, particularly on climate change. CSIRO announced layoffs of 350 researchers in the agency's shift to more commercial enterprises. The cutbacks included the Cape Grim research station in north-western Tasmania, which has measured airborne greenhouse gases since 1976, and Australia's participation in the Argo ocean observation program, which has 3,800 floats about 180 miles apart, which collect data on sea currents, salinity and temperature. A petition by 3,000 scientists from more than 60 countries called the cuts “devastating” and said that research stations like Cape Grim are “critical and irreplaceable” to global climate science, because they will monitor how well other countries are complying with their international agreements. One scientist said that basic research on climate change was particularly important to Australia, which was particularly vulnerable with its desert, wildfires, and drought. CSIRO officials said that the measurements at Cape Grim and Argo would continue, but scientists said that the climate science team would lose 70 to 100 scientists, which would leave them unable to manage and interpret the data that they are collecting.[26][27][28][29]

Climate scientists attending the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) climate science conference in Melbourne stage protest against cuts to CSIRO climate research programs. Photo: John Englart

Sydney Morning Herald's environment editor, Peter Hannam, broke the story about CSIRO's proposed cuts to its climate research and capability on 4 February, 2016, shortly after Marshall had advised staff by email that, whilst CSIRO's climate models "are among the best in the world", global climate change had been proved.[30] In his email, Marshall wrote: "That question has been answered, and the new question is what do we do about it, and how can we find solutions for the climate we will be living with?" [30] The Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, UNSW Australia, Professor Andy Pitman described this assertion as "among the most ill-informed statements I have ever heard from a senior executive."[31] Other experts rallied to vigorously challenge the underpinning logic of CSIROs proposed changes[32] [33] [34] prompting Marshall to issue an official statement on 8 February alleging "incorrect reporting by media".[35] In his statement Marshall claimed that CSIRO's plans had been misrepresented and, although Marshall claimed that the CSIRO would retain the ability to support climate measurement in Australia, he nevertheless defended the decision to demote climate change research and measurement: "No one is saying climate change is not important, but surely mitigation, health, education, sustainable industries, and prosperity of the nation are no less important."[36] In defending his decisions, Marshall told the ABC "I guess I had the realisation that the climate lobby is perhaps more powerful than the energy lobby was back in the '70s - and the politics of climate I think there's a lot of emotion in this debate", adding "In fact it almost sounds more like religion than science to me"[37] Marshall later backed away from these statements under questioning by Labor Senator Kim Carr in a subsequent Senate Estimates hearing.[38][39]

The CSIRO's proposed cuts to climate research and measurement have been subjected to intense scrutiny by the international science community.[40] The controversy even merited an editorial in the New York Times.[41][42] In Australia the CSIRO's plans also attracted intense political scrutiny by the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Greens.[43][44][45] In addition, major questions have arisen about the adequacy of the governance and due diligence applied by the CEO and senior managers to decision-making around the proposed cuts and adherence to formal processes around consultation with staff and unions.[46][47] Marshall himself has admitted to a degree of naivety on his part, saying that he had not anticipated "how much politics this job would entail."[48][49]

On 8 and 9 March 2016, the Senate Select Committee into the Scrutiny of Government Budget Measures convened public hearings in Hobart and in Melbourne for the purpose of "looking at the potential ramifications of proposed cuts to the CSIRO".[50] [51] Chair of the Hobart hearing, Senator Whish-Wilson(Australian Greens) commented at the end of that day's testimony: "I do not think much has been thought through about this decision, to be honest, looking at the weight of evidence that the committee has received."[50] In a subsequent hearing in Melbourne, the former chief of CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Professor Tony Haymet, offered the following testimony: "The capability of the CSIRO that the executive proposes to cut is vital and is greatly needed for the future of all Australians." He went on to say that: "it seems that there is a complete lack of trust from these executives in their most valuable assets—the people who work for CSIRO". This, he suggested, "is unprecedented".[52] Documents provided by the CSIRO to the Senate Select Committee in response to Questions on Notice from the Hobart hearing appeared to confirm the scale of the proposed cuts to CSIRO's climate change research and monitoring capability.[53]

