James Barklamb
James is an Associate at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he works with leaders in the public and private sector on high-impact strategy projects. He is a member of BCG’s healthcare practice and has supported principal investors in major acquisitions across the Asia-Pacific.
In 2019, James graduated with a Masters in Management Science from Tsinghua University, where he studied as a Schwarzman Scholar. Whilst in Beijing, James worked at the Gates Foundation, supporting strategy and policy development for the PRC’s landmark Vaccine Law. His experience spurred an ongoing interest in international health collaboration, which saw him leading research on the efficacy of reconstructive surgery in rural provinces.
Previously, James advised public sector leaders as a consultant and analyst on issues ranging from health and environmental policy to national and international security. He holds undergraduate degrees in Arts and Law from Monash University.
Scott Bradford
Scott is currently Director, Bali Process Section, at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Scott most recently served as Assistant Director in the India Economic Section, as First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Paris from 2021 to 2022, as well as Second Secretary (Political) and subsequently Executive Officer to the Ambassador at the Australian Embassy Jakarta from 2016 to 2020. Since joining DFAT in 2013, Scott has worked across the broad scope of DFAT’s work, including bilateral and multilateral foreign policy, trade, and consular policy. Scott has studied widely and most recently completed a Masters of Public Administration at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2021.
He speaks French, Indonesian and Malaysian. He is making slow progress on his Mandarin.
STACY BRUCE
Stacy is an international relations and cross-cultural communications specialist at the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations in Sydney. She currently leads the media and communications activities for the Foundation with a focus on their communications strategy, social media presence and public outreach.
Prior to this, Stacy has held marketing and communications positions in higher education, government infrastructure projects, agriculture and manufacturing in Australia, China and Thailand.
Stacy holds a Bachelor if International Studies and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide, majoring in politics, Chinese and French language. She is currently undertaking a Masters of Asian and Pacific Studies at the Australian National University, specialising in Chinese language and culture.
Stacy’s interest in and passion for China began in her regional South Australian high school and continued through university and in the workplace. She studied at Fudan University in Shanghai, worked in business development in Beijing, and then spent two years working in the manufacturing industry in Shenzhen.
She believes strongly in the power of language education to create connections and mutual understanding, and feels fortunate to be able to utilise her Mandarin skills and professional experience to contribute to the advancement of the Australia-China relationship.
Hans Chang
Hans Chang is a dynamic startup founder and community builder based in Melbourne, Australia. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, technology-enabled innovation and maker education. Making is characterised by exploratory, interest-driven, and hands-on learning that incorporates science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, or STE(A)M. As making expands across a range of settings, from museums and libraries to after school programs, K-12 schools and higher education institutions, engaging with educators, researchers, and policy makers about the vision of learning for the 21st century is critical as the world is changing rapidly. Hans Chang holds a Bachelor of Engineering EE degree from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and an MBA from UCLA Anderson, USA.
Harrison Chen
Harrison is a lawyer based in the Sydney office of Baker McKenzie, the world’s first international law firm. Having also previously worked at the Baker McKenzie Fenxun Partners Joint Operation Office in Shanghai, a world-leading integrated international and PRC legal services platform, he has the unique distinction of being a lawyer who has represented both Australian and Chinese clients on a diverse range of domestic and cross-border transactions. Harrison’s practice focuses on Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions and Commercial Technology. On the corporate side, Harrison advises strategic investors, private equity sponsors and shareholders on complex private and public M&A transactions. On the technology side, he advises multinational Big Tech companies on their online and offline media interests, including digital copyright, content regulation and consumer protection. Prior to being a lawyer, Harrison worked as an Associate at a top Australian Investment Bank.
Outside of work, Harrison has represented Australia in basketball as a sponsored athlete and also has a keen interest in the Australian start-up ecosystem, having been an ambassador for the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship. While at university, he was named as a Top 100 Future Leader in Australia, by the Australian Financial Review and featured on the cover of the AFR Magazine.
Harrison holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and is an admitted legal practitioner in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia. He speaks English, Mandarin and Bahasa Indonesian.
