Perth USAsia Centre appoints new board members, chair and vice chair

The Perth USAsia Centre is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to its board of directors. Bringing a wealth of experience across government, business, and foreign policy, the new board members will play a vital role in shaping the future of the Centre as it enters its 10th year of operations. The new board directors are:

• The Hon Richard Court, former Premier of Western Australia and former Australian Ambassador to Japan.

• Dr Lynn Kuok, Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS); Visiting Professor, Georgetown University (School of Foreign Service); Senior Research Fellow, University of Cambridge.

• Rebecca Tomkinson, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME).

“We are excited to welcome such distinguished individuals as Richard, Lynn and Rebecca to our board as we approach our 10th anniversary as a Centre,” said Professor Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Centre. “Their knowledge about both Australia and the Indo-Pacific will be critical to our future as an institution as we work to strengthen Australia’s position in and relationships throughout the region.”

The new appointments coincide with the selection of Kim Beazley, former Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Labor Party, former Australian Ambassador to the US, and 33rd Governor of Western Australia, to the position of Chair. Deidre Willmott, Non-Executive Director of Australia Post and former CEO of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of WA, assumes the new position of Vice-Chair.

They will join existing board members Mark Baillie, Chair of the United States Studies Centre, Sarah Beshar, Senior Legal Counsel at Davis Polk And Wardwell LLP, Professor Amit Chakma, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Australia, and Dr Michael Green, CEO of the United States Studies Centre.

The Hon Richard Court AC has led an extensive and successful career in government and foreign affairs. He served as the Member for Nedlands in the Western Australian Parliament for almost 20 years, served as Premier and Treasurer of Western Australia for eight years, and as Australia’s Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020.

Dr Kuok brings with her a highly successful career in international relations and law, having held fellowships at Brookings Institution, Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, the Harvard Kennedy School, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore. She is Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at IISS, a visiting professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a senior research fellow at the University of Cambridge. She has also taught at the US Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute and the Australian War College.

Rebecca Tomkinson joins the board with considerable business experience in strategic and executive positions across both private and not-for-profit sectors. After leaving the WA Royal Flying Doctor Service in 2022, she became the first woman to serve as the CEO of the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy in its history. Representing several of WA’s largest resource companies, Rebecca is deeply committed to advocating the importance of Western Australia.