James Tang

Executive Director

James has been passionate about bridging the language and cultural differences between Australia and China through people to people exchanges since his university studies in Hangzhou in 2007 and Taipei in 2009. His interests in understanding China have taken him to work as a consultant in Beijing from 2013-2017 for RPM Global in mining advisory.

James's professional career in Australia has been diverse, ranging from a FIFO engineer in the Pilbara for Rio Tinto, a senior management consultant at Deloitte Consulting and corporate developer at Fortescue Metals Group. His latest endeavour has been building and launching a fast-growing startup called Ready Team One, a social Virtual Reality (VR) gaming company that has sold its product internationally.

As an Australian born Chinese raised in Perth, James completed studies in Engineering (Mechanical), Arts (Chinese) and MBA from the University of Western Australia.  He has been a proud member of the ACYD management team since 2016. 

Harry Li

Partnerships Manager

Harry has been involved in the Australia China space since he moved to Perth, Australia, in 2014 from Chengdu as an international student. He has organised as well as assisted multiple conferences and events in both China and Australia; he believes the importance of active engagement between two nations and this lead his path to Australia China Youth Dialogue since 2022.

Harry has recently completed his MBA at University of Western Australia. He has worked as Business Development Consultant across a range of industries including Healthcare, Life Sciences, and International Education. Harry also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Physiology and a Graduate Diploma in Health Science (Clinical Physiotherapy), and he is also a NAATI certified provisional interpreter.

Ivy Wang

Communications Manager

Ivy currently works at the Victoria University as a Transnational Education Partnerships Coordinator. Ivy holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration and currently finalising her Master's degree in Public Policy and Management. She's an experienced marketer and has worked across different countries. She migrated to Melbourne in 2018 and quickly become an advocate for China-Australia trade relationships. She was the 11th ACYD delegate and would like to contribute back to the community to achieve enhanced people to people relationships. She is also interested in China-Africa policy, Africa poverty alleviation through trade, and international students employability in Australia. 

GABRIELA POWELL THOMAS

Special Projects Manager

Gabriela is a postgraduate student at The Australian National University College of Asia and the Pacific, with a regional specialisation in China and Chinese language.

Gabriela completed her Bachelor degree majoring in languages at the University of Sydney in 2020. As part of her degree she undertook language exchanges at Peking University (China), Leipzig University (Germany), and Rikkyo University (Japan). She was awarded several language prizes and scholarships during her undergraduate studies, including second place in the NSW Chinese Bridge competition in 2019, for which she was selected to attend the 18 the Chinese Bridge Summer Camp held in Changsha, Hunan. These immersive overseas experiences fostered Gabriela’s interest in China, the Asia-Pacific region, and Australia’s relationship with its near neighbours.

Gabriela is currently a tutor of Chinese language and Asian economies at The Australian National University. Outside of university, she enjoys reading, playing cards with friends, and basketball. She graduated from the Conservatorium High School in Violin and Voice and continues to enjoy playing music.

Chloe Sevil

Curation Manager

Chloe is a London-based lawyer working as a cyber incident response lawyer or "breach coach". Acting as a breach coach, Chloe assists global multinational clients contain and investigate complex cyber incidents, including ransomware incidents, large wire frauds, email compromises and inadvertent disclosure incidents. Chloe works with threat intelligence professionals and forensic investigators to advise her clients about the legal ramifications of a cyber incident, often working with clients to manage regulatory and data subject notifications in EMEA, APAC, the US and LATAM regions. Chloe also contributes regularly to industry journals, speaks about cyber as an emerging business risk, and has appeared on podcasts discussing Board considerations for paying ransom demands. 

Jessie hu

Treasury Manager

Jessie Hu is currently a finance business partner at Paragon Care, where she works closely with senior leadership to drive strategic business improvements & performance initiatives. Prior to this, she kickstarted her career with KPMG Sydney - working on a diversified portfolio of clients, ranging from ASX-listed entities and 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 diverse backgrounds enriched her university life and later career. She was an active member within KPMG’s Asian Female League and China Club - supporting others in career advancement, helping to strengthen cross-border relations between Australia and China. She is also an industry mentor at the University of Sydney Business School.

Jessie was a delegate at Hobart 2022. The experience inspired her to return as a treasury associate and contribute towards creating this opportunity for more future emerging leaders from different industries to connect.

During her remaining spare time, she wields a dragon-boat paddle and climbs rock.

Matthew Warr

Logistics Manager

Matthew Warr’s professional and educational background has revolved around China and the Australia-China relationship for the past fifteen years.

Matthew is a Legal Consultant at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Guangzhou, where he works with a team of Chinese lawyers to provide legal advice and services to foreign companies doing business in or with China. Matthew is also a Board Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce (AustCham) South China, a role which involves working with leading executives from Australia and China to connect, inform and advocate on behalf of Australian businesses in South China, and advance the overall Australia-China business and economic relationship.

Matthew first became involved with ACYD as a delegate at the 10th dialogue held in Shanghai in 2019. He is very excited to contribute again to ACYD as Logistics Manager at the 13th dialogue held this year in Chengdu.

Matthew holds a Bachelor of Global Studies (with a major in Legal Studies) and a Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Management from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), as well as an MBA from Peking University HSBC Business School in Shenzhen. Matthew was a recipient of a Prime Minister’s Australia-Asia Endeavour Award Scholarship in 2014 and a BHP Billiton Australia-China Scholarship in 2017. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.