2018 WA-ASEAN Trade and Investment Dialogue

The Hon Bill Johnston MLA

WA Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Commerce and Industrial Relations; Electoral Affairs and Asian Engagement

Bill Johnston was sworn in as the Mines and Petroleum, Commerce and Industrial Relations, Electoral Affairs, and our State’s first Asian Engagement Minister in March 2017. Bill is also the Member for Cannington, having held this position since September 2008. Prior to entering Parliament, he spent seven years as the State Secretary of WA Labor, four years as Shadow Minister for Mines and Petroleum, and five years as Shadow Energy and State Development Minister.

Syed Nabil Aljeffri

Founder, Malaysian Association of ASEAN Young Entrepreneurs

Syed Nabil is the Founder of the Malaysian Association of ASEAN Young Entrepreneurs
(MAAYE), and was founding Chair of the regional ASEAN Young Entrepreneurs Council (AYEC).
He currently serves as a Council Member of the AYEC. He is also a Council Member of the Malaysia-Singapore Business Council (MSBC) and the National Industry Excellence Award Council (AKI). Most recently in 2018, he was appointed to the National Entrepreneurship Development Advisory Council.

Suzanne Ardagh

Director - Board Advisory Services, Partner, Lester Blades

Suzanne is a professional director and leads the Board Advisory Service for Executive Search Firm Lester Blades. Her career has spanned diplomacy, corporate affairs, tertiary education and professional associations. She has lived and worked in Europe, Latin America and the ASEAN region, where most recently she established the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ international Division in Singapore. Suzanne was the inaugural Director of Marketing and Communications at RMIT’s Campus in Vietnam where she lived for five years. As a Director, Suzanne has served on both international and national Boards.

Dr Muhamad Chatib Basri

Former Minister of Finance, Republic of Indonesia

Dr Muhamad Chatib Basri, is a former Minister of Finance of Indonesia. Previously he was the Chairman of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). Dr Basri was also a Vice Chairman of the National Economic Committee of the President of Indonesia. He is a Thee Kian Wie Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Australian National University (2016-2017). His expertise is in International Trade, Macroeconomics and Political Economy. He was Ash Centre Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University (2015-2016), Pacific Leadership Fellow at the Centre on Global Transformation, University of California at San Diego (2016), NTUC Professor of International Economic Relation, RSIS, NTU, Singapore (2016).

Rebecca Brown

Director General, Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation

Ms Rebecca Brown commenced as Director General of the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation in September 2018. In this role, she is also Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Western Australia. Ms Brown has worked across both Federal and State government agencies in a range of senior roles across revenue and economic policy, social policy, resourcing and performance. Most recently she oversaw the reform of the WA health system, including the establishment of a new governance model and the development of the Health Services Act 2016.

John Catlin

Commissioner, Western Australian Government Office, Singapore

John Catlin commenced his current role as Commissioner, Western Australian Government Office, Singapore in October 2015. His remit is reciprocal trade and investment between Western Australia and South East Asia, with trade networks now extending from Singapore into Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. John’s career background includes extensive experience with federal and state governments (WA, Vic) in both the resource development sector (minerals, petroleum, land tenure) and human services sector (education, arts, indigenous affairs, disability services). His overall experience in Asia commenced in the 1980’s and includes the coordination of cultural exchange programmes 1987-92 between WA and Japan, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Terence Cheong

President, WA Singapore Business Connect

Terence was the 2013 WA Divisional President at CPA Australia. He currently serves as President of WA-Singapore Business Connect Inc., President of the Deakin University Perth Alumni Chapter and Committee Member of the Public Practice Advisory Committee (CPA Australia). He also serves on several boards, including The Platform Perth, a charitable organisation.Terrence enjoys his engagement with Singapore including as a guest speaker or panelist at Alumni Chapters and industry conferences.

Dr Doan Duy Khuong

Vice Chairman, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Dr Khuong is Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), a national organisation which represents the business community, employers and business associations across all Vietnam’s economic sectors. He is also Chairman of the Vietnam Chapter of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, Co-Chairman of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development, Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnam Business Forum and a Global Australian Alumni Ambassador.

Professor Gordon Flake

CEO, Perth USAsia Centre

Professor L. Gordon Flake is the founding CEO of the Perth USAsia Centre. Having built an internationally recognised profile in Washington DC through his think-tank expertise and leadership, Prof Flake relocated to Perth to establish the Centre and to build a broader world-class Indo-Pacific strategic community. Prof Flake is one of Australia’s leading authorities on North Korea having spent nearly three decades focused on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia politics.

