Mr Richard Welch

Born and raised in country Victoria as the son of a teacher and a nurse, Richard started his career in the financial services industry, gaining corporate experience in organisations such as Bankers Trust and Merrill Lynch. This work took him to the UK, where he ran large-scale commercial and technology projects across the EU, Luxembourg, Dubai, Memphis, and New York. While completing his MBA at Imperial College in London, Richard invented and patented a form of motion-tracking technology involving sensors and neural networks – developing an early form of AI. To commercialise the technology, Richard built a factory in North India, building the company globally and employing over 300 locally. During his 15 years in India, Richard learnt conversational Hindi and developed a deep appreciation for Indian culture and national ambition.

Richard’s vision for Victoria is for it to have a moral, ambitious, and patriotic ethos, believing in the core institutions of liberal democracy, without devolving democracy and power to unelected bodies. Richard wants to see Victoria innovate and ensure our children have the skills to leverage the economic opportunities of AI, 3D printing, and automation.

The areas of policy Richard is most passionate about are energy, including decarbonisation and nuclear energy, tax reform, local government reform, and ensuring Victoria is an innovative state, producing the best technology and knowledge the world has to offer in order to generate better living standards for the next generation.