Qualifications
BEc (Hons), MEc , MPA (Harvard)

Professional experience
Mr Rasmussen was recently engaged by the Victorian Government to contribute to its Nanotechnology Statement and is currently conducting interviews with senior executives in nanotechnology on behalf of the Federal Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research as part of an OECD nanotechnology project. He is currently heavily involved in the Pharmaceutical Industry Project funded by the Merck Company Foundation and others. His work has focussed on business models, business strategy and industry development issues. He has completed a number of papers on the role of pharmaceutical alliances and the implications of business strategies for pharmaceutical industry development in Australia. He played a key role in the ARC General Purpose Technology project which examined the convergence of IT, biotechnology and nanotechnology and the Small Scale Technologies strategy project completed for the Victorian Government. He led the work on the Economic Impact of the Australian Synchrotron for the Australian Synchrotron Project.

He joined CSES in 1998, with a brief to strengthen and develop its businesses, to improve the financial viability of its research programs and to strengthen the Centre’s research capability in terms of commercial, business and financial analysis. Initially he focussed on strategic issues affecting the Centre itself and the development of TradeData, an Internet based trade information business operated by the Centre. Recently he has become more involved in the Centre’s research programs, has played a leading role in the work on an economic impact study of knowledge economy based projects and an assessment of a health insurance initiative for developing countries. He also led a number of training programs for Chinese government officials, including one on financial liberalisation for the People’s Bank of China.

In Government he has held a number of senior positions, most significantly as Assistant Director General, Finance in the Department of Management and Budget of the State of Victoria. The position was one of five or six that reported to the Director- General (head) of the Department. A major focus of the position was to improve the management of the Government’s financial assets and liabilities. This entailed the development of policies that were central to the State’s financial strategies. During this period he become a board member of a number of government bodies including Deputy Chairman, VicFin, the government’s international borrowing arm and the National Mortgage Market Corporation. He also played a major role in a wide range of official publications, including budget papers, strategy documents and industry and financial analyses.

Mr Rasmussen has had a career spanning the senior levels of both the public and private sectors. He spent seven years at the ANZ Bank, one of Australia’s big four banks and a company with substantial activities in Europe and Asia. In the ANZ he held various senior business strategy roles, most notably as Chief Manager, Retail Strategy in the Retail Bank and Chief Manager, Development of the Private Bank. In these and other roles he was intimately involved in the development of the Bank’s strategic response to the massive technological and organisational changes which took place in banking through the 1990s. He was also responsible for a wide range of businesses and industry analyses and strategic planning reports.

He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a Master of Economics and a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) both from La Trobe University (Melbourne). At Harvard he was made a Littauer Fellow – awarded on the basis of academic excellence, career and leadership.

Publications

Journal articles

Rasmussen, B. 2007, ‘Is the commercialisation of nanotechnology different? A case study approach’, Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice.

Book chapters

Rasmussen, B. 2006, ‘Innovation and industry structure in the biomedical industry: Role of alliances’, in B. Grewal and M. Kumnick (eds), Engaging the New World: Responses to the Knowledge Economy, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.

Research reports

Rasmusssen, B. and Maharaj, N. 2008 Engineering and Infrastructure Cluster, CCC Briefing Paper, Report to Victoria University Cluster Study Project, December, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmusssen, B., Houghton, J. and Maharaj, N. 2008 ICT Cluster, CCC Briefing Paper, Report to Victoria University Cluster Study Project, December, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. and Maharaj, N. 2008, Health Cluster, CCC Briefing Paper, Report to Victoria University Cluster Study Project, December, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. and Maharaj, N. 2007, Financial and Economic Services Cluster, CCC Briefing Paper, Report to Victoria University Cluster Study Project, December, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. and Maharaj, N. 2007, Transport and Logistics Cluster, CCC Briefing Paper, Report to Victoria University Cluster Study Project, October, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. and Maharaj, N. 2007, Education and Transition, CCC Briefing Paper, Report to Victoria University Cluster Study Project, September, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. and Maharaj, N. 2007Sports and Physical Recreation, CCC Briefing Paper, Report to Victoria University Cluster Study Project, August, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. and Maharaj, N. 2007, Trends in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry, CCC Briefing Paper, Report to Victoria University Cluster Study Project, July, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Sheehan, P., Rasmussen, B. and Sweeny, K. 2007, ‘Developing an Integrated Approach to Emerging Health Challenges’, Framework Paper prepared for the APEC Life Science Innovation Forum V, Adelaide, 19-20 April.

