Kiara Bechta-Metti

Kiara Bechta-Metti is Founder and Principal of Lead Technology Partners, a consulting firm specialising in technology evaluation, search and acceleration.

Kiara has over 25 years’ experience in technology commercialisation, finance and new business development through working with a number of small entrepreneurial companies, large research dependent organisations and investment banks. Kiara established the Technology Transfer office at the University of Adelaide as well as leading the Agriscience portfolio. Prior to moving to Adelaide, she was responsible for commercialising a wide portfolio of technologies developed by the CSIRO across agriculture, food, health and mining. She has a passion for science and business and continually looks for opportunities to combine these activities.

Her strong leadership, strategic thinking and tenacity to build and conclude transactions has led to the development of several start-up businesses and significant revenue to CSIRO.

Starting her career as a Molecular Biologist, working on the development of therapeutics to treat a number of autoimmune diseases, has led to a strong grounding in genetics and immunology.

A passionate science educator. Through her role as an equities research analyst for both UBS and Deutsche Bank, focusing on biotech, healthcare services and medical device companies she was able to provide the investment industry with easy to understand descriptions of the technologies underpinning their potential investment.