Benjamin Bacon - Dogma Labs

Benjamin Bacon is a hybrid artist and musician that creates work at the intersection of sound art, computational design, networked systems and mechanical installation. He has held professorships at Parsons School of Design, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai Institute of Visual Art and was also the former Director of the undergraduate Design + Technology program at Parsons School of Design.

He is also the Co-Founder of DOGMA Lab, a cross-disciplinary art and design lab based in Shanghai, China. Founded by Benjamin Bacon and Vivian Xu, we believe in the cross-pollination of ART, DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY and SCIENCE in the creation of products, as well as experimental works in art, music, and performance.

SoundSpade is his performance name for his music and sound art. He is the founder of Voltage Divider, a series of live music, interactive media events that explore different experimental and avant-garde musical styles and non-traditional production methods.

Matthew Brennan - Managing Director, China Channel

Matthew is a speaker and writer focusing on Chinese internet and tech innovation. In particular, he's known for analysis of Tencent, China’s tech giant and WeChat, China’s famous super app. His opinions are regularly featured in global media including The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, BBC, Financial Times, Forbes, Harvard Political Review, Quartz, TechCrunch, CNN, Business Insider, eMarketer and Wired. He delivers presentations for executive teams seeking to gain insight into Chinese tech innovation.

His company China Channel organizes China’s largest WeChat marketing conference series for international companies. Matthew works with a select few international businesses to help form and implement their WeChat & China digital marketing strategy.

Matthew co-hosts the ChinaTechTalk podcast produced together with China's largest English language tech media, Technode & TechCrunch China. The podcast unpacks Chinese tech innovation and features guests such as Dr. Kaifu Lee and companies such as Xiaomi, Tencent, JD and the Wall Street Journal.

Matthew’s is currently writing his first major book ‘The Story of WeChat’. The tale of how WeChat went from zero to one and the challenges faced by the team on their journey to becoming China's no. 1 super app. Charting the rise of mobile payments in China, the book provides a deep analysis of the disruption and innovation unleashed by China's most famous mobile product team.

Matthew has been based in mainland China for over 15 years.

Penny Burtt CEO, Asialink

Penny is the Group CEO of Asialink, Australia’s leading centre for the promotion of public understanding of the countries of Asia and of Australia’s role in the region. She joined Asialink from global payments company Visa, where she served as Vice President, Government Affairs, Asia Pacific. Prior to Visa, Penny led External Relations and Client Service Risk for the Asia Pacific with McKinsey&Company.

Penny is a former diplomat and represented Australia at a senior level in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and at the United Nations in Geneva and New York. She previously served as an Adviser to the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs.

In the course of her career, Penny has participated in key regional economic and trade initiatives, including bilateral FTA negotiations, APEC, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and served as a business delegate to regional economic ministers’ meetings. She has served on the Board of the U.S. National Center for APEC and the Singapore Committee of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Rosita Dellios - Associate Professor International Relations, Bond University

Rosita Dellios is Associate Professor of International Relations at Bond University. She is a founding member of the Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies at Bond, and has long been involved in Confucian studies. She lectures and writes on the themes of China’s defence and strategic philosophy, geopolitics, and future trends in global politics. She has published widely in these areas. Her more recent works include two books co-authored. One is China’s Quest for Global Order. It examines the evolving Asian century from a Chinese political and cultural perspective. The other is titled The Politics and Philosophy of Chinese Power: The Timeless and the Timely. This examines the philosophical dimensions of state power, delving into China’s past and potential future developments.

John W.H. Denton AO - Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce

John W.H. Denton AO is the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

He is also a Board member of the United Nations Global Compact, as well as a founding member of the Business 20 (B20), the Australia–China CEO Roundtable and UNHCR in Australia.

Mr Denton serves on the Board of leading global infrastructure group IFM Investors and is Co-Chair of the Trade and Investment Working Group for the G20 Japan.

A former diplomat, Mr Denton served as Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia’s leading independent law firm, for two decades.

In 2015, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the business community, the arts and the rights of refugees, including as a founder of Human Rights Watch (Australia) and Teach for Australia.

Mr Denton is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and the University of Melbourne.

Bin Dixon-Ward - RMIT

A graduate of RMIT, Gold and Silversmithing, Bin has exhibited in Japan, Europe and North America as well as at home in Australia. The recipient of several awards for her jewellery, including the Itami Award and the Diana Morgan Award. Bin’s work has appeared in several major exhibitions including, Melbourne Now at the National Gallery of Victoria, Schmuck in Munich, A Fine Possession and Out of Hand: Materialising the Digital at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Sydney.

Bin was awarded the 2018 RMIT Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence, for her PhD. Her research examines the interaction between the human and technology, in particular the grid as a technology of the city and how interactions between humans and the grid, inject an organic quality to the rigid logic of the built environment.

Her work is held in public and private collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, and Musee des Artes Decoritifs Paris and The Art Gallery of South Australia. Bin has undertaken residencies at the Australian National University, Canberra and the East China Normal University, Shanghai. Bin is a sessional lecturer teaching digital modeling and 3D printing in the RMIT School of Art.

Dr. Guangxi Dong - Head of Membranes, Materials & Manufacturing Development, UNSW

Dr. Guangxi Dong is currently the Head of Membranes, Materials and Manufacturing Development Unit (M3DU) at the UNSW Centre for Transformational Environmental Technologies (UNSW-CTET) in Yixing, China. He received his Ph.D. from the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology (UCMST) at UNSW in 2011. From 2011-2014, he worked at the same research institute as a research fellow, followed by a two-year post at Hanyang University (South Korea) as a senior research fellow. He returned to UNSW in 2016 as a senior researcher and sessional lecturer before he joined the UNSW-CTET in 2019. Within his research career, his 26 publications on international peer-reviewed journals have been cited over 1,400 times. He is the recipient of Marie Curie Seal of Excellence in 2016 and 2017 (European Commission) and Elsevier Outstanding Reviewer Recognition in 2015 (Journal of Membrane Science).He also won the 1st prize at the CO2CRC Commercialisation Workshop Competition in 2010.

Hua Fan - Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute

Dr. Hua Fan is a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) who have practiced in both Asia and Oceania region with outstanding track record. Winner of KCA Best Commercialization Award in 2016. AUTM, KCA Member Serial entrepreneur, founder of 4 companies, Winner of Australian Government Innovate NSW Grant. He completed his Ph.D degree in University of New South Wales. His recent focus is on the applications of blockchain technology on Knowledge commercialization, especially enabling innovation freedom and contractual trust between various stakeholders during the lengthy commercialization process; enabling identity, credit tracing for practitioners and collaborators when commercializing/incubating a project; decentralizing technology transfer activity.

Professor Pookong Kee - BHP Chair of Australian Studies, Peking University

Professor Pookong Kee is the third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at Peking University. He was Director of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne prior to taking up the Chair in February 2019.

He had held various academic and public-sector positions in the Asia-Pacific region, including as Director of the Chinese Heritage Centre in Singapore, Professor of the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies and Director of the Ritsumeikan Centre for Asia Pacific Studies at the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan, as well as Assistant Director of Australia’s Bureau of Immigration and Population Research. His recent teaching and research interests relate mostly to Asia-Pacific affairs, especially on international migration, diasporas, cultural diversity and Australia-Asia relations.

Mark Tanner - Managing Director, China Skinny

Mark Tanner is the founder and managing director of Shanghai-based China Skinny. He has provided China market growth strategies and research to over 150 brands across 22 categories including IKEA, IHG, Colgate, Reckitt Benckiser and Tourism Malaysia. His views on Chinese consumers have been quoted by more than 200 international media outlets and he regularly provides commentary in publications such as Bloomberg, Reuters, FT and Forbes where he writes a regular column. Mark was selected by Alibaba to anchor their promotional video introducing Single's Day in 2016. He authors the most read newsletter about marketing to China and is a regular keynote speaker in both China and internationally from Shanghai to Sydney, Barcelona to Beijing, Helsinki to Hong Kong and many places in between. Prior to moving to China Mark led the world's first unbroken paddle down the River Nile, hunted for Viking treasure in Iceland and cycled solo across Canada mid-winter.

Professor Hean Tat Keh - Monash University

Hean Tat Keh (郭贤达) is a Professor of Marketing at the Monash Business School, Monash University. He is a firm believer in balancing research and teaching excellence. His current research examines consumer psychology in the contexts of services marketing, sustainable marketing, and healthcare marketing, with a secondary interest in doing business in China.

His research has been published in leading journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Retailing, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. His research has been widely disseminated through the media, including radio interviews (BBC and ABC), a Harvard Business Review editorial, online newsletters, and a podcast.

Professor Keh is the recipient of the prestigious 2018 ANZMAC Distinguished Marketing Educator of the Year Award. He has previously taught at the University of Queensland, Peking University, and the National University of Singapore. He gained corporate experience at the Wharf (Holdings) Limited, Hong Kong. He obtained his PhD from the University of Washington, Seattle, his MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and his BBA (Hons) from the University of East Asia (Macau).

Simon Lacey - Vice President Global Government Affairs, Huawei

Simon is currently Vice-President, Trade Facilitation and Market Access at Huawei Technologies in Shenzhen China. Before that he spent 4 years in Indonesia in various roles advising both the government and private sector on trade policy and international economic law issues.

