Larry R. Marshall is an Australian CEO, author and innovator who invented and commercialized the "eyesafe laser" enabling lasers to be used safely around humans,[1] and the semiconductor green laser which cures blindness in diabetics.[2] He founded 6 tech companies in the USA, delivered two IPOs[3] and is the longest serving CEO of the CSIRO, departing June 2023.[4] He currently Chairs American Chamber of Commerce, and Fortescue Innovation.[5]
Following his PhD work, Marshall lived in the United States where he spent time at Stanford University, founded 6 startups over 26 years,[18] and registered 20 US patents[19] which were the basis for his startups.[20]
Career
He was Australian Top 10 Digital Entrepreneur,[21] one of Australia's 10 most influential people in Tech,[22] an inaugural STEM Champion of Change,[23] & co-founded the following startups & VC Funds:
Light Solutions (CEO) invented semiconductor green laser curing blindness in diabetics, merger with Iris Medical created Iridex IPO’d on Nasdaq.[24]
Iriderm invented laser to treat Telangiectasia, was acquired by Nasdaq:CUTR[25]
AOC (Chair) created Optoelectronics for Cable TV, now public company in China[26]
Translucent (CEO, Chair) invented Silicon laser, formerly thought impossible, acquired by ASX:SLX, share price rose 10x post acquisition.[27]
Lightbit (CEO) invented optical chip enabling Telecom across USA in a single hop, acquired by Corelux.[28]
Arasor (MD, co-Chair) enabled wireless HD streaming video while Netflix was still mailing DVDs, IPO’d by Marshall[29]
Venture Capital firms Main Sequence,[30]Blackbird,[31] The Renewable Energy Fund,[4]Southern Cross Venture Partners.[32]
Marshall’s vision was for CSIRO to become an innovation catalyst to solve "Australia's Innovation Dilemma" he cites as a life mission.[37]
He reversed CSIRO’s 30y decline, created $10B more value that any prior CEO, and took CSIRO 80% of the way to Net Zero.[42] He doubled the female leadership of CSIRO, and credits Diversity for doubling the value created by CSIRO annually,[43] doubling the morale of its staff & their safety, and doubling its public Trust making it the most trusted iconic brand in Australia.[44]
He narrowed CSIRO’s focus to solving Australia’s 6 National Challenges: Health, Environment, Food, Energy, Future Industry, & National Security.[45] He created a National Missions program to solve these challenges, but opposite to EU Missions which are funded by government, his are funded primarily by Industry.[46]
He led CSIRO’s first acquisition, NICTA & created Australia’s largest AI group Data61;[47] created the ON Program, a National science accelerator that outperformed the famous US iCorps accelerator;[48] and raised the first VC Fund in Government, Main Sequence, now a $1B fund supporting scientist CEOs.[48]
Criticism
Marshall was subject to intense political criticism throughout his leadership of CSIRO:
When he was announced as CEO, he was asked about his inspiration for innovation, and cited the lengths farmers go to for water, including dowsing : "When I see that as a scientist, it makes me question, 'is there instrumentality that we could create that would enable a machine to find that water?"
In 2016, CSIRO deployed a water detection device as described by Marshall, and mapped underground aquifers, but the Australian Skeptics refused to withdraw their award.[51]
His narrowing of CSIRO’s focus required a 350 person reduction, including 60 climate scientists which drew intense criticism from scientists & the Australian Labor Party, & Greens,[52] including:[53][54]
3,000 signature petition from scientists across 60 countries[55]
Editorial in New York Times titled “Australia turns its back on climate science”[58][59]
50+ articles by Peter Hannam criticizing the changes[60]
2016 election promise by Labor to reverse Marshall’s changes[61]
Intense Public criticism of Marshall by famous scientists John Church,[62] Tony Haymet,[63] Andy Pitman,[64] and Senators Kim Carr, Janet Rice, Whish-Wilson said his position was "untenable", "his strategy failed", and he was "going down in flames".[65][66][67]
It was later shown that Marshall did not cut funding to climate science, but the prior leadership lost $20M of funding before Marshall arrived.[68] Despite the initial redundancies, Marshall grew CSIRO by 1,000 people, its first growth in 30y.[42][43][44]
In the midst of climate criticism, media reported he was being sued by angry shareholders in Arasor, which he had left 10y earlier.[69]
Marshall took Arasor public in 2006, and exceeded revenue expectations in 2006 and 2007,[70][71] making ASX:ARR one of the most successful tech IPOs of that time.[72] He left in 2007 and 5 years later in 2011 all the Directors were named in a speculative lawsuit launched by a litigation fund International Litigation Partners.[73][74] In a failed claim it had been alleged that Arasor's Directors produced misleading prospectuses.[75]
The case gained notoriety when it failed to show misstatements and was rejected,[76] but then plead market based causation[77] which does not require either damages or specific misstatements.[78] The case was closed in 2018 with no actions against any director,[79] but one of the plaintiffs was subsequently sued over "inflated claims".[80][81] International Litigation Partners was itself sued by the Australian Tax Office for tax evasion,[82] and its founder Paul Lindholm charged with resisting arrest.[83]
References
^ ab"An Efficient Eyesafe Source at 1.59 μm",
L.R. Marshall, R. Burnham, J. Kasinski, Advanced Solid State Lasers, OSA, vol. 6, pp. 271–276 (1990).
^ ab"Diode Pumped Solid-State Lasers in Ophthalmology" L.R. Marshall, LEOS'97, San Francisco, CA (1997)
^"All-Solid-State, High Power, Diode-Pumped 455 nm Laser" L. R. Marshall, Proceedings of Lasers '91, MD5 (Society for Optical & Quantum Electronics, 1991).
^Highly Efficient TEMoo Operation of Side-Pumped Nd:YAG Lasers"
L.R. Marshall, A. Kaz, R.L. Burnham, Opt. Lett., 17, pp. 186–189 (1991).
^Highly Efficient, All Solid-State 290 nm Source",
L.R. Marshall & A. Kaz, CLEO '94, post deadline paper, Anaheim, CA (1994).
^Noncritically phase-matched Degenerate 4μm OPO",
A.Kaz & L.R. Marshall; OSA Proceedings on Advanced Solid State Lasers (1994) Vol. 20 pp. 443–446, Advanced Solid State Lasers, Salt Lake City, UT, Feb 7–10 (1994).
