SPEAKERS

Paul Beckett

Bureau Chief for South and Southeast Asia, The Wall Street Journal

Paul Beckett is the Wall Street Journal’s bureau chief for South and Southeast Asia, based in New Delhi. Born in Scotland, Paul was educated at Edinburgh University, where he graduated with a bachelor of law degree. In 1998, he joined the Journal in New York covering banking. In 2003, he moved to the Journal’s London bureau, where he served as bureau chief and European finance and markets editor. He became South and Southeast Asia bureau chief in February 2007.
 

Suman Bery

Director-General National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), India

Since January 1, 2001, Mr Suman Bery has held the position of Director-General (CEO) of National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. The NCAER is one of India's leading independent policy research institutions and undertakes social science research under sponsorship from the government, private and international sectors. It is particularly known for its work on economic forecasting, household surveys, infrastructure, trade policy and human development. Prior to this, Mr Bery was with the World Bank in Washington DC. Areas of focus included the macro-economy, financial markets; and public debt management and focus on Latin America.

From 1992-1994 on leave from the World Bank, Mr Bery worked as Special Consultant to the Reserve Bank of India, Bombay, where he advised the Governor on financial sector policy, institutional reform, and market development and regulation. In addition to serving on numerous government committees, Mr Bery is an independent (non-Executive Director) on the board of State Bank of India, India’s largest commercial bank.
 

The Honourable Premier John Brumby

Premier of Victoria, Government of Victoria

Premier Brumby was sworn in as the 45th Premier of Victoria on 30 July 2007 and will present the opening address at Critical Issues 2008.  His first official function as Premier was to open the Australian Synchrotron – a major project he was instrumental in developing that will revolutionise scientific research and development in Australia.

As Premier, Mr Brumby leads a Labor Government which has, since 1999, rebuilt Victoria’s infrastructure and services while maintaining strong budget surpluses and managing a vibrant, growing economy.
 

The Honourable Simon Crean MP

Minister for Trade, Australian Government

Prior to his appointment as Trade Minister in December 2007, Simon Crean held a range of Shadow Ministerial positions including: Shadow Trade and Regional Development Minister from December 2006, having been Regional Development Shadow Minister since July 2005, Shadow Trade Minister from October 2004, Shadow Treasurer from December 2003 to October 2004. He was Leader of the Opposition from November 2001 to December 2003, Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Treasurer from October 1998 to November 2001 and Shadow Minister for Industry and Regional Development and Manager of Opposition Business from March 1996 to October 1998.

Following his election to Federal Parliament in March 1990 Mr Crean went straight on to the front bench as Minister for Science and Technology in the fourth Hawke Labor Government and later served as Minister for Primary Industries and Energy and Minister for Employment, Education and Training in the Keating Government.

Prior to entering Parliament, Mr Crean was President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) from 1985 to 1990, and from 1970-1985, Mr Crean was a full-time trade union official with the Federated Storemen and Packers Union of Australia.

Mr Crean has taken an active role within a number of national and international organisations. Until his election to Parliament he was a member of the governing body of the International Labor Organisation, the Economic Planning and Advisory Council, the Rural and Allied Industries Council, the Board of Qantas, the Board of the Australian Industry Development Corporation and the Transport Industry Advisory Council.

Mr Crean was born in Melbourne in 1949. He was educated at Melbourne High School and Monash University, and obtained degrees in Economics and Law. In 1973 Mr Crean married Carole Lamb. They have two daughters, Sarah and Emma. The family lives in Melbourne. Mr Crean’s father Frank had a long and distinguished career in the Federal Parliament, and was Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer in the Whitlam Government. Mr Crean is the Patron of the North Melbourne Football Club.
 

Dawei-Liu 

Chief Financial Officer, China Development Bank

China Development Bank, founded in March 1994, is under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council. At present it has 33 branches and 3 representative offices across the country. Over the past decade CDB has followed conscientiously China' s macroeconomic policies and carried out its macro-control functions in support of national economic development and strategic structural readjustment. CDB has been a major player in long-term financing for key projects and supportive construction in infrastructure, and basic and pillar industries, which are vital to the development of the national economy.

View Presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint 4.6 MB)
 

Kathryn Fagg

President, Asia, BlueScope Steel

BE (Hons-Chemical), MCom (Hons).
Ms Fagg was appointed President Asia for BlueScope Steel in March 2006. She is responsible for the Company's businesses and markets in South East and South Asia. These markets include Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and India, and prior to 2008, China. Previously, she was President, Australian Building and Logistics Solutions. Before joining the Company in 2000, Ms Fagg held a number of senior positions with ANZ Banking Group Limited including Managing Director, Banking Products and General Manager, Retail Banking, New Zealand. Her previous experience was with McKinsey & Co as an associate, and with Esso Australia Limited as a petroleum engineer.

Gajendra Haldea

Adviser to Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India

Since November 2004, Mr. Haldea is Adviser to the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission with particular responsibilities relating to infrastructure reforms. He also heads the Secretariat for the Committee on Infrastructure (CoI), which was constituted under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister with the objectives of initiating policies that would ensure time-bound creation of world class infrastructure.

Mr. Haldea has made vital contribution in the evolution of policy frameworks across several infrastructure sectors.  Prominent among them include the modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai Airports, privatisation of container train operations, appraisal and approval procedure for PPP projects and financing of infrastructure projects.

View Presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint 511 KB)
 

Tim Harcourt

Chief Economist, Australian Trade Commission

Tim Harcourt is the chief economist of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). As chief economist Tim analyses the global economy to help Australian exporters and helps Austrade devise its own international business strategies. A prolific author and globetrotter, Tim has visited over 40 countries in the past 4 years alone.

Tim is an active commentator in the Australian and international media on economic and trade issues. Tim appears regularly on TV and Radio shows including on Business Lateline, Business Today, Mornings with Kerry-Anne, Sunday, Sunrise and Today Tonight. Tim also writes for a number of major publications including The Australian Financial Review, The Business Review Weekly, The Age, The Australian, The Advertiser, The OECD Observer, The Economic Times and various website and blogs.

Before joining the Austrade, Tim was an economist and industrial advocate with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). He worked on living wage cases, working hours, and various industrial campaigns and was involved in the airline, education, retail, textile and pastoral industries. Tim was also an economic policy adviser to the ACTU on international trade, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs and the environment.

Tim has also worked as an economist for the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and has overseas experience in the corporate sector, working as an economic consultant for PA Consulting in the UK, as an environment adviser to Pacific Dunlop in the USA and as an economic advisor in Israel. Tim was educated at the University of Adelaide, the University of Minnesota and Harvard University. He is a Corporate Fellow at the University of New South Wales and a Research Associate at the University of Sydney.

Tim is an active swimmer, runner and cyclist and an enthusiast of a range of sports including cricket and football (all codes – Australian rules, rugby league, rugby union, soccer and gridiron). He also enjoys music, travel and Aboriginal art. Tim is also an amateur cartoonist and a member of the Australian Cartoonists Association (ACA). His inspirations include Bruce Petty, Peter Nicholson, Ron Tandberg and Michael Leunig.

Tim is married to Jo Bosben and they live in Sydney with their daughter, Yun Shi. Tim’s articles and speeches can be found on the “economists corner”. Tim is the author of BEYOND OUR SHORES and THE AIRPORT ECONOMIST.

View Presentation (Acrobat PDF 1.6 MB)

Ian Harper

Executive Director, Centre for Business and Public Policy, Melbourne Business School

Ian Harper is Chairman of the Australian Fair Pay Commission. He is also Principal of his own consulting company Harper Associates Australia, a Senior Consultant with Access Economics and a Senior Adviser to Aon Australia.

Ian Harper is best known as a commentator and public speaker on economic and financial issues. He has been described as “one of those relatively rare academics who can communicate extremely well with both the business community and the academic community”.
 

Barbara Hilder

Director Corporate Engagement, Confucius Institute

Barbara Hilder is currently the Director Corporate Engagement at the Confucius Institute at the University of Melbourne. Barbara has spent the last 15 years off shore in both China and Japan.

Barbara has worked as the Australian Trade Commissioner in Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai and Beijing. Previous to this Barbara worked for Fujitsu in Japan.

Barbara is a qualified teacher and holds and MBA in International Management. She has a unique business culture insight from both living and working in China and with her extensive experience working with a range of Australian companies off shore.
.