Hendro Fujiono

Director, Fuji Shepherd and Associates

Indonesian professional living in Western Australia. Experienced organizational change professional who has worked in state-owned and private companies. His key expertise is in innovation and organizational habit. His company is currently serving clients both in Western Australia and Indonesia. He regularly shares his experience and insights in Indonesia through series of business workshops and nation-wide business newspaper. Hendro has a PhD in Mining Engineering and Master in Mineral Economics from Colorado School of Mines, USA.

Andrea Gleason

State Director, Western Australian State Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Andrea Gleason commenced as Director of the DFAT Western Australian State Office in April 2015. She is responsible for managing the Department’s engagement with its diverse stakeholders in Western Australia, across government, business, academia and civil society. A career diplomat, Ms Gleason has served overseas in Washington DC and Stockholm. She has extensive experience in trade policy issues and negotiations and her previous assignments include Director, APEC Trade and Investment Section and Director, Trade Policy Section.

Michelle Guthrie

Director, Starhub

Michelle Guthrie serves on the board of Starhub in Singapore. Michelle was the Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation until September 2018, where she oversaw the performance of the company, including its digital transformation. She has extensive experience and expertise in media management, and content development, with deep knowledge of the traditional broadcasting and new digital media landscape

Greg Harvey

Managing Director and CEO, Harvest Road Group

Greg Harvey is Managing Director and CEO of Harvest Road Group, a major Australian food group servicing Asia’s growing demand for quality produce. Prior to this, Greg had been Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Interflour Holdings, one of the world’s largest grain processing companies with operations in Southeast Asia. Mr Harvey is a graduate of The University of Western Australia, Monash University and INSEAD, and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Reuben Kooperman

Honorary Consul, Kingdom of Thailand

Reuben has been the Honorary Consul for Thailand in WA since 2012. His connection to Thailand goes back to the early 1980’s, originally as a tourist, and then through a series of business relationships over many years with a number of Thai based companies that are active in the construction, property and investment sectors in both Thailand and Australia. His company oversees a variety of projects ranging from commercial offices, buildings for the mining sector, university buildings, libraries, infrastructure and urban renewal, to heritage and residential. Most of these are in WA, with some in Queensland and South East Asia.

Phung The Long

Consul General, Consulate General of Viet Nam, Perth

After graduation from the Institute for International Relations (now Diplomacy Academy of Viet Nam), Mr Phung The Long obtained his Bachelor of Law from the Ha Noi University (Viet Nam) and post-graduate qualification from the International Institute for Public Administration (France). During his career, Mr Phung The Long has held different positions including the Official at the Secretariat of the National Assembly of Viet Nam, Deputy Director General, Personal Assistant to the Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Deputy Director General, Department of External Affairs, Office of the President of Viet Nam and more.

Edi Irwan Mahmud

Consul General, Consulate General of Malaysia, Perth

Mr. Edi Irwan Mahmud, has an extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. He has served as a Malaysian diplomat for more than 17 years including as the Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Fiji (2013-2015), the First Secretary to Vietnam (2009-2010) and the Second Secretary / Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Yemen (2004-2009). At home, he rose to become Deputy Director General for Policy Planning and Coordination, Foreign Ministry after being Director for Policy Planning, Director for Information and Public Diplomacy, Assistant Secretary for Africa & South Sahara, East Asia and Protocol. He was appointed as the Consul General of Malaysia, Perth, Western Australia on 6 April 2018 by His Majesty the King of Malaysia and he assumed his duties in Perth, Western Australia on 1 July 2018.

Gemma Manning

Founder and Managing Director, Manning & Co. and Gemstar Technology

Gemma Manning is a serial entrepreneur and recognised business leader who knows how to stay ahead of the game. Over the past 10 years, she has successfully established two businesses with international reach—Manning & Co, a full-service strategic marketing consultancy (2008), and Gemstar Technology, a launch-pad for Australian start-ups and innovators in Singapore and South-East Asia (2013).

Jennifer Mathews

Commissioner, Western Australian Government Office, Jakarta

Jennifer Mathews is the Commissioner for the Government of Western Australia in Indonesia. Prior to this appointment, Jennifer served in various roles as Director General within the state government of WA and was State Manager for Austrade. Earlier in her career, Jennifer was the First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta before going on to become the State Director, WA, for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Jennifer undertook her tertiary studies in law and Indonesian studies at the University of Melbourne.