In a radio interview with Alex Sloan on Canberra's ABC 666 on 9 February 2016, former Liberal Party Leader John Hewson said the government is "cutting down the CSIRO’s capacity to monitor climate change" despite the reality that "there’s still more to be done". Why, he asked, would you "be sending negative signals while at the same time you’re trying to send positive signals about innovation and a sensible response to [climate change]". The "problem", he concluded is that "[Malcolm] Turnbull did a deal with conservatives in the Party to stay with the Abbott climate change policies". This, he said, "doesn’t make any sense in a world where we have to accelerate the response to climate change".[54] On 21 March 2016, in an interview with the host of Radio National's Late Night Live, Phillip Adams, former Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Terry Moran AC, said of the CSIRO's intention to cut 350 positions - including those associated with climate change research - "I don't know what the CEO or the Board thought they were doing when they made such a big change like that, you might have to make adjustments over time but to do it just a few months out from an election and totally disrupt lots of good work that's being done by the CSIRO in [climate change] and other fields is odd, odd, very odd. "Silly", as you said."[55]

Skeptics criticism

In 2014, Marshall was awarded the Australian Skeptics Bent Spoon award for being the “perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudo-scientific piffle” after publicly endorsing water divining. Marshall said that it is CSIRO's job to “push the envelope”.[56]

