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 of experience building and investing in high-growth technology companies in Australia and the US, she has a proven track record in global business expansion and Australian R&D. Michelle has led or co-led and been a Director of key investments in companies such as Employment Hero ($2B valuation, 13x ROI, Returned 1.5x Fund II), Phocas (10x EV growth), Smart Sparrow (acq. Pearson Learning), My Mobile Data (acq. ASX: AYS); Hatchtech (Lic. to NYSE: RDY) and unicorn Vaxxas. She chaired the board of Employment Hero until December 2023 and continues to serve on its board, as well as the boards of Phocas and Buildkite.

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