Join us for an evening of professional networking with your fellow Gen As, members of Asia Society Australia’s Board and Advisory, as well as select lead members.

In an era defined by disruption, fragmentation, social distancing, and limited mobility, we explore what an Asia-engaged career looks like. Join Merriden Varrall, Director of Australia Geopolitics Hub, KPMG, and Natasha Jha Bhaskar, General Manager of Newland Global Group in-conversation with Chris Khatouki, Gen A member and Associate at Asia Society Australia, as they share their experiences of working within the ‘Asia opportunity’ and how this has evolved over the years. Gen A members are also invited to come ready to share their own experiences – social or professional - of connecting with the region as we relaunch this dynamic platform.

This is a ‘Gen A plus’ event so please register yourself and a colleague. Contact Eloise on [email protected] for further enquiries.

Date: Wednesday 18 May 2022
Time: 5:30 – 8 p.m. AEST
Venue: Sydney CBD (Details in invitation)

Please note, guests must be fully vaccinated and will be expected to show proof of vaccination status upon entry. 

About our Speakers

Merriden Varrall, Director of Australia Geopolitics Hub, KPMG

Dr Merriden Varrall is Director of the Australia Geopolitics Hub at KPMG, where she helps business understand and navigate the complex global geopolitical environment. She provides business-relevant insights into global, regional and local geopolitical trends and works with clients to develop strategies and solutions.

A former UN diplomat based in China, Merriden is a sought-after commentator on geopolitics, East Asia, China’s foreign policy, and Australia’s bilateral relationship with China.

From 2014-2018, Merriden was the Director of the Lowy Institute’s East Asia Program. Before joining the Institute, Merriden was the Assistant Country Director and Senior Policy Advisor at United Nations Development Programme, China, where she worked on China’s role in the world, focusing on its international development cooperation policy. Prior to that she worked for the Australian Government Treasury and the Department of Family and Community Services.

Merriden spent almost eight years living and working in China, including lecturing in foreign policy at the China Foreign Affairs University and conducting fieldwork for her doctoral research.

Merriden has a PhD examining Chinese foreign policy from Macquarie University, Sydney, and the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. She has a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from the Australian National University, and completed her undergraduate studies in international studies at the University of Technology Sydney. Her analyses have appeared in academic journals, as well as publications such as The Quarterly, The New York Times, Nikkei Asian Review, Foreign Policy, The East Asia Forum, and the Lowy Interpreter, among others.

Natasha Jha Bhaskar, General Manager of Newland Global Group

Natasha is General Manager of Newland Global Group, a leading corporate advisory firm headquartered in Sydney, Australia, which aims at simplifying and strengthening trade and investment between Australia and India. With her 12 years of work experience at the Indian Parliament in policy analysis, advocacy and communication, Natasha is driven by the ambition to build connections, insights, and capabilities, within the bilateral trade and investment ecosystem.

She is a frequent contributor to media and think tank publications, been a delegate to Parliament conferences of SAARC, ASEAN, BRICS, participant to National Legislators Conference, ORF's Raisina Dialogue, speaker at ORF's Colaba Conversation and India Global Week 2020, among many others.

Natasha has contributed to bilateral strategy papers; is Non-resident Indo Pacific fellow 2022 at The Perth USAsia Centre; 2022 UN Women Australia MBA scholarship recipient; Deliberative Democratic Exchange Fellow 2019 (Kettering Foundation, USA); Commonwealth Travel Bursary recipient; Young Professional of the Year, 2019 and Youth Ambassador 2021 and 2022 (India Australia Business and Community Awards (IABCA)).

Natasha holds Bachelor degree in History from LSR, Delhi University, Master of Public Policy as a Commonwealth scholar from UBD, Brunei Darussalam and Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication from MCRC, JMI University, New Delhi.

Chris Khatouki, Associate, Asia Society Australia  

Chris Khatouki joined Asia Society Australia in February 2021. He is a PhD Scholar in International Political Economy at the University of New South Wales, where his research focuses on the contentious dynamics of economic transformation in East Asia. He currently holds a Graduate Fellowship with The Korea Foundation.

From 2018 to 2021, Chris also served on the Executive Council at the Australian Institute of International Affairs, NSW. As councillor, he assisted in the coordination of high-profile events and worked towards expanding the institute’s outreach to younger audiences. Prior to this, he worked at the Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education in South Korea.

Chris’s writings on international affairs have featured on a number of global publications including the South China Morning Post, The Diplomat, Australian Outlook, and the Asia Society Policy Institute. He holds a First-Class Honours Degree in International Relations from the University of Wollongong, where he was awarded the University Medal for Academic Excellence.

Gen A (Generation Asia) is Asia Society Australia’s young leaders network. It is a learning and leadership development platform for early career professionals (under 35) from our member and partner organisations. Gen A activities are content-driven and designed to enrich participants understanding of Asia and Australia’s place in the region. Gen A members gain access to leading business, policy, trade, diversity and cultural thinkers on Asia and join a network of peers who are passionate about our region from the business, political, educational and cultural institutions that make up the Asia Society network.