John Skerritt PhD

Adjunct Prof John Skerritt joined the Australian Department of Health in 2012 as a Deputy Secretary. In this role, he has been part of the national leadership of Australia’s response to the COVID -19 pandemic as well as a regular spokesperson on TV, radio, print, and online media and with community groups. He also has line responsibility as head of Australia’s medicine, medical devices, cell and tissue, and blood regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration as well as leading the Australian Office of Drug Control.

He was formerly a Deputy Secretary in the Victorian Government, Deputy CEO of a Commonwealth Statutory Authority, senior research manager in CSIRO, and in industry joint venture partnerships. From 2009-2012, he was Chair of the Board of a global technical NGO and a board member for two further years. Apart from development assistance and governance skills he has extensive experience in medical, agricultural, and environmental policy, as well as regulation, research management, technology application, and commercialization.

Prof Skerritt is an Adjunct Full Professor at three Australian Universities, has a Ph.D. and a University Medal from the University of Sydney, and has international qualifications (London Business School, IMD Switzerland) in management.

Prof Skerritt has extensive experience in working in all countries of South East Asia, having traveled for business to various SE Asian countries over 150 times in the last 30 years. He has been awarded medals by the Vietnamese and Cambodian Governments for contributions to the national technological and economic development of both countries. He was also the 2012 winner of the Rotary “Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award”, for leadership of development assistance for education, food security, and income generation in response to the East Timor crisis and the response to the southeast Asian 2004 boxing day tsunami and leadership in the environmental NGO sector.

Currently, he leads a program of assistance to support regulatory strengthening, including in the response to COVID-19 in Asia-Pacific developing countries. Prof Skerritt is also chair of the Asian Development Bank’s Regional Vaccine Advisory Group, established by the President and Board of ADB in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.