We're thrilled to announce that Associate Professor Mohamed (Mo) Dirani will be our ACTIVATE 2025 Executive in Residence.

A/Prof Mo Dirani is an Australian entrepreneur, scientist and the founder of Plano, an award-winning health tech startup that leverages patent-protected technological solutions, educational tools and AI to address short-sightedness in children.

Mo served as the company’s Founding Managing Director from August 2017 to March 2024 and now holds the position of Chair of the Board, while also being an active member of its Science and Innovation Advisory Group.

Plano’s investors include prominent Singaporean government entities, angel investors, venture capitalists, and one of the world’s leading ophthalmic pharmaceutical companies, Santen.

With a wealth of leadership, fundraising (securing seed to Series B funding), and business experience, Mo has played a pivotal role in expanding Plano's footprint across Singapore, Southeast Asia and, more recently, China, where the company’s strategic growth is centred.

Mo led Plano from its early concept stages to commercialisation in both local and international markets, often being the first mover in the industry.

In parallel with his entrepreneurial journey, Mo has held key academic roles at world-class medical research institutes and universities. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Duke-NUS Medical School and an honorary Principal Investigator at the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA).

Mo has led several landmark population-based studies, including Australia’s first study on the burden of blindness in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. During his tenure heading CERA's Health Services Department, Mo completed an MBA at the Australian Institute of Business (AIB) and graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Mo earned his PhD from the University of Melbourne at the age of 26, producing the world’s largest twin study on the genetic and environmental risk factors in eye disease. He holds ten patents as a primary inventor, has published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts in medical journals, and authored several government and industry-commissioned reports.

Mo has received numerous scholarships, fellowships, and prestigious scientific and industry awards. He is also the author of The Plano Adventures, a best-selling children's book series published by Marshall Cavendish, which is distributed globally in print, eBook and audio formats and is used in all schools in Singapore.

As our ACTIVATE 2025 Executive in Residence, Mo will be joining us regularly at CHICC in Melbourne to provide mentorship, tailored advice and actionable feedback to our cohort companies.

ANDHealth thanks Duane Attree for serving as our ACTIVATE Executive in Residence in 2023 and 2024. Duane's mentorship has made a profound impact on our first two cohorts and he will continue to play a valuable role this year as an industry expert.

ACTIVATE is free for Victorian companies thanks to the support of our program partner LaunchVic.