References

  1. ↑ The Guardian, December 2014
  2. ↑ "Dr Larry Marshall". people.csiro.au. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  3. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald, October 2014
  4. ↑ L. R. Marshall and J. A. Piper, Transient stimulated Raman scattering in lead vapor, IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 26, 1098 - 1104 (1990).
  5. ↑ L. R. Marshall and J. A. Piper, Accumulation of Raman gain between closely spaced pulse pairs, Opt. Lett. 1345-1347 (1990).
  6. ↑ L. R. Marshall and A. Kaz, Eye-safe output from noncritically phase-matched parametric oscillators, JOSA B 10, 1730-1736(1993)
  7. ↑ L. R. Marshall, J. Kasinski, and R. L. Burnham, Diode-pumped eye-safe laser source exceeding 1% efficiency, Opt. Lett. 21, 1680-1682(1991).
  8. ↑ L. R. Marshall, Fiber stub end-pumped laser, US Patent 5,663,979 (1997).
  9. ↑ L. R. Marshall et al., Pulsed laser with passive stabilization, US Patent 5,982,789 (1999).
  10. ↑ Marshall, Larry. "Innovation Challenge: teamwork drives realisation of great ideas". News @ CSIRO. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  11. ↑ "What the new head of CSIRO told us a month into the job". News @ CSIRO. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  12. ↑ "Science masterplan for Australia's growth - CSIRO". www.csiro.au. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  13. ↑ "The ingredients (and our vision) for a smart society". News @ CSIRO. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  14. ↑ "Entrepreneur Larry Marshall to head CSIRO". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  15. ↑ Ross, John (15 October 2014). "New CSIRO ‘fiddler’ Larry Marshall has many strings to his bow". The Australian. News Ltd. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  16. ↑ Milman, Oliver (2014-10-08). "CSIRO appoints Larry Marshall as new chief executive". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  17. ↑ Tongway, Marge. "New CSIRO Chief Executive to build industry connections". Ministers for the Department of Industry and Science. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  18. ↑ "CSIRO’s new business savvy CEO". The Land. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  19. ↑ Safi, Michael (2014-12-04). "New CSIRO boss Larry Marshall says scientists must think like entrepreneurs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  20. 1 2 3 "KGB Interview: CSIRO's Larry Marshall". www.businessspectator.com.au. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  21. ↑ Readfearn, Graham (2016-02-04). "After climate cuts at CSIRO, who should we ask about global warming impacts on Australia? Netflix?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  22. ↑ "Science friction: Larry Marshall, CSIRO 2.0 and the politics of innovation". Financial Review. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  23. ↑ A, Moogy. "Collapsed IT company attracts strong interest from potential buyers - SmartCompany". SmartCompany. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  24. ↑ Thompson, Renee. "CSIRO chief taken to court by shareholders of collapsed ASX listed business - SmartCompany". SmartCompany. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  25. ↑ Shanahan, Leo (14 July 2015). "CSIRO head Larry Marshal sued over technology firm collapse". The Australian. News Ltd. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  26. ↑ Scientists Protest Cuts and Commercialization at Australian Climate Center, By MICHELLE INNIS, New York Times, FEB. 27, 2016
  27. ↑ 'Maybe I'm naive': CSIRO's Larry Marshall tries again to explain deep staff cuts, Peter Hannam, The Sydney Morning Herald, February 11, 2016
  28. ↑ Backlash against CSIRO’s ‘cowboy’ chief Larry Marshall; As Larry Marshall signals cuts to various programs, CSIRO staff say he is either out of his depth or has questionable motives – or both. By Martin McKenzie-Murray, The Saturday Paper, Feb 20, 2016
  29. ↑ CSIRO chief defends climate research cuts as staff weigh up industrial action; Larry Marshall says there will be no net loss of staff over two years as international climate scientists condemn the cuts, by Michael Slezak, Guardian, 8 February 2016
  30. 1 2 "'Climate will be all gone' as CSIRO swings jobs axe, scientists say". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  31. ↑ Pitman, Andy. "CSIRO boss's failed logic over climate science could waste billions in taxes". The Conversation. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  32. ↑ Jones, Roger. "CSIRO cuts to climate science are against the public good". The Conversation. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  33. ↑ Hamilton, Clive. "CSIRO is poised to slash climate research jobs – experts react". The Conversation. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  34. ↑ "CSIRO cuts: Without climate modelling, we won't be able to adapt". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  35. ↑ CSIRO. "Correcting the Public Record on Changes at CSIRO". www.csiro.au. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  36. ↑ CSIRO. "Correcting the Public Record on Changes at CSIRO". www.csiro.au. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  37. ↑ "Politics of climate 'more like religion than science': CSIRO boss". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  38. ↑ "CSIRO boss sorry for 'more like religion than science' comment". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  39. ↑ "ParlInfo - Missing File" (PDF). parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  40. ↑ Hannam, Peter. "CSIRO climate cuts 'devastating', almost 3000 scientists tell Malcolm Turnbull in a letter". Canberra Times. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  41. ↑ The Editorial Board (2016-03-04). "Australia Turns Its Back on Climate Science". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  42. ↑ "'Deplorable misunderstanding': New York Times criticises CSIRO cuts". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  43. ↑ Senator Lisa Singh (2016-02-23), CSIRO Cuts - Adjournment Speech, retrieved 2016-03-24
  44. ↑ "CSIRO climate science cuts a test for Turnbull: Greens". Australian Greens. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  45. ↑ "LATEST NEWS". Australian Greens. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  46. ↑ Hannam, Peter. "CSIRO chief Larry Marshall points his ship into a scientific storm". Canberra Times. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  47. ↑ "CSIRO staff launch challenge to controversial shake-up". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  48. ↑ "Science friction: Larry Marshall, CSIRO 2.0 and the politics of innovation". Financial Review. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  49. ↑ Hannam, Peter. "'Maybe I'm naive': CSIRO's Larry Marshall tries again to explain deep staff cuts in video". Canberra Times. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  50. 1 2 "ParlInfo - Missing File" (PDF). parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  51. ↑ "ParlInfo - Missing File" (PDF). parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  52. ↑ "ParlInfo - Missing File" (PDF). parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  53. ↑ Hannam, Peter (23 March 2016). "New CSIRO document reveals scale of planned cuts to climate programs" (PDF). Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  54. ↑ Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2016. Alex Sloan interview with Dr John Hewson. 666 ABC Radio, Canberra. 9 February 2016.
  55. ↑ "Governments in chaos: Who has the answers?". Radio National. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  56. ↑ "Bent spoon for CSIRO head". Australian Skeptics Inc. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
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