Dr Hon Weng Chong
Hon Weng Chong is the founder and CEO of Cortical Labs, a Deep Technology startup looking to fuse biological material with computing chips resulting in a proto-AGI device. Previously he was the founder and CTO of CliniCloud; a medtech startup that built full-stack connected medical devices that was backed by Tencent and Ping An ventures.
Hon Weng trained as a medical doctor at The University of Melbourne and was exposed to the world of technology entrepreneurialism during his research year at Johns Hopkins. In addition to being a medical doctor, Hon Weng is a full-stack software engineer and a machine learning enthusiast.
Hon Weng is a Forbes 30 under 30 recipient in 2018.
Gan Jianbin
FMG Fellow
Jianbin Gan is currently holding a position of senior manager in the Sales & Marketing team of Fortescue Metals Group, one of the major iron ore producers in the world. He was born in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a province in Southwest China. After receiving the bachelor’s degree at University of Science and Technology Beijing, he started his career within the China metallurgical industry. During the past 17 years, he accumulated profound experience in iron ore trading, coal trading, bulk commodity marketing, and risk management. Before joining Fortescue Metals Group and relocating to Perth, Australia, he worked for a couple of world leading companies located in Beijing and Singapore. These diversified experiences granted him a comprehensive multicultural background and global vision. Having been living in Australia for over 5 years, he observed and encountered culture differences between Australia and China. Seeking common ground while putting aside the differences would be a good approach to deal with the difference. By applying his experience and knowledge of multi-culture, Jianbin Gan would contribute to strengthen the understanding and create mutual benefit for people in the two countries. Jianbin Gan is also a fan of various sports including basketball, soccer, footy, and jogging.
Thomas Gao
Thomas Gao is a senior public policy professional and qualified engineer specialised in sustainable energy and decarbonisation, with over nine-year work experience across the public, research and private sector. In his current role with the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, Thomas works closely with the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer, senior government executives and business leaders on the strategic planning and actions for the state’s trade and investment, industry development, accelerating research and technology commercialisation.
Born and raised in Qingdao China, Thomas came to Australia as an international student for higher education opportunities in 2008 and has developed a strong interest in the Australia-China relationship since then. Thomas serves as an executive director of the Institute of Chinese Engineer Australia (ICEA) and a board member for the Young Chinese Engineers Australia (YCEA), which facilitates the connection and collaboration of the engineering communities and industries between Australia and China. In his role as the NSW public sector multicultural champion, Thomas contributes to a range of cultural diversity and inclusion policy frameworks and strategies by the NSW Government. As a strong believer of good policy and technological solutions in responding to global challenges, Thomas provides strategic advice in science, technology and sustainability through his volunteer work and positions with NGOs and community groups.
Thomas holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (First Class Honours) from the University of NSW, MicroMaster in Sustainable Energy from the University of Queensland and a diploma in project management.
Bonnie Hermawan
Bonnie is International Program Manager at the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, at the Department of Education and Training Victoria, where she manages a number of offshore programs delivering the Victorian Certificate of Education in China.
With 15 years’ experience in the international education space, Bonnie has deep expertise delivering education programs that develop global citizenship, intercultural capability, and international school partnerships. During her nine years at the Asialink Asia Education Foundation, Bonnie worked on the Australia-Asia BRIDGE School Partnerships Program, delivering professional learning to teachers and school leaders from Australia and across Asia, including China.
In 2019 Bonnie led the Victorian Young Leaders to Indonesia pilot program, building upon the experience of the Victorian Young Leaders to China program; a government initiative that provided more than 1700 Victorian students with immersive experiences in China since 2014.
Bonnie is committed to the promotion of intercultural and language engagement through education, community, and institutional links to foster deeper levels of engagement and understanding.
Jessie Hu
Jessie Hu is a senior auditor at KPMG Sydney. She works on a diversified portfolio of clients, ranging from ASX-listed entities, financial service companies to not-for-profit organisations.
