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ABOUT US

Our

Team

Kishan Arava - BEng (Hons), BComm

Director

Kishan graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Engineering honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Kishan has worked across several manufacturing industries including crane, fastening systems and plastics manufacturing as he gained experience in the field of mechanical engineering. By working as a systems engineer at Alcoa Fastening Systems and a quality leader at Validek Enterprises, he has developed a broad range of skills, from planning and supervising projects, through to detailed structural analysis, modelling and simulation.

He combined his experiences in industry with his commercial knowledge to great effect as an R&D tax consultant at a "Big Four" accounting firm. Through his experiences he has gained extensive industry experience in accessing funding under the R&D Tax Incentive across the breadth of Australian industries, including: Mining and resources (open cut and underground), tooling and manufacturing, heavy industrial, building materials, and building construction.

Sam Talwar - BLaw, B Banking&Finance

Director

Prior to joining ATY Advisory, Sam was a consultant at a “Big Four” accounting firm in the R&D tax division. Sam has experience working across a wide variety of industries, predominantly in: Agriculture, Aviation, Construction, Engineering and Information Technology. 

Sam’s passion lies in working with start-up companies and he is a director of numerous educational startups including; UMATE and Gamma Education. 

Sam holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Banking and Finance from Monash University, he also attended the London School of Economics undertaking a course in alternative investment strategies.

Owen Yang - BComm

Director

Owen Yang brings to ATY his investment banking and finance expertise. Owen holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, where he was placed on the Dean's List. 

 

He worked at Goldman Sachs in Mergers and Acquisitions, where he worked on a number of advisory roles for various consumer and retail businesses including Fosters, Treasury Wine Estates, Kathmandu and Blackmores.

 

Furthermore, he has experience in Debt Capital Markets, advising companies such as ANZ, Suncorp and SP Ausnet. Owen's speciality lies with companies in the financial services sector as well as retail and energy companies that conduct research and development.

 

Additionally, Owen has a passion to work with companies in the start-up sphere. In 2013, he was listed as one of Anthill Magazine's top 30 Under 30 entrepreneurs. In 2014, he was listed 15th on Smart Company's Top 30 Under 30 entrepeneurs.

Joseph A Baini - BComm

Senior Advisor

Joseph Baini holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne. Prior to leaving the ATO in late 2012, he worked as an ATO Senior Compliance Officer for just over 34 years, with the last 10 years examining entities in the Large business and Multinational enterprises sector, which included significant experience in the R&D area.

 

He can therefore assist ATY clients with valuable insights in the evaluation of the regulatory systems required to substantiate any R&D claims made, as well as the practical and administrative protocols that are connected with it from an ATO perspective.

Owen Pitt - BEng (Materials), BLaw

Consultant

Owen graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Engineering honours degree in Materials Engineering and a Bachelor of Laws honours degree.

 

Owen worked with the property, commercial and workplace relations teams at a Melbourne Legal firm whilst studying and joined ATY as a consultant after graduating. At University, Owen focused on advances in polymer engineering, including extensive research into the development of self-healing polymer coatings. Developing a strong understanding of both intellectual property law and construction law were also central to Owen’s degree.

 

At ATY, Owen assists companies in applying for the R&D incentive from industries including Engineering, Materials & Manufacturing, Food Technology (including beer brewing) and I.T.

Cynthia Chen - BAeroEng, BA

Consultant

Cynthia graduated from Monash University with majors in aerospace engineering, advanced Chinese language and Chinese translation, with particular interests in pedagogy, interpretation and fluid flow.

 

Throughout her tertiary degree, Cynthia held various executive roles in both local and international aeronautical and space committees, and has worked in conjunction with a host of distinguished companies, including the European Space Agency, BAE Systems, Boeing and NASA.  Cynthia has had the pleasure of studying in Shanghai, interning in Vienna and contributing to international congress proceedings in Italy.

 

Cynthia’s knowledge in engineering complements her experience in communications, which enables her to decipher intricate technical projects and ascribe them to the R&D Tax Incentive.

Dip Guha - MEng (Electrical), MBA

Consultant

Dip graduated with a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA in 2004, majoring in Electrical Engineering. He graduated with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Melbourne Business School, The University of Melbourne in 2010, and is currently in the process of completing a Master of Intellectual Property (IP) Law degree from Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne. He is currently working to register as a Patent and Trademark Attorney in Australia and New Zealand.

 

Dip is a Registered Tax Agent with the Tax Practitioners Board, specialising as a Research and Development Consultant. He has been a Senior Member of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), New York, USA, since 2009.

 

Dip’s core expertise is innovation commercialisation. He has over 10 years of hands-on R&D and innovation commercialisation experience with multiple international Fortune 500 companies, universities, research institutes, SMEs and start-up ventures. He leverages his academic background and industry experience to provide advisory in the domains of engineering design, IP management and strategy, project management, business process optimisation and general IP commercialisation.

Nin Sivanantha - PhD Eng (Biomedical Sciences), BEng (Mechanical), BBiomedicalSci

Consultant

Nin graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) honours degree and a Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree. During her undergraduate studies, her research interests included Microfluidic systems and Microbiology; disease development and progression.

 

During her Postgraduate studies, Nin focused on the fabrication and development of Nanotechnology and Microfluidic devices for medical diagnostic applications. Her interest in medical disease has resulted in publications and a prestigious award for rapid diagnosis of Malaria using Microfluidics at the International Congress on Ultrasonic conference.


Nin prides herself on developing relationships with her clients in order to deliver work that supports the desired outcomes. Her curiosity and love of variety have given her broad exposure to a diverse range of organisations and industries. Through her vast experiences, Nin has developed and practised interdisciplinary technical and research skills, which she carries through to her consulting role at ATY, focusing on the identification of projects eligible for R&D incentives.

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