Ovum - Our People

The story

About

For business

Our people

Ovum is backed by some of Australia’s brightest minds; uniting experts from healthcare, technology, and innovation to close the gender health gap.

The team

Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Ariella is a medical doctor and PhD candidate at The George Institute for Global Health, researching AI and women’s health, focusing on running clinical trials with Ovum. Drawing on her medical background and deep commitment to closing the gender health gap, Ariella leads Ovum with a vision to harness AI in delivering personalised, tech-driven healthcare for women.

Kahlia Grant

Head of Marketing

Kahlia Grant brings over a decade of marketing leadership across leading technology companies including Leonardo.Ai and Immutable where she has driven brand, growth, and community strategy for globally scaling digital products. With deep expertise spanning AI, Web3, and emerging tech, she now leads Ovum’s marketing to expand women’s health impact worldwide.

Rachel Delaney

General Counsel & Chief Operating Officer

Rachel is a lawyer with experience spanning large enterprises and start-ups in the technology space. She has worked in telecommunications, professional services and technology companies, and has experience with IP, data and privacy, AI, corporate and commercial matters. Rachel looks after Ovum’s Legal and People functions.

Alex Buntowe

Senior Found Engineer

Alex is a software developer with ten years of experience, having worked at IBM, Endeavour Group, and on major projects in banking, government, defence, and retail. He also brings startup experience as a founding engineer for a platform that helped migrants settle in Australia. Passionate about using technology for impact, he is committed to addressing the gender health gap while ensuring data privacy and security.

Noah Keddie

Head of Partnerships

Noah is an experienced sales and partnerships professional with a strong background in leading high-performing teams, building trusted client relationships, and driving sustainable B2B growth. With experience spanning financial services and commercial property, he brings expertise in sales leadership and partnership management. Noah is passionate about developing strategic partnerships that create long-term value and supporting teams to achieve commercial and organisational goals.

Mona Jena

Software Engineer

Mona brings six years of experience across companies including Cash App, Microsoft, and MYOB, where she has built secure, reliable technology that people depend on every day. Her expertise spans fintech, large-scale platforms, and AI-powered tools. What excites her most is using technology to make a real difference, and she's now bringing that experience to closing the gender health gap, building products people can trust, with their privacy protected every step of the way.

Kirsty Johnston

Product Design Lead

Kirsty is a product designer and strategist with experience across fintech, crypto, and Web3, having led design from 0-to-1 at multiple startups — owning everything from brand and research to product strategy and roadmap. She has a deep personal interest in health data tracking and how it can drive meaningful action, and is drawn to Ovum for its potential to genuinely move the needle on women's health. Kirsty leads Product Design.

Bridget Brandolini

Design & Digital Content Specialist

With 5+ years of freelance experience and a background in Communication Design and Graphic Design, Bridget has developed expertise across social media, campaigns, creative production and content creation. They have a passion for design that builds genuine connection, and are excited to bring that to the work of closing the gender health gap.