Born and raised in China, she came to Australia in 2013 to pursue a Master of Professional Accounting degree at the University of Sydney. Her passion for strengthening people’s connections from different backgrounds enriched her university life and later career. She joined the Asian Female League within KPMG to support Asian females in career advancement. In addition, she is an active member of the China Club within KPMG, helping to strengthen cross-border relations between Australia and China. In her personal capacity, she sits on the People Advisory Board of AARC, which oversees the improvement of people’s well-being.
During her remaining spare time, she wields a dragon-boat paddle and climbs rock.
Jon (Yuan) Jiang
Jon (Yuan) Jiang is an Australia-based China and Russia analyst, advisor on business and international affairs. He has had very varied career experience. As a Russian speaker, he worked with ZTE Corporation as an account manager, as a co-founder with LockBreakers Consulting and as a special correspondent with Hong Kong-based Asia Weekly and Shanghai-based Pengpai News, all in Moscow. He also worked as a broker for oil and gas companies and with Chinese students wishing to study overseas. He has been a member of the US-based Global China Connection.
He has published extensively in the South China Morning Post, The Diplomat, Jamestown Foundation etc, beyond China, Australia, the US and Russia. He is also an enthusiastic media commentator with experience in Financial Times, ABC, Strait Times, DW, SBS, Russia Today, Euronews, Russian Channel One, Weekendavisen etc.
He completed his master’s degree in political economy at Moscow State Institute of International Relations and bachelor’s degree in law at Shanghai University. He is currently doing his PhD in media and communication at the Queensland University of Technology, focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative.
He understands different perspectives of the West, China and Russia and is passionate about becoming a bridge and a peacemaker.
Yun Jiang
Yun Jiang is a managing editor of the China Story blog at the Australian National University and produces China Neican. She has published widely on China-related topics and has been quoted or appeared in several major national and international press, including New York Times, Financial Times, ABC, BBC, Al-Jazeera, South China Morning Post and Washington Post.
Prior to joining the ANU, she was a policy adviser in the Australian Government, having worked in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury and the Department of Defence. Her extensive policy experience covers international economy, trade, multilateral institutions, foreign investment, critical infrastructure, Commonwealth-state relations, economic diplomacy, and military diplomacy.
Dr Lisha Liu
Born and lived in China, Lisha came to Australia as a PhD candidate at the Water Research Centre in University of New South Whales in 2020. Her project is about the control and management of gas emission from wastewater treatment. During her university days in Australia, she served as a course demonstrator and joined the Postgraduate Council for overseas students. She sees herself as the beneficiary of international education by accepting two different research systems.
Prior to becoming a PhD student in UNSW, Lisha worked for China Meteorological Administration as an atmosphere engineer with over six-years’ experience in environmental problems in China. In addition to her work, she was also a volunteer at CMA to introduce the development of meteorological observation in China to general public and overseas organisations.
Lisha is passionate about advancing environmental sustainability between Australia and China. She believes that contributions can be made by Australia and China to face the challenge of climate change and global warming.
She’s fluent in English and Mandarin, and enjoys yoga, traveling and playing badminton.
AMBER MILLER-GREEMAN
Amber has been active in Australia China space for over 15 years and has professional experience in a broad range of areas. Amber has lived and worked abroad in greater China and Taiwan. In 2010, Amber represented Australia at the Australian Pavilion, Shanghai World Expo 2010. Amber was General Manager of the Australia China Young Professionals Initiative and was a delegate for the China Australia Millennial Project.
Amber holds an MBA from Renmin University Beijing, where she lived and studied in 2017/18.
More recently, Amber was the Communications and Cultural Engagement Advisor at the National Foundation for Australia China Relations. In this role, she led community engagement, marketing, arts, culture, community engagement, education, and sports diplomacy initiatives.
In Amber’s 8 years’ experience with Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), she has worked across Queensland destinations, business events, international marketing, strategy development, and delivery of events across Queensland. Amber currently holds the position of Consumer Strategy Leader in the Strategy, Value and Growth team at TEQ. In this role, she has the pleasure of working across strategy development and global marketing efforts for Queensland.
