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Tim previously served in the Bracks and Brumby Governments as Minister for Roads and Ports, and later added Major Projects to his responsibilities. He was also previously Minister for Resources in the last term of the Andrews Labor Government, overseeing a period of significant growth.

As Minister for Roads, he delivered the EastLink, oversