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NATIONAL PANEL OF EXPERTS 2019

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Arun Sharma

Chairman

Celebrate India

Arun Sharma is the Chairman of Celebrate India. In ten years, the ‘Festival of lights’ celebration at Federation Square in Melbourne spear-headed by Arun Sharma, has grown from a single day event to a 10-day affair, making it one of the biggest Diwali events in the Southern Hemisphere. He is also director of J & A Sharma and former co director of DOST.-a friend.

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Christine Holman GAICD
 Non-Executive Director

Moorebank International Company

Christine Holman is a professional company director on the Boards of WiseTech Global, CSR Ltd, The Moorebank Intermodal Company, The T20 World Cup 2020, The Bradman Foundation and The State Library of NSW Foundation. She brings over 20 years’ experience across a variety of functions including mergers and acquisitions, finance, sales, technology, digital transformations and marketing. 
I was formerly the CFO and Commercial Director at Telstra Broadcast Services and sat on their Executive & Remuneration Committees. 

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Dr Clinton de Bruyn GAICD 

Executive Director (SES2)

Trade and Investment Queensland

Dr Clinton de Bruyn GAICD is a public policy professional currently working at Trade and Investment Queensland. He is leading the Queensland India Economic Strategy. He has been working for over 12 years on issues of public policy and economic development for Trade and Investment Queensland, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Queensland Treasury, the New Zealand Treasury and the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development (now Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment), He recently graduated from the Australian Institute of Directors (AICD) Company Directors Course.

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DD Saxena

Managing Director

ROBE

DD and his team have built from a start up greenfield site one of the largest and best canola oil seed plants in Asia that provides Australia with a sustainable and growing industry in providing non GMO food oil not just to Australia. Exports to Asia and US with markets opening in Europe with DD and his engineering team (talent also sourced from India) have taken a position of leadership to show the local industry what the export opportunity is. 

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Elena Kirillova

 State Director, NSW/ACT,

​Australian Trade and Investment Commission, (Austrade)

Elena Kirillova is Austrade’s State Director, NSW/ACT, and served previously as Senior Trade Commissioner, Russia/CIS. She is a solicitor with over 20 years experience, qualified in New South Wales (1985) and in England and Wales (1991), and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2010). She holds a Bachelor of Laws, University of Sydney (1984) and a Masters of Jurisprudence (Hons), Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2000). Elena has served on boards in the UK and in Australia, and as elected councillor at Woollahra Municipal Council, NSW.

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Francis Wong OAM, OSJ, FAICD

Board Member

Tourism Australia 

Mr. Francis Wong, OAM is the founder and Managing Director of Encounter Australia Pty Ltd. Mr. Wong has been a Director of Tourism Australia since November 12, 2015. Mr. Wong is an accomplished leader and entrepreneur in the tourism industry. He serves as a Board Member of the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) South Australia Branch, Panel Member of the South Australian Tourism Commission International Marketing Advisory Group, Board Member of the Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation and Chairman of the Council for International Trade and Commerce South Australia. Mr. Wong has received various awards recognizing his contribution to the tourism industry, including Most Outstanding Contribution by an Individual by ATEC.

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Jasmin Kaur

Managing Director

PWC

Jasmin Kaur, Managing Director at PwC Australia. Jasmin is a highly qualified senior executive with 20 years of international business experience in the consulting, banking, financial services and automotive industry spanning across 3 continents. Exceptional expertise in strategy, business development, marketing, sales, and cooperation management. Strong communication and interaction skills in cross-functional and intercultural teams. MSC in International Political Economy from Warwick University. BSC International Relations from London school of Economics and Political Science. 

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Jonty Ephron

Former CRO

ANZ

Jonty is an experienced international executive having held leadership roles in Australia,  India and the UK. He is currently an independent consultant to the financial services industry in Australia. 

Jonty returned from Mumbai to Sydney in 2018. During his three and a half years there, he was the Chair of the Australia and New Zealand Business Association in India (ANZBAI)  and worked closely with Austrade, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise and the respective Consuls General to promote business and social engagement with India. 