Amber believes that it is through tourism, travel and cross-cultural sharing that individuals can learn more about other cultures and way of life. This lays the foundations for kinder, more insightful, and more fulfilling engagement between people, which ultimately leads to better bilateral relationship between two countries.
Peter Park
Peter is a strategy consultant passionate about entrepreneurship and promoting the Australia-Asia linkages. He is currently a Principal Consultant at YGYS Consulting where he advises Health and Wellness brands in the areas of international expansion and supply chain transformation.
In 2021, Peter turned his passion for China and broader Asia into a purpose when he took an Australian plant-based meat brand to China. Building on this experience, and leveraging his background in venture capital and financial advisory, Peter wants to bring more Asia literacy to the West.
Outside professional life, Peter enjoys writing on his personal blog. He is currently studying for HSK5. He earned a double degree in BBus/LLB from the Queensland University of Technology and isadmitted as a lawyer in Queensland.
James Scullin
James Scullin joined Asia Society Australia in June 2021. He is a program and project manager with experience developing diverse and tailored programs for Australian business with a focus on Asian business engagement, foreign policy, climate change and cultural awareness.
Prior to Asia Society, James was National Project Manager for the Australia China Business Council (ACBC). In this role, James developed and managed a multitude of projects, working with ACBC’s business membership and Federal and State Governments to foster greater understanding and business engagement with China. His project portfolio included high-level national China policy briefings, China-Australia Free Trade Agreement advocacy across regional Australia, market entry delegations to China, an Australia-China business podcast, and online business support camps.
James has also worked with trade and investment advisory firm TradeWorthy on Asia Development Bank research on Belt and Road integration in ASEAN countries. Previously, James lived and worked in Beijing as an environmental consultant on European Commission climate change and development projects. He also worked as a tour leader to North Korea and in 2020 self-published the photography book Hotels of Pyongyang.
James is a graduate of the University of Melbourne where he holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Environmental Policy. He speaks Chinese and German.
Chloe Sevil
Chloe is a cyber incident response lawyer based in Sydney, Australia. Chloe assists Australian and global businesses contain, investigate and remediate from complex, serious cyber incidents. In assisting clients, Chloe leads multi-disciplinary teams, including legal counsel, forensic vendors, law enforcement, PR and executive teams to lock out cyber criminals from business systems, notify individuals in compliance with Australian and foreign regulatory regimes, manage media and minimise business risk in the face of major cyber incidents. Chloe has assisted over 143 clients deal with some of Australia’s most complex cyber incidents, and is known for her ability to calmly navigate clients through major cyber attacks.
Dr June Song-Lee
Tasmanian State Government Fellow
Dr Wan Jun Song-Lee is a General Practitioner and an experienced Healthcare Executive. She has held senior roles in the private, community and public sectors. She currently serves as a non-executive director for Respect Aged Care and Lady Gowrie Tasmania. She is a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Tasmania and undertakes health services and health economics research. She has recently co-founded a digital health startup. In her spare time, she enjoys chasing after her young children and spending time with her young family.
Annie Tan
Originally from China, Annie has spent most of her career in Australia. Annie is a dynamic and collaborative leader with extensive marketing and business management experience in global health care and top tier FMCG companies.
Annie has deep subject matter expertise and experience in marketing strategy development and leading highly successful product launches, market expansion across the APAC region, including emerging markets (China, India, Southeast Asia), and developed markets (ANZ, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan). A highlight of her career is her capacity to lead diverse teams and produce commercially successful results in highly competitive markets.
Annie currently works at Cochlear. Annie plays a critical role in helping set and execute Cochlear China plans. Her focus is to strengthen communication and strategic alignment between Cochlear’s China office and its Global Sydney-based headquarters and ensure Cochlear’s fast-growing business in China receives optimal support.
Annie holds an MBA degree at the Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales.
Annie speaks fluent English and Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese).
In her spare time, Annie enjoys spending time with her family and travelling.
