The Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, supported by The Star, was delighted to host a boardroom lunch on 21 September 2018 with Dr Ian Blackburne, Chairman, Aristocrat, who led a roundtable discussion on Aristocrat’s growth, driven by its focus on investing in innovation, R&D and its people, and its most recent expansion into Digital via two international acquisitions, including the recent acquisition of leading Israeli online games developer, Plarium.

Dr Ian Blackburne is the Chairman of Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ALL), a role he has held since December 2010 (having joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in September 2009).

Ian has been a Director of various public companies for more than 15 years, including formerly Teekay Corporation (listed on the NYSE), CSR Limited, Recall Holdings Limited, Suncorp-Metway Limited and Symbion Health Limited. He has also been Chairman of Recall Holdings Limited, CSR Limited, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and the Royal Botanic Gardens. A former research scientist, he has over 25 years of experience in the petroleum industry in technical, manufacturing, marketing and strategic planning roles, including as Managing Director of Caltex Australia Limited.