Julie Trell Takes the Helm at Telstra's muru-D Accelerator

By Julie Trell

Julie Trell is the founder and Chief Play Officer of Playful Purpose, a Sydney-based business that uses play, improv, design thinking and curiosity to help teams build creativity and workplace…

When Startup Daily reported Telstra's appointment of Julie Trell as head of its startup accelerator muru-D, it marked a significant move for both the former Salesforce executive and the Australian startup ecosystem. Julie relocated to Sydney from San Francisco in early 2017 to take up the role, succeeding muru-D co-founder Annie Parker.

The appointment brought a leader with a long background in community-focused technology work. Julie had worked at the Salesforce Foundation for many years, where she was a founding member and held the title 'VP of All Things Fun, Meaningful and Rewarding.' Before her corporate career, she began as a classroom teacher in inner-city Atlanta and later became a technology specialist for a middle school, a grounding in education that would carry through her later work with founders and teams.

At muru-D, Julie stepped into one of the most active accelerator programs in the region. During her tenure, the accelerator worked with a portfolio of over 140 startups across Australia and Singapore, supporting early-stage companies through its cohorts. The move from San Francisco to Sydney placed her at the centre of Telstra's efforts to back emerging technology ventures.

Julie remained with muru-D until 2020, when Telstra decided to change the accelerator's direction, shifting from backing startups to providing them access to its technology. Her broader body of work spans the Workday Foundation, where she served as the first Executive Director, and SheEO (now Coralus), which she helped launch and where she served as an Australia lead and 'Super Activator' supporting women- and non-binary-led ventures.

The muru-D appointment reflected the combination of education, community and technology leadership that Julie has built across her career. It brought her experience backing founders directly into the Australian startup community, where her focus on supporting early-stage ventures found a wide audience.