Ziqian (Ivy) Wang
Ziqian Wang (Ivy) is the Marketing and Communications Officer at the Museum of Chinese Australian History. In her role, she is a dedicated and hardworking person with an excellent professional work ethic. She demonstrates high-level communications skills, time management skills. She has been active in bridging Australia-China relationships and utilised her knowledge of China and dedication to increase awareness of Chinese Australian culture.
Ivy devotes herself to building a better multicultural society and breaking the stereotypes of the Chinese community. Through her past work experience with the Ethiopian and Chinese government, she has a deep understanding of government affairs and advocacy work. She is also studying for her Master of Public Policy and Management degree to become a more qualified China-Australia advocate.
She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the State University of New York-Buffalo and she is a trained professional in business development and government relations.
Holstein Wong
Holstein Wong (黄皓偲) is an engineer with a human-centred approach as a Business Development Manager in robotics and automation in mining. A digital native who is comfortable bridging operations and commercial, regional and urban, and people across diverse cultures, Holstein’s energetic determination translates into effective technology implementation in industry, and a positive community impact through advocacy for inclusion and diversity.
Working across mining and technology, Holstein strongly campaigns for more female visibility across the industry, enacting change within the STEM sector. She was the 2018 winner of the Exception Young Woman in Resources in Queensland Award for her efforts in advocacy, mentoring, and strategic thought leadership for diversity in the mining community.
As an Asian-Australian growing up in Sydney, with family around the world and a love of experiencing different cultures through travel, Holstein appreciates the importance of cross-cultural dialogue and understanding, and advocates for deeper cross-cultural consideration in her local community.
Holstein graduated with a Bachelor of Materials Science and Engineering (Honours) from the University of New South Wales in 2013, achieving First Class Honours and winning the University Medal. She currently lives in Brisbane, having lived in Central Queensland, Wales, Sydney, and Hong Kong.
Andrew Wu
Andrew is currently a Strategy Manager at KPMG, specialising in the financial services industry. He helps organisations define their future ambitions, develop growth strategies, and optimise operating models.
As a current board member of the Hong Kong - Australia Business Association (NSW Chapter), and a former strategy adviser for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, Andrew has experience looking at the bilateral trade between Australia and China from both perspectives. As a former board member of the Chinese Australian Forum, young ambassador for the Australia China Business Council, and committee member of the Harvard University Project for Asian and International Relations, Andrew has helped organise many forums and events to deepen understanding, foster collaboration and strengthen people-to-people links in the community.
Andrew holds a Master of Finance, and a Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Economics double degree from the University of New South Wales.
Haocheng (Steven) Yu
Starting as an international student, Haocheng (Steven) has progressed his career from a one-month contractor in a call centre to a seasoned Product Manager with over 10 years' working experience in a global financial institution. Steven is very passionate about career development and keen to help others around him to grow together. He has founded a career development community in WeChat called FishTalk to facilitate professionals to share, learn and outperform. He is also Founder and President of China Blast Futsal Club as well as President of Jiangxi University of Finance & Economics Alumni Association of Australia. Steven obtained a Master of Finance degree from The Australian National University and a Master of Commerce degree from The University of Sydney. Outside of work, Steven loves playing soccer, having hot pot and connecting with old and new friends who share the same vision/passion with him.
Cynthia Yuan
Cynthia is an experienced energy policy advisor and environmental lawyer, currently working as a Senior Policy Officer at the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment. Prior to working in government, she gained experience providing transactional, legal, and policy advice to industry stakeholders in the energy sector, including mining and renewable companies.
Admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, she is currently completing the Master of Environmental Law (LL.M) programme at the University of Sydney, with a key focus on opportunities for greening China’s investments in its Belt and Road Initiative.
Since her tertiary studies, she has sought to further the Australia-China bilateral relationship through volunteering as an Executive Committee Member of the Australia-China Young Professionals Initiative (ACYPI) Sydney chapter in 2018, National Secretary of the Australia-China Youth Association (ACYA) in 2016, and President of ACYA’s Macquarie University Chapter in 2015. During 2017, she worked on-the-ground in Beijing and Shanghai, providing legal advice to Australian companies on their investment activities in the Chinese market.