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Dr Maurice L Newman AC, HonDBus Macq, FSIA, FSAA, FAICD

Chairman

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Maurice Newman AC is the former Chairman of Deutsche Bank Australia & New Zealand, Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), and Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Chancellor of Macquarie University.  His career spans over 50 years in stockbroking and investment banking.  Dr Newman has chaired a number of Asian business alliances and has been an adviser to Australian governments, State and Federal. Dr Newman is currently Chairman of Melon Pastoral Pty Ltd; M Value Capital Advisory Board; Chamber of Australia-India Trade & Investment (CAITI); Macquarie University Foundation; Taronga Foundation; Bradman Foundation; and The Australian Fathers’ Day Council. He was appointed Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council in 2013; and Honorary Professor in Public Diplomacy at the Soft Power Advocacy & Research Centre, Macquarie University in September 2012.

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Mukund Narayanamurti

CEO

Asialink Business

As the CEO of Asialink Business, Mukund is leading the organisation to create an Asia capable workforce in Australia, through the delivery of capability development programs, research and information, and forums and events.  
Mukund received his MBA from the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. 

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Swati Dave 

Managing Director & CEO

EFIC

Swati Dave is an experienced senior banking executive and non-executive director with an established track record of successfully leading and growing complex P&L businesses in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. She has over 30 years’ banking and finance experience across a number of sectors including infrastructure, energy and utilities, renewable energy and property. She has held senior positions at National Australia Bank, Deutsche Bank, AMP Henderson Global Investors, Bankers Trust and Westpac. 

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Petula Thomas  

Director

Indo - Australian Chamber of Commerce

Petula won four global and regional performance awards from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, when she headed Consular Operations for South India, leading on Customer Engagement for Middle East North Africa and South Asia and Communications for India.  She was also Chair of the Learning & Development/HR Committee and Vice-Chair of the Crisis/BCP Committee, leading cross-functional teams.  Petula was the recipient of a Regional award (Revenue/Sales) from British Airways Plc. and received commendation from Austrade.  She has a First class Masters Degree in Science and is passionate about Women in Leadership.

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Tracey Vieira 

CEO

Screen Queensland

Tracey Vieira was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Screen Queensland in February 2014, the latest role in a stellar career promoting the Australian screen industry in Queensland and the United States. Tracey is a champion for the Arts and its influence on our well-being and identity and has worked in a range of Directorships across the arts in music, precinct development, visual arts and creative place making.

​Tracey is a Non-Executive Director of RSPCA QLD, The Arts Centre Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast Arts Advisory Board. She is an external Advisor to US based Australians in Film and The Queensland College of Art and a previous Director with QMusic.
 

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Tracey Winters 

Head of Government and Public Affairs

Santos

Tracey is a senior executive with more than 30 years experience in the resources and energy sectors. She has held senior corporate roles in issues management, government and regulatory affairs, media and communications, environment, land access, project commercialisation and construction, and asset management. Tracey held a senior role in Federal public policy and politics for seven years and over more than a decade built and ran a successful government approvals and environmental management consultancy serving some of Australia's biggest resource companies and projects.

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Vivek Bhatia 

CEO

Australia Pacific, QBE

Vivek Bhatia is the CEO, Australia Pacific of QBE Insurance Group, one of the top 20 general insurers and reinsurers in the world.

Before joining QBE, Vivek was inaugural CEO and MD of icare, the NSW Government AUD$32 billion public financial corporation managing the state’s insurance and care schemes. Vivek is widely recognised as one of the most influential leaders in the Australian insurance industry. He was awarded the “Insurance Leader of the Year” in 2017 by the Australian & New Zealand Institute of Insurance & Finance (ANZIIF) and the Business Leader of the Year” by the India Australia Business & Community Awards (IABCA) in 2015.  He has also been a finalist of the “Financial Services CEO of the Year” by CEO Magazine in 2016 & 2017 and the “CEO of the Year” by Australian HR Institute in 2017.

 

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