Full Name
Ash Kirvan
Job Title
Head of Partnerships
Company
Unearthed
Speaker Bio
Ash Kirvan has a 15 year career scaling innovative businesses in the startup and corporate sectors, having spent 10 years overseas in China, Canada, Latin American & the US. Since returning to Perth in 2020 he led the successful turnaround of an Australian-US fintech company, and is currently the Head of Partnerships for Unearthed.
Prior to returning to Australia, Ash was a Founding Partner at Polymath Ventures, a venture studio launching high-growth technology companies in emerging markets. Since 2012, Polymath Ventures has launched 8 companies, raised US$35M and grown to a group of 250 staff in 4 countries. He led the development of a number of new business concepts, hired & coached venture founders, and led key elements of operations, growth, fundraising and governance.
Prior, he spent 7 years at WorleyParsons, where he left as a Director. There he led product development and international expansion for the global sustainability & risk division, including scaling a national business in Canada to a team of 45 staff. He is familiar with the challenges of corporate entrepreneurship, having tackled the internal and external challenges to developing & scaling new products. His time at the firm gave him diverse experience across executive, operational, project and advisory roles, as well as extensive experience with post-merger integration. While in the role he published a number of articles on decision-making in complex project and multi-stakeholder landscapes.
Ash is a frequent speaker on topics around innovation and entrepreneurship, with notable appearances including HBS, Yale & Wharton conferences and US State department events.
He graduated with first class honors in Environmental Engineering and Physics at the University of Western Australia, and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Prior to returning to Australia, Ash was a Founding Partner at Polymath Ventures, a venture studio launching high-growth technology companies in emerging markets. Since 2012, Polymath Ventures has launched 8 companies, raised US$35M and grown to a group of 250 staff in 4 countries. He led the development of a number of new business concepts, hired & coached venture founders, and led key elements of operations, growth, fundraising and governance.
Prior, he spent 7 years at WorleyParsons, where he left as a Director. There he led product development and international expansion for the global sustainability & risk division, including scaling a national business in Canada to a team of 45 staff. He is familiar with the challenges of corporate entrepreneurship, having tackled the internal and external challenges to developing & scaling new products. His time at the firm gave him diverse experience across executive, operational, project and advisory roles, as well as extensive experience with post-merger integration. While in the role he published a number of articles on decision-making in complex project and multi-stakeholder landscapes.
Ash is a frequent speaker on topics around innovation and entrepreneurship, with notable appearances including HBS, Yale & Wharton conferences and US State department events.
He graduated with first class honors in Environmental Engineering and Physics at the University of Western Australia, and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Speaking At