Sheehan, P., Rasmussen, B. and Sweeny, K. 2006, ‘Sustainable Health Care Systems to Support Innovation’, paper commissioned to be presented at the Fourth Annual APEC Life Science Innovation Forum (LISF), Hoi An, Vietnam, 6-7 September.

Rasmussen, B. 2005, An Economic Evaluation of the Impact of the HSW Initiative, report to Victorian Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne, May.

Sheehan, P., Sweeny, K., Rasmussen, B., Tegart, G. and Nicolau, D. 2003, Small Scale Technologies: Directions for Victoria, Report to the Victorian Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, Melbourne, September.

Houghton, J., Rasmussen, B. and Sheehan, P. 2003, The Australian Synchrotron Project: An Economic Impact Study, Report to the Victorian Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, October, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B., Jolley, A. and Sweeny, K. 2001, Freight Modal Split, Report prepared by the CSES for the Australian Representative for the November 2001 meeting of the C19 Committee of PIARC, Mumbai, India, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Sheehan, P., Houghton, J. and Rasmussen, B. 2001, Project Assessment in a Knowledge Based Economy: Identifying and Measuring the Dynamic Benefits, Report prepared for The Victorian Department of State and Regional Development, KPMG, Melbourne, September, 44 pp.

Rasmussen, B. 2001, Relevance and Timeliness of SOCIAL RE, Report to the ILO, CSES, Melbourne.

Houghton, J., Pappas, N., Rasmussen, B. and Ray, D. 1999, National Synchrotron Light Source, Report to the Industrial Synchrotron Roundtable, Strategic Industry Research Foundation.

Working papers

Rasmussen, B. 2007, ‘Trends in Biopharmaceutical Alliances for the Key Business Models’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 37, December, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2007, ‘Response of Pharmaceutical Companies to Biotechnology: Structure and Business Models’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 33, August, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2007, ‘Business Models and the Theory of the Firm’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 32, June, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2007, ‘Open Innovation and the Networked Firm’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 31, May, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2006, ‘Strategic Assets, Networks and Business Models: The Case of Bioinformatics’, General Purpose Technologies ARC Linkage Project Working Paper, June, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2005, ‘Commercialisation Processes in Bioinformatics: Analysis of Bioinformatics Patents’, CSES Working Paper No. 26, March, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2005, ‘Commercialisation Processes in Converging Technologies: Case Study of Bioinformatics’, CSES Working Paper No. 25, March, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2005, ‘Developing the Biomedical Industries in Canada and Australia: An Innovation Systems Approach’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 24, February, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2004, ‘Alliance Opportunities for Aus Biotechs’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 23, June, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2004, ‘The Biomedical Sectors in Australia and Canada: Comparative Policy Analysis’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 22, June, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2004, ‘An Analysis of the Biomedical Sector in Australian and Canada in a National Innovation Systems Context’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 21, July, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2004, ‘The Biomedical Sectors in Australia and Canada: A Comparative Analysis’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 20, May, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2004, ‘Innovation and Industry Structure In the Biomedical Industry: Some Preliminary Results’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No.17, February, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2003, ‘Aspects of the Pharmaceutical Business Model: Implications for Australia’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No.15, August, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. and Sweeny, K. 2002, ‘Development Paths for Australian Biomedical Firms’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 8, September, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2002, ‘The Role of Pharmaceutical Alliances’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 2, June, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Rasmussen, B. 2002, ‘Implications of the Business Strategies of Pharmaceutical Companies for Industry Development’, Pharmaceutical Industry Project Working Paper No. 1, March, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Houghton, J. and Rasmussen, B. 2002, ‘The Convergence of Information Technology and Biotechnology: Bioinformatics Developments and Implications’, CSES Working Paper No. 19a, CSES, Victoria University, Melbourne.