Brodie McCulloch

Founder and Managing Director, Spacecubed

Brodie is passionate about building ecosystems of support and connecting with people and organisations who are interested in building the next wave of industry and entrepreneurs. In 2018 Spacecubed signed an MoU with Indonesia based UNIONspace to build connections for members into Southeast Asia where members of UNIONspace can access Spacecubed spaces when in Australia and Spacecubed members can access UNIONspace spaces across Southeast Asia. Spacecubed was listed as one of the top 1000 high growth companies in Asia Pacific in Financial Times. Spacecubed rank was number 132 and the second fastest growing property company.

David Morgan

President, Western Australian-Vietnam Business Council

Two years ago, David was one of the main instigators in the re-birth of the West Australian Vietnam Business Council. Having lived and worked in Vietnam David is passionate about establishing business relationships between Western Australia and Vietnam. Born in the UK he migrated to Western Australia in 1982 and after eleven years working for Woodside Offshore in Karratha as an Electrical / Instrumentation engineer he returned to Perth and began a new career as a ‘Change Management’ specialist and has since worked across a diverse range of industries that has included Oil & Gas, Mining, Marine, Construction, Engineering and Logistics.

Cat Thao Nguyen

Director, Global Ready LLC

Thao Nguyen is Managing Director of Global Ready LLC which provides cultural intelligence training services. She was formerly the Regional Director for UTS Insearch, the pathway college of the University of Technology Sydney. She is Board Chair and co-founder of the Australia Vietnam Young Leadership Dialogue as well as Chair of Loreto Vietnam, an Australian education charity. During her time as a corporate lawyer, Thao founded and managed Ernst & Young Law Vietnam LLC after being Vietnam/Cambodia chief strategy officer for a multi-billion dollar investment fund.

Shinto Nugroho

Chief of Public Policy and Government Relations, GO-JEK

Shinto Nugroho is the Chief of Public Policy and Government Relations at GO-JEK. GO-JEK is a social enterprise that helps amplify Indonesia’s motorcycle taxis and has now grown to become Indonesia’s leading on-demand multi-service platform. She has more than 15 years of experience as lawyer and public policy specialist. Prior to GO-JEK, she was at Google Indonesia, focusing on issues related to innovations and technology.

Michael Ottaviano

Director, Inkling Capital

Michael is an experienced executive and entrepreneur having started, grown and led organizations and divisions involved in renewable energy, technology and consulting. He has been responsible for raising approximately $200 million in funding from equity and debt capital markets and in Government grant funding. Michael most recently led ASX-listed Carnegie Clean Energy, a leader in renewable energy development in wave, solar, battery and microgrid projects and technology development. During his time at Carnegie he oversaw the construction and operation of the world’s only grid-connected wave array project, finance and construction of the first merchant utility solar farm in Western Australia, the largest utility scale battery on the Western Australian grid and numerous cutting edge solar/battery microgrids across Australia.

Russell Potapinski

General Manager and Head of Intelligent and Autonomous Systems, Woodside Energy

Russell is the General Manager and Head of Intelligent and Autonomous Systems for Woodside Energy, responsible for leading the vision and implementation of these new technologies throughout the business. Russell has more than 20 years’ industry experience. He joined Woodside in 1998 and has held a variety of roles in areas including engineering, mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy, business unit leadership, artificial intelligence and robotics.

Professor Stephen Smith

Director, Perth USAsia Centre

Professor Stephen Smith has been a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Western Australia since 2014. In May 2018, Professor Smith was appointed to the Resources 2030 Taskforce and is currently the Chairman of archTIS and a Member of the Board of LNG Marine Fuel Institute. Professor Smith was Federal Member for Perth for the Australian Labor Party from March 1993 until September 2013. In a distinguished career spanning 20 years in the Australian Federal Parliament, Professor Smith served as the Minister for Defence, and prior to that, as Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Kyle Springer

Program Manager, Perth USAsia Centre

Kyle Springer is the Program Manager at the Perth USAsia Centre. He provides high-level program assistance and develops the think tank and external outreach programs of the Centre. In addition to planning and coordinating a range of program and research initiatives, Kyle directs the Centre's Indonesia programs and convenes the Australia - Indonesia Working Group.

