Prerana Mehta (2014 Alumna) - CEO, Australian Council of Learned Academies

At the helm of one of Australia’s most future-focused research institutions, the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA), Prerana Mehta brings a unique blend of regional fluency, cultural intelligence, and global foresight to her role. ACOLA provides a forum for experts—Fellows—from Australia’s five national academies of science, engineering, health and medical sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences to advise the Australian Government on future-focused policy. 

As CEO, Mehta coordinates this collective brain trust. “We bring together our Fellows across disciplines to tackle questions thrown at us by ministers or departments—often on complex, cross-cutting issues like climate resilience, artificial intelligence, or biosecurity,” she says. 

It’s a task that requires not only intellectual coordination but cultural and strategic dexterity—skills Mehta has honed over decades. It is not a simple endeavour, especially in an era when “almost everything’s becoming multidisciplinary in nature,” Mehta says. 

Mehta’s multidisciplinary instincts were honed throughout a career spanning science, diplomacy and trade, with roles at CSIRO, AustCyber, and as Australia’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner in Singapore. Her regional focus sharpened during the Asialink Leaders Program. “It came exactly at the right time,” she reflects, to take the next step to position herself on the government career ladder. “I needed to equip myself with the right tools and mindset to lead effectively.” 

Those tools proved to be more than technical. Having grown up with Indian heritage, Mehta spent years navigating her dual identity in Australia before realising it was a strength. “Being Indian gave me an intuitive understanding of power dynamics, communication styles and cultural nuance across the region. Over time, I’ve come to see it as a distinct advantage,” she explains. 

Her lived experience across Asia only deepened that perspective. In India, she learned the importance of hierarchy and earning trust. In Singapore, she honed her strategic mindset. In Indonesia, she mastered patience. “If it rains or it’s prayer time, everything stops,” she says. “You learn the value of quiet, deliberate planning and careful execution.” 

These insights now shape the way she leads and lives. “I will often say, ‘Wait, don’t judge. Step back. Take the time to understand and then respond accordingly’. That adaptability is at the heart of Asia capability.” 

For Mehta, cultural intelligence is holistic. “Asia capability means understanding context, culture and systems. It’s speaking the language, seeing it, smelling it, and tasting it, in order to be able to succeed,” she says, adding that business etiquette, governance models, and decision-making timelines are as critical as any technical or commercial insight. 

Her views on Australia’s engagement with Asia are clear. “Asia is so close—it’s right on our doorstep. We can almost touch it, but we haven’t really understood it, and we haven’t invested in it. And by investing, I am not just talking about money, I’m talking about time and attention.” She also believes Australia underuses its Asian diaspora and needs to elevate more culturally fluent leaders. 

“It’s about visibility. That means putting people with lived experiences and diverse backgrounds in leadership positions, whether that’s in media, politics or in the boardroom.” 

Mehta believes Australia is uniquely positioned to contribute to regional challenges and complement regional gaps through science and research. “We are a relatively small country, but we have strong research infrastructure with the power to do breakthrough research that many of our neighbours simply don’t have. This creates a vital opportunity to partner and support capability-building in the region,” she says. 

Climate change and resilience loom large as uniquely shared regional problems. “The climate impacts we face in the Asia-Pacific are very different from that in Europe or the US,” she notes. “We need regional solutions.” 

Mehta points to Asia’s technological powerhouses—South Korea in chip manufacturing, Taiwan in semi-conductors, and Japan in hydrogen—as examples of where Australia can learn and cooperate. For her, this interplay of shared science, sovereign interests and economic opportunity forms “a really important piece to the puzzle”. 

Partnerships with countries like Indonesia are central to ACOLA’s growing regional focus. “We’re currently working with KONEKSI—a collaborative initiative that supports two-way knowledge exchange and partnerships between Australian and Indonesian organisations in the knowledge and innovation sector—to explore how Australia’s innovation precinct models can inform their own,” Mehta says. “We’re helping identify what works, what doesn’t, and the key principles needed to make these precincts thrive, while also learning from Indonesia’s experiences and approaches.” 

At its core, Mehta’s worldview is rooted in respect and realism. “You need to have partners in-country that can help you manage through challenges,” she says, noting that relationship-building in Asia is not optional but essential. “That relationship is what’s going to help you succeed. Without it, it’s not going to work.” 

And it is not just about success; it is about how one shows up. Recounting a recent meeting with Indonesian officials, she smiles. “I greeted them in Bahasa, and I finished the meeting by wishing them well for Ramadan. I felt that immediately built a rapport with individuals who I hadn’t met before.” The result, she says, was a more productive meeting and better outcomes. 

Three decades into working across the region, the lessons remain apposite. Asia literacy is now part of Mehta’s DNA. “It’s who I am and it’s how I lead,” she explains, adding that such literacy is not just relevant to Asia. “Understanding different Asian perspectives means I can flex to understand diverse perspectives in the workplace. It’s how I make decisions and how I bring people together.” And in an era of complexity, she sees cultural understanding not as a ‘nice to have’, but as essential.  

“It’s not soft power—it’s smart power,” she says. “And Australia needs more of it.” 

Prerana Mehta is CEO of the Australian Council of Learned Academies. She completed the Asialink Leaders Program in 2014.