Ashok K. Jha

President of Hyundai Motor India Limited

Mr. Jha worked for about 38 years as a member of the premier Civil Service in India, i.e. The Indian Administrative Services (IAS). In the course of his tour of duties, he worked in all the major Economic Ministries/Departments in the Government of India, i.e. Ministries of Commerce, Department of Industrial Policy, Ministry of Finance, as well as in the Foreign Office.

Mr. Jha has represented India in a number of international conferences all over the globe. After his retirement from Government in May, 2007, he formally joined Hyundai Motor India Limited as President from 29th October 2007.

Katie Lahey

Chief Executive of Business Council of Australia

Katie Lahey took up the position as Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia in 2001.

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is an association of Chief Executives of 100 of the top Australian companies.  The Council was established in 1983 to provide a forum for Australia’s business leadership to contribute directly to public policy debates in order to build a better and more prosperous Australia.

The BCA focuses on policies of national economic significance that are centred on the role of business in generating wealth and employment for Australians.

Its policy reform agenda includes taxation, business regulation, workplace relations, infrastructure development, trade and federal-state relations.

Before joining the BCA, Ms Lahey was the Chief Executive of the State Chamber of Commerce (New South Wales) from 1995-2001, Chief Executive of the Sydney City Council from 1992-1995 and Chairman and Chief Executive of the Victorian Tourism Commission from 1989 to 1992.

Katie is a Director of David Jones Limited, the Major Performing Arts Board and is a former Director of Australia Post, Hills Motorway Limited and the Garvan Research Foundation.
 

K. Mohanchandran. “Mohan”, as he likes to be called

General Manager of Taj Hotel, Sydney

Mohan is a long-serving member of the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces team, having joined the company as a management trainee in 1989 following completion of his Bachelor of Arts and hotel studies. He has served in over seven Taj hotels as well as in various senior executive positions. No stranger to top hotels, Mohan was most recently General Manager of the legendary Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur and Taj Wellington Mews, Taj’s first foray into luxury residences.

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces operate 76 hotels in India and international destinations across the globe. With a legacy dating back to the launch of its landmark hotel, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in 1903, the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces across the world have become destinations in themselves, offering distinctive service and unrivalled luxury.

Steve Nevett

Chief Executive Officer of Aon Australia,

Aon Australia is the largest insurance broking and risk advisory firm in Australia. Steve Nevett joined Aon in 2002 and in 2004 assumed responsibility for Aon's corporate client portfolio. He was appointed CEO in January 2007. Mr Nevett has over 35 years experience in the insurance industry having worked in the UK, Asia and Australia.
 

Rhonda O’Donnell

Chief Executive Officer – Freshtel Holdings

Rhonda O’Donnell was appointed CEO of Freshtel Holdings in July 2007. Freshtel is a leading ASX listed, internet telephony company that develops and markets VoIP technology to wholesale and retail customers globally.

Prior to joining Freshtel, Rhonda was the Chair of Novell Asia Pacific, a global provider of Linux (open source) technologies and identity management solutions.  She managed Novell’s entire Asia Pacific operation encompassing 13 markets with more than 800 employees and an extensive partner network and was a member of Novell’s worldwide management committee.

Rhonda was awarded the Victorian Telstra Business Woman of the Year in 1999 and is an active member on a number of boards: Chair of the Victorian Government Purchasing Board; a member of Chief Executive Women (CEW); on the board for ACMI, the state government’s innovation economy advisory board; and the Ministerial Advisory Board for ICT.

Rhonda holds a Masters Degree in Innovation and Service Management from RMIT University.
 

Paul Perrett

Global Manager Client Operations, Aconex

Paul Perrett is GM, Client Operations at Australian company Aconex, the world’s largest provider of online collaboration services for construction, engineering, and resource projects.

Paul is responsible for delivery of Aconex services to clients in China, India and sixty other markets worldwide. He manages a team of over 120, including staff in Shanghai and five cities across India.

Until mid-2006, Paul spent six years with Melbourne IT, one of Australia’s largest IT companies and a leading provider of on-line services to small business, large corporations and global internet companies. His roles there included that of UK-based divisional Chief Operating Officer.

Established in 2000, Aconex provides online information management and collaboration services for more than 135,000 users around the world, on projects valued at USD210 billion.

Aconex is leading a revolution in the way information is exchanged between companies in the construction, engineering and resource industries, moving it beyond costly paper-based document management and communication systems.

The company has doubled revenues in each of the last 6 years and is driving current growth by expansion into the construction and property markets of Asia, the Middle East and India, as well as into the resources sector.

Paul has a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of New South Wales.
 

Wang Qixin

Chief Representative, China Construction Bank

Wang is the Chief Representative of the China Construction Bank a leading commercial bank in China that operates in three principal business segments: corporate banking, personal banking, and treasury operations. They are among the market leaders in China in a number of products and services including infrastructure loans and residential mortgage and bank cards. They maintain overseas branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Tokyo and Seoul; representative offices in Australia, New York and London.

View Presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint 1.4 MB)

Anand Sethi

Senior Business Consultant, Think Global Consulting, India

Anand Sethi has four decades of active involvement in international joint ventures and business, technology transfers, and projects and investments into India.

View Presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint 442 KB)
 

Ajay Shah

Senior Fellow, National Institute for Public Finance and Policy, New Dehli

Ajay Shah was a consultant to the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and is a leading commentator in India.
 

The Hon. Warwick Smith AM

Chairman, ANZ NSW & ACT & Chairman E*TRADE

Warwick Smith has strategic focus on the Group’s international and domestic cross-sector activities. Warwick is also the Chairman of E*TRADE Limited and the Chairman of the Australian New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Ltd) for the State of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory.

Formerly, Warwick was an Executive Director with Macquarie Bank operating as Global Head of the Bank’s Corporate Communications Division and chairing the Telecommunications, Media, Entertainment and Technology (TMET) Group within Investment Banking.

Warwick has served as a Federal Government Minister in a Parliamentary career spanning 15 years. He served as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the 2000 Olympics, Minister for Sport, Communications, Privatisation, Family Services, and Aboriginal Affairs. Warwick was also Australia’s first Telecommunications Ombudsman.

Warwick has a strong focus on international affairs. He is the Immediate Past Chair of the Australia China Business Council.  He is the Deputy Chair of the Asia Society of Australia. He is also the Inaugural Australian Member for BOAO Forum for Asia and a Board Member of The Global Foundation.

Warwick has received a Centenary Medal for contribution to philanthropic and community programmes. In 2008, he was honoured in the Order of Australia for his contribution to the Parliament of Australia, philanthropy, international trade, tourism, and the telecommunications industry.
 

Vivek Tulpule

Head of Economics & Chief Economist Rio Tinto London, UK.

Vivek began his career as an economist in the Australian Public Service with roles in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Department of Environment and Heritage and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) where he was Deputy Executive Director from 2003-2005.

In 2005 Vivek became Head of Economics and Chief Economist for Rio Tinto the global mining company.

In this role he is responsible for assessing the economic environment in which the company operates. This includes the global macro economy, commodity demand, supply and prices and the implications of global shifts such as climate change.

Vivek has degrees in economics from the Australian National University and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School.
 

Michael Stutchbury

Deputy to the Editor in Chief (Business), The Australian

Michael Stutchbury oversees business and economics coverage in The Australian across print, online and broadcast platforms. Previous to taking up this role in 2007, he was the newspaper’s editor for five and a half years, a period of huge news stories, from September 11 and Bali to the Iraq War and the Asian Tsunami to the housing boom-bust and the China boom. He has worked at The Australian since September 1998, first as Deputy Editor (Business) then as Deputy Editor (Weekend).
 

Alex Thursby

Group Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited

Alex joined ANZ after 20 years with Standard Chartered Bank where he held various senior wholesale banking roles in Hong Kong, London, Indonesia and Singapore.

Most recently, he held the positions of Senior Managing Director and Group Head of Corporate and Institutional Client Relationships, Wholesale Banking in Singapore.

Alex, who is British by birth, completed his secondary and tertiary education in Australia. He is married with four children.
 

Xisu Wang

Senior Business Consultant, Think Global Consulting, China

Mr Wang is based in Beijing and consults to foreign companies doing business in China. He is known for his insightful commentary on socio-economic and geo-political issues in China.
 

Jonathan Woetzel

Jonathan is a Director in McKinsey & Company’s Greater China office (Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei), and leader of its Corporate Finance Practice in China. A co-founder of McKinsey's Shanghai office, where he has been based since 1994, Dr. Woetzel has also worked in McKinsey's Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, and Zurich offices.

Dr. Woetzel holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Southern California, where his work focused on China's international political economy.