On Thursday 21 October 2021, ACBC Victoria held our AGM via Zoom with our members and several guest observers. We are delighted to announce that our Branch President, Matthew Schofield was unanimously re-elected, together with re-nominating Vice Presidents Tom Parker, Rhys Roberts, On Kit Tam, George Yeung, and Treasurer Ying Hou.
We also welcomed two new Vice Presidents: Liming Huang and Celina Yu and two new Executive Committee members: Guy Thompson, ANZ and Mary Wang, RSM. We thank them and know they will each bring unique skills and ideas to our Branch Executive.
We accepted the re-nomination of 19 current members of our ExCo and are delighted that they have re-committed to serve our Branch for another year.
We have achieved gender and cultural balance and are pleased to have wide sectoral representation, talent, and experience on our ExCo, which positions us well as we look to navigate an increasingly dynamic global environment.
We also farewelled four members from our ExCo, who collectively have contributed close to 90 years’ service to our Branch.
Robin Chambers AO who served ACBC for 35 years and has contributed widely to ACBC activities and has played a significant role in Australia-China relations through his work as legal counsel with Sinosteel and Rio Tinto.
Life member Barry White, an active member for 34 years who played a significant role in the growth and evolution of the Australia-China trade relationship and ACBC from the time it was formed in 1973.
The Hon Ken Smith AO, brought his political skills and connections to lead the Branch as President and our National Board representative for 4 years during which time we hosted a number of high-level visiting Chinese delegations at Parliament House and ran two major Health & Wellness Expos.
Laura Mattiazzi, who served as a Vice President for ACBC Victoria for 4 years, leaves our Branch ExCo to take on a role on the National Board.
We acknowledged and thanked them for their considerable support of our branch and look forward to continuing to work with them.
ACBC Victorian President, Matt Schofield, gave a comprehensive summary of our last 12 months’ activities, highlighting the disruptive forces of intermittent lockdowns on both member businesses and branch operations. Matt outlined priorities and forward plans for our Branch, including the leadership of CEO, Virginia Birrell taking on the role of National Executive Officer to bring cohesion and forward momentum to the chamber nationally.
We have built up and maintain a strong and vibrant branch that is well engaged with our members and we thank each of you for your support.
The ACBC Vic Team, led by CEO Virginia Birrell, looks forward to working with you all over the coming 12 months as vaccination rates increase and we look to again start hosting in-person events.
We thank those of you who are active members of our branch. Your time, financial contribution and expertise is valued, appreciated, and acknowledged – particularly as the challenges of 2020 carried in to 2021. We encourage all our members to involve themselves in our activities, working groups and are always pleased to receive your comments and suggestions. We look forward to meeting as many members as possible in the weeks and months and to strengthening the B2B connections between Australia and China.
Click here to view and download the ACBC Victoria Annual Events Diary 2020/2021 – a snapshot of the events and activities of the branch over the past 12 months.
Matthew Schofield – SW Accountants & Advisors
Liming Huang – Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Tom Parker – New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
Rhys Roberts – Roberts Gray Lawyers
Professor On Kit Tam – RMIT University
George Yeung – Harbour Guidance Pty Ltd T/A JeansWest
Dr Celina Yu – Global Business College of Australia
Ying Hou – KPMG
Dr Mona Chung – Cross Culture International
Andrew Deszcz – King & Wood Mallesons
Grace (Xinyu) Ji – PWC
Vera Ou-Young – Deloitte
Professor Charles Qin OAM – Chin Communications
Theo Sakell – Pitcher Partners
Mary Studdert – Studdert Legal & Advisory
Dr Susan Su – Melbourne Airport
Guy Thompson – ANZ
Damien Tkalec – Travel Trade Partners
Mary Wang – RSM
John Warmbrunn – Ego Pharmaceuticals
Isabel Zhang – Bastion Insights
Download the 2021-2022 ACBC Victoria State ExCo Members Bios here