Stone & Chalk appointed Stela Solar as CEO, replacing Chris Kirk after his 10-year run building the accelerator from concept to ANZ's largest startup support network.
Solar brings 20+ years in AI sales and partnerships. Most recent role: managing director at Accenture ANZ Data & AI. Before that: founding director of CSIRO's National AI Centre, where she built Australia's first national AI adoption framework. Earlier career: global director of AI solution sales at Microsoft.
What this means for Stone & Chalk: The appointment signals a strategic pivot toward AI infrastructure and corporate partnerships. Solar's background is ecosystem building and enterprise solution sales, not traditional startup acceleration.
Her stated priorities: shared services model for startups (HR, marketing, ops), founder wellbeing programs, and AI collaboration across research, government, and industry. Translation: more corporate partnerships, more AI-focused cohorts, potentially deeper enterprise sales support for portfolio companies.
Stone & Chalk operates five hubs across ANZ (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Auckland, Canberra), supports 1,000+ startups, and manages A$100M+ through Stone & Chalk Ventures. The organization runs on government grants and corporate partnerships (NAB, Telstra). No traditional sales org: business development focuses on cohort recruitment and partnership deals.
Kirk departs after two years as CEO. He joined in 2015 when Stone & Chalk was still on paper.
Context: Solar previously worked with Stone & Chalk on the National AI Sprint program. She sits on Beyond Blue's Data & AI Advisory Council. The hire reflects broader ANZ market trends: AI experience now table stakes for leadership roles, even in non-sales positions.
Worth noting: Stone & Chalk competes with Fishburners, Antler, and BlueChilli for cohort startups. Solar's corporate network could shift competitive dynamics, particularly for AI-focused founders seeking enterprise channel access.