Cellular Agriculture Australia names Joanne Tunna as new CEO

Cellular Agriculture Australia (CAA) has appointed Joanne Tunna, its current chief program officer and first employee, as chief executive officer, succeeding Sam Perkins, who led the organization since 2022. Perkins will remain as a strategic adviser through 2027. The transition comes as CAA scales its work across policy, investment, and ecosystem development for Australia's food biomanufacturing sector, following its recent integration with Food Frontier.

"Jo has been fundamental to that journey and brings deep organisational knowledge, an exceptional ability to translate strategy into action, and a clear vision for CAA's next chapter."

—Chloe Dempsey, Chair, Cellular Agriculture Australia

• Tunna was CAA's first employee and has worked closely with Perkins to build the organization into what the board describes as a national voice for the sector.
• CAA also appointed Ashley Mackinnon as director of policy and advocacy; he brings experience from Australian Dairy Farmers, the Victorian Farmers Federation, and the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association.
• The organization recently integrated with Food Frontier and now delivers longer-term initiatives spanning policy, investment, and ecosystem development for food biomanufacturing and plant protein ingredient sectors in Australia.