Cynthia hopes to leverage the unique combination of her China-literacy and energy policy expertise to facilitate the pivot of the Australia-China trade and investment relationship from carbon-intensive industries towards low-emissions industries.
Zhang Yan
Yan exudes enthusiasm and intelligence, and does not shy away from a challenge. Originally from Jiangsu, China, Yan has studied and worked in both China and Australia and is a fresh face in the King & Wood Mallesons International Arbitration team based in Sydney. He absorbs arbitration-related information and experience like a sponge… or a wanton in a broth of noodle soup expertly made in a Michelin-starred noodle shop run under his watchful eyes; his not-so-secret side-hustle ambition.
Dr Chen Zhao
University of Tasmania Fellow
Dr. Chen Zhao is a glaciologist working in the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania. She started her studies on Antarctic science in 2011, and relocated to Hobart, Australia 7 years ago for her PhD studies. Her current research interests aim to explore the sea level contributions from the Antarctic Ice Sheet in a changing ocean and evaluate the impact of ocean systems on large ice sheets with numerical modelling. A contract job with Quark Expeditions has sent her to the Antarctic Peninsula in the south, Greenland, Iceland, and Svalbard in the north as an onboard lecturer and expedition guide. Experience in the polar regions has inspired her to devote herself to delivering knowledge about the impact of climate change on the polar regions to a broader audience. During her time in Hobart, Chen has been a very effective good-will ambassador developing the friendship between China and Australia at both scientific and cultural levels. She has collaborated with Australia’s leading glaciologists, including a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Prof Ian Allison. They published a paper that records the history of the collaboration between Australia and China in Antarctic science and exploration.
Chen was a recipient of the 2018 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Chinese Students Study Abroad. She holds a B. Eng. from Wuhan University, a MSc. from Beijing Normal University, and a PhD from University of Tasmania.
Gary Zhu
Gary is currently a management consultant at Strategy& (formerly Booz & Co.) and part of the Deals Strategy practice where he focuses on supporting leading global organisations with various strategic and investment challenges including market entry, mergers and acquisitions and commercial due diligence engagements.
Prior to Strategy&, Gary worked at Accenture Strategy to help shape the future direction of Australian businesses through developing their corporate strategy and growth plans across a broad range of sectors including financial services, telecommunications, and retail. In addition to his project experiences, Gary spearheaded the publication of an Accenture thought leadership piece which shares how Australian organisations can learn and innovate from China's Big Tech sector. Outside of work, Gary has a deep interest in emerging technologies, social impact, and investing.
Gary was born and raised in Sydney with roots in Guangzhou and is fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Laws from the University of New South Wales and has studied in China at the Beijing Language and Culture University. He is passionate about strengthening the Australia-China bilateral relationship and aspires to foster greater understanding and collaboration between both nations particularly in the fields of investment and technology.
Hongzhang Xu
Hongzhang Xu is a Research Associate at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, a PhD scholar at the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society and a member of the Australian Centre on China in the World.
Hong is also the Principal and Primary Consultant of Brighter Research, an environment and energy consultancy based in Canberra, Australia. Hong always publishes in top-tier academic journals, e.g., Journal of Cleaner Production, Land Use Policy and Environment Research Letters, and presents at national and international conferences. He also writes reviews, short essays, reports, policy briefs, comments and science communication pieces. Hong’s research has been broadly read and widely cited.
Hong also advises academic boards (e.g., Nature Ecology & Evolution), companies, non-profits, media (e.g., BBC Planet Earth) and other organisations working on environment and energy. Hong is a researcher, advocate and doer of innovation and sustainability transitions.
Hong's research considers how our societies approach sustainable development as an intertwined socio-ecological system that can adapt to and benefit from changes based on the underlying power relations and cultural values. His current studies focus on investigating how climate change could be mainstreamed in political agenda and facilitate sustainable development. Hong is also leading research in cutting-edge China’s social studies, including e-governance, rural revitalization, digital yuan, Xi Jing Ping Thought and social media analysis.