With degrees in law from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and the Georgetown University Law Center (United States), Simon has worked in almost thirty countries, advising and training policymakers in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific.

Prior to joining Huawei, Simon was the Director of the Center for International Trade and Investment (UPH-CITI) at University Pelita Harapan (UPH) in Jakarta, where he was responsible for implementing the WTO Chairs program and acted as Academic Director on the UPH's executive Masters in Trade Investment and Competition Policy and Law (MTIC), organized in collaboration with the World Trade Institute (WTI) in Berne, Switzerland.

Liu Bing - Senior Trade Marketing Manager, Austrade

Liu Bing commenced her posting as Deputy Consul-General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner at the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai in Jan 2019.

Prior to this role, Bing worked as Senior China Adviser, Acting General Manager, Asia, Acting Executive Director, International Markets and Asia Lead, Global Markets based in Austrade’s Sydney office.

Bing started working with Austrade in 2001, the most recent role offshore was the Acting Senior Trade Commissioner/Deputy Consul General at the Australian Consulate General Shanghai. While in Shanghai, Bing managed the Austrade East China network of offices by providing business opportunities and services for Australian entities in trade, education and inward investment.

Bing has also worked in similar roles in both Guangzhou and Beijing at the Australian Consulate in Guangzhou and the Australian Embassy in Beijing respectively from 2004-2012.

Bing holds a bachelor degree of Medicine from China and a bachelor degree of Nursing from Australia.

Lydia Lopes - Manager Global Strategy, CSIRO

Lydia Lopes is the Global Insights Manager for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency. Lydia is passionate about supporting CSIRO’s global growth agenda; which focuses on accelerating its global engagements and collaborations through science and technology to make an impact on Australia and the world. In her role, she leads a team that provides strategic advice and recommendations to senior executive leaders within the organisation on long-term opportunities and challenges presented by global economic, environmental, social, market and technological trends.

Before joining CSIRO, Lydia worked in management consulting firms with specialisation in the innovation sector. In these roles, she engaged with a wide range of stakeholders from government agencies, research organisations, SME's and start-ups across different industries to lead and support the development of innovation programs and commercialisation activities.

Lydia’s diverse cultural background being born in Malaysia to Chinese and Indian parents and later immigrating to Australia and marrying an Australian – Spanish partner; has played a pivotal role in her interest in supporting international engagements, especially in ones that celebrate science and innovation.

Lydia holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Biotechnology and Microbiology) and a Master of Biotechnology, focused on research commercialisation, from the Queensland University of Technology.

Elizabeth Peak Minister-Counsellor (Economic), Australia’s embassy in Beijing

Ms Peak is a senior career officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister-Counsellor (Economic) to Australia’s embassy in Beijing, where she leads economic engagement between Australia and China.

Her previous role was Assistant Secretary South-East Asia Services and Investment Branch where she led services, investment and e-commerce in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations and was deputy chief negotiator of the Australia-Indonesia Closer Economic Partnership Agreement and the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement. From 2010-11, Ms Peak was legal counsel for negotiations towards Australia’s free trade agreements with China, Korea and Japan.

Ms Peak has represented Australia in the United Nations on climate change extensively, including establishing the inaugural Office of International Climate Law in 2008-09. Ms Peak has served overseas as Counsellor in Ottawa from 2006-08. Prior to joining DFAT, Ms Peak was a lawyer at Freehills and Dwyer Durack.

She holds an Executive Masters of Business Administration from Kellogg-HKUST, Masters of Law (International Law) from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland.

Oscar Ramos - Managing Director, Chinaccelerator

Oscar Ramos, Partner and Managing Director of Chinaccelerator, is a "full stack innovator" with expertise ranging from product development to corporate strategy. He has experience as an entrepreneur, management consultant, and early stage investor.

A Telecom MEng and Biomedical PhD dropout, Oscar began his career 14 years ago as an R&D engineer in Ericsson’s Research Center, and then in a similar post at Telefonica. After discovering the concept of Business Model Innovation, he transitioned to the world of MedTech startups. This propelled his move to China in early 2008, since then he has been involved in various dimensions of innovation: product launches, go-to market strategies, venture capital financing, and M&As.

Dane Richmond - Technology and Investment Lead, Austrade

Mr Dane Richmond, Austrade Trade Commissioner and Commercial Consul at the Australian Consulate-General Shanghai.

Dane joined Austrade from the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. He worked in the Tourism Division of Austrade prior to taking a posting in Shanghai. Previously he worked for the Department of Finance and Deregulation and prior to that he worked for Australian water tech start up in Shanghai.

He holds a bachelors in Asian Studies from the Australian National University and a Masters in Strategic and Defence Studies from the ANU. He speaks Mandarin and Korean.

Dane is leading the Services and Technology team with sectoral focuses on Innovation, Financial Services, Tourism, Sport, and Digital Entertainment.

John Swinson - Partner, King & Wood Mallesons

John Swinson specialises in intellectual property and technology law. For over 30 years, John has acted for many high profile technology corporations, internet businesses, investors, and educational and financial institutions. He has considerable experience in the domestic and international aspects of copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, Internet and privacy laws.

John advises clients on a variety of legal matters involving technology, including obtaining protection for new products and services, commercialising technology, enforcing rights, licensing, procurement, outsourcing, online contracting, project recovery, security, hacking, domain names and plant breeders rights.

John represents clients in a wide range of business sectors including travel, education, gambling, financial services, property, hotels, mining, software distribution, Internet start-ups and government.

John has litigated a number of leading cases, such as cases involving copyright in newspaper headlines, copyright in Java software, ownership of copyright in films, software patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation by employees, trade mark infringement, trade mark ownership, software piracy, misleading online advertising, domain name cybersquatting and failed computer implementations.

Charlotte Trinh - Senior IP Consultant, Rouse

Charlotte works within the IP Consulting and Commercial practices at Rouse. She supports clients in reaching their commercial and market entry goals by helping them to capture, protect, and exploit their intellectual assets. Charlotte advises on IP and technology related issues across a range of industry sectors. Her experience includes developing and executing the China IP strategy for major global FMCG companies, including managing IP portfolios and enforcement programmes, civil and administrative litigation, and advising on online and offline regulatory, marketing, and advertising issues.

Charlotte joined Rouse in 2013 after training as a solicitor in Sydney, where she worked in the Intellectual Property group of a leading international law firm. Since then she has had a number of roles within the Rouse Beijing, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hong Kong offices. Her experience also includes a stint as seconded inhouse counsel to a multinational food and ingredients business.

Before going into practice Charlotte worked in marketing and media roles in her hometown, Sydney.

Eva Xiao - China and Mongolia Correspondent, AFP

Eva Xiao is a Beijing-based journalist at Agence France-Presse, where she covers a broad range of topics, including technology, politics, culture, and society. Previously, she wrote for Tech in Asia and Technode.

In the five years that she has lived in China, Eva has written extensively on technology. Her reporting has taken her everywhere from bitcoin mines in Inner Mongolia to makerspaces in Shenzhen. She has interviewed startups and entrepreneurs across a broad range of industries, such as artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and fintech.

In her free time, Eva also co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Digitally China, where she discusses trending topics in China’s tech industry. Past episodes have covered Huawei’s “wolf culture”, the meteoric rise of TikTok, and more.

Louisa Xu - IP manager, Treasury Wine Estates

As the IP manager (North Asia) in Treasury Wine Estates, Louisa Xu manages the IP portfolio, and provides IP and risk mitigation advisory services to this region, while crafting and executing a robust and comprehensive brand protection strategy. In addition, Louisa also develops close relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including local authorities, government bodies, key online marketplaces and industrial organisations, while also working as the Vice Chair of Government Affairs and Public Policy Committee in the Quality Brand Protection Committee for foreign invested enterprises (QBPC) to coordinate with various government units, including The Office of the National Leading Group on fighting against IPR Infringement and Counterfeiting. Louisa has extensive experience in relation to IP management and brand protection, and is especially skilled in navigating data in support of the overall IP strategy in the current digital era.

Vivian Xu -Dogma Labs

Beijing-born Vivian Xu is a media artist, designer and researcher currently based in Shanghai. She is an independent artist. Her work explores the boundaries between bio and electronic media in creating new forms of machine logic, life and sensory systems, and often take the form of object, installation and/or wearable. She has shown, lectured, and performed at various institutions in China, the US, Germany, and Australia.

Vivian co-founded Dogma Lab with Benjamin Bacon, a trans-disciplinary design lab in Shanghai, dedicated to creating experimental research at the intersection of design, technology, art and science.

From 2013–2015, she was a research fellow at the New York University Shanghai Campus. Since then, she has lectured at various universities and programs, among them Shanghai Tech University, Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Campus, and the Roy Ascott Technoetic Arts program.

Robin Zhang - China CEO, Canva

Robin Zhang is the China CEO of Canva. Canva is the world’s largest online design and publishing platform. It was originated from Sydney and is now valued at US$2.5 billion. Prior to joining Canva, Robin was a founding member of LinkedIn China, leading consumer marketing and product operations. Robin also worked at Bain & Company and Apple and had an MBA degree from Wharton Business School.