Associate Professor Cleola Anderiesz, Chief Executive Officer
Cleola is a senior executive leader with over 20 years of experience across the academic, not-for-profit, and public sectors. She has qualifications in science and health economics, a PhD, a Senior Executive MBA, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds extensive national leadership experience in strategy development, program design and implementation, and building productive cross-sector partnerships.
Cleola has worked as a medical researcher nationally and internationally in the field of reproductive biology. After leaving research, Cleola spent six years in the in the not-for-profit sector and 15 years with the Australian Government in a range of national leadership roles.
During her public service career, Cleola established and implemented national cancer initiatives spanning research, clinical trials, data, service development, and clinical practice. Cleola planned and managed the conduct of Australia’s first national audit of cancer research funding, and designed and implemented Australia’s first national collaborative cancer research scheme, bringing together 13 organisations to co-fund over 300 national cancer research projects totalling $113 million.
During her career, Cleola has contributed to the development of a range of clinical practice guidelines, policy reports, and data publications. She provided executive leadership in the development of a national framework for health professionals, service providers and policy makers to support the delivery of evidence-based, best-practice lung cancer care, and has led national initiatives in shared follow-up and survivorship care, regional cancer care, and professional education.
In 2018, Cleola led the implementation of the Australian Government’s first health Mission – the Australian Brain Cancer Mission, consolidating and developing over $47 million in funding partnerships. As Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Cancer Australia, Cleola provided senior executive oversight of a ministerially requested enquiry into lung cancer screening in Australia, and supported the development of Australia’s first national Pancreatic Roadmap.
Cleola is an Honorary Principal Fellow at the Melbourne School of Population & Global Health at the University of Melbourne, and has held positions on a variety of international, national, and state committees including membership of the International Cancer Research Partnerships (ICRP) Clinical Trials Outcomes Evaluation Committee, a member of Canteen’s National Reference Group for the Australian Youth Cancer Framework, and the Australia Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) Cancer Monitoring Advisory Group.