Ross Taylor AM

President, Indonesia Institute Inc.

Ross Taylor is the current President of the Perth-based Indonesia Institute Inc. In addition to writing ‘Opinion’ articles for The West Australian, The Australian and The Jakarta Post newspapers, plus a commentator on SkyNews, 6PR, ABC Radio 720, and 2UE, Ross is also a Past National Vice-President and director of the Australia-Indonesia Business Council. He was also the joint-founder of the Regional Development Institute of Indonesia in 2002, based in Jakarta. Ross served as the West Australian Government’s Regional Director to Indonesia from 2001 until 2003 and was based at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Dato Praba Thiagarajah

Founder and CEO, Basis Bay

Dato’ Praba Thiagarajah is the Founder and Group CEO of Basis Bay, a leading provider of Premium and Sustainable Cloud and IT Infrastructure Services. Dato’ Praba graduated with an honours degree
in Physics from the University of Malaya and has several post-graduate qualifications including a Diploma in Computing & Information Technology from the University of Oxford and Master-level business qualifications and certifications from Heriot-Watt University (Scotland) and Disaster Recovery Institute International (USA). His early years of work experience was as an engineer with Japanese multinational NEC and the American IBM.

Dewi Gustina Tobing

Consul General, Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, Perth

Dewi Gustina Tobing assumed office as the Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Perth, Western Australia on 25 February 2018. She was the Director for American and European Intra-regional Cooperation from December 2014 – January 2018. She joined the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990 and got her master’s degree on Business Administration from Birmingham University, UK, in 1995.

Dewi Sri Umi

Co-Founder and Managing Director, Penida Capital Advisors Ltd

Dewi is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Penida Capital Advisors, Ltd. She has over 30 years of executive experience in the underwriting of greenfield investments and cross-border acquisitions. She has been publicly recognized as one of Indonesia’s Top 75 Executives. During her career, Dewi served as President to a select group of corporate finance and valuation firms where she led assignments on over $12.6 billion of M&As, IPOs, asset disposals, and risk management reviews for investment banks, private equity, multinationals, and government agencies.

Dr Duc Hong Vo

Director, Economic Regulations Authority

Dr Duc Huong Vo is currently the Executive Director of the Business and Economics Research Group, HCMC Open University, Vietnam. Duc’s research has been published in more than 20 high quality peer-reviewed international journals. Duc’s current research interest covers a wide range of topics from fiscal decentralisation and local governments to inequality in income and wealth; economic growth; financial development and risk management. He has also acted as a reviewer for various international and Vietnamese journals.

Deidre Willmott

Non-Executive Director, Australia Post and Director, Perth USAsia Centre

Ms Willmott is a lawyer with many years’ experience in public policy and advocacy. From 2014 to 2018 she was Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry WA. Previously she was Chief of Staff to Premiers Richard Court and Colin Barnett, General Manager of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and Director External Relations at Fortescue Metals Group.She is a director of Kimberley Foundation Australia and a member of the UWA Centre for Rock Art Research & Management Advisory Board.

Dr Jeffrey Wilson

Head of Research, Perth USAsia Centre

Dr Jeffrey Wilson is the Head of Research at the Perth USAsia Centre. He provides leadership and strategic direction in developing and managing the Centre’s research programs across its publications, policy and dialogue activities. Dr Wilson is a political scientist, whose research specialises in regional economic integration in the Indo-Pacific.

Peter Yu

Chief Executive Officer, Nyamba Buru Yawuru

Peter Yu is a Yawuru man from Broome in the Kimberley region in North West Australia with over 35 years’ experience in Indigenous development and advocacy in the Kimberley and at the state, national and international level. Peter was a key negotiator on behalf of the Yawuru Native Title Holders with the Western Australian State Government over the 2010 Yawuru Native Title Agreement and is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Yawuru Corporate Group.

Nadira Yusoff

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Nadi-Ayu Technologies

Better known as a dynamic and spirited Community Builder, Mentor, Innovator and Seasoned Entrepreneur, Nadira Mohd Yusoff is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Nadi-Ayu Technologies Sdn Bhd and Co-Founder of NATSB since 2002. As a CEO, she is also the lead architect for Nadi-Ayu’s products, merging both the business and market demands in ensuring the company and products’ growth and sustainability. Recently she is the Managing Director of KiddoCare, a digital platform that connects parents with reliable babysitters through mobile application.