Dr Michelle Deaker

|   Location: Sydney, AU

Michelle is a Founding Partner and the Managing Partner at OneVentures. She serves on the investment committees of OneVentures funds and has led the capital raising activities for the firm. Her focus today is in the technology growth practice, though she has also worked extensively across both healthcare and technology investments.

With over 25 years’ experience building and investing in high growth technology companies across Australia and the US, Michelle has a proven track record in global business expansion and Australian R&D commercialisation. She has led or co led, and served as a Director of, several landmark investments including Employment Hero ($2B valuation, 13x ROI, Returned 1.5x Fund II), Phocas (7x ROI, acq. Accel KKR), Smart Sparrow (acq. Pearson Learning), My Mobile Data (acq. ASX: AYS), Hatchtech (Lic. to NYSE: RDY), and Vaxxas. Michelle chaired the Employment Hero board until December 2023 and continues to serve as a Director, alongside board roles at Vaxxas and Buildkite, and previously Phocas.

A current member of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payment Systems Board, Michelle is also a former board member of Australia’s National ICT Centre of Excellence (NICTA, now Data61), Seven West Media (ASX: SWM) and served on the NSW Government’s Digital Economy Taskforce.

In the lead up to founding OneVentures, Michelle worked for a leading family office on their alternative investments, served as an entrepreneur in residence at Southern Cross Venture Partners and was an angel investor.  Prior to her investment career, Michelle was a business entrepreneur and founder, including one of Australia’s first fintech companies, E Com Industries (www.giftvouchers.com) (acq. LSE: ReD, 4.6x, 70% IRR), IT services business, Networks Beyond 2000 and a tertiary tutoring business.

Michelle is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chief Executive Women (CEW). She was a founding advisory board member of Head Over Heels (now Apropela), supporting women entrepreneurs, and served on the advisory board of the Indigenous fund Ochre Ventures.

In addition to these roles, she lectures in the Australian Investment Council’s Foundations of Private Capital Venture Capital Course and is a Co-Founder of WinVC, a non-profit women-led initiative supporting the career trajectory of women investors in venture capital.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours), a Master of Science and a PhD in Applied Science.

|   BSc(Hons), MSc, PhD