Dr Rob Hough

Dr Rob Hough is the CSIRO Executive Director for Technology, National Facilities and Collections and a member of the CSIRO Executive Team. He has over 25 years’ of experience leading national-scale science, infrastructure and enterprise transformation.

Rob is recognised for shaping national research strategy and influencing policy settings that drive major research investments, alongside delivering large-scale operational leadership, with strong actions on safety and diversity.

Led the recent redesign of CSIRO’s research portfolio and the creation of the CSIRO Book, aligning capability, priorities and investment decisions across the organisation to the major problems we seek to solve in order to meet the ambitions across a range of Research Areas for Australia.

Currently leads the Technology, National Facilities and Collections (DNFC) sector (>1000 staff) and plays a central role in Executive-level investment and prioritisation decisions across CSIRO’s research portfolio and national infrastructure assets.

Rob brings a strong track record of translating science into national initiatives, shaping government policy and securing investment through partnerships across Australia and internationally, as well as taking research concepts through to commercial translation and utilisation at scale.

As an established senior leader, Dr Hough is also serving as a member of the WA Science and Technology Council, advising on the state’s strategic direction in research and innovation. Prior to his current role, he was appointed Director of CSIRO Mineral Resources in 2021, where he led work with industry to grow Australia’s resource base, improve productivity, and advance environmental performance. A geoscientist, with a BSc from the University of London and a PhD from the Open University (UK), he has published widely and was recently recognised for his research leadership with the Gibb-Maitland Medal for 2022, and he is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)