Dr John Raff has broad based experience in management and investment in innovation based pharmaceutical and agricultural businesses. He completed a PhD at Melbourne University in 1982 in the area of molecular biology and cell recognition.

He was the founding CEO of Starpharma, a listed biotech company with laboratories in Melbourne and Michigan. John recently retired from the CEO position and is now Deputy Chairman of Starpharma. He is also chairman of the BioMelbourne Network, a not for profit industry organization based in Victoria.

John has also been involved in establishing agricultural companies including Dovuro which was leader in the canola seed industry. He established Nutrihealth Pty Ltd, which developed a healthy heat stable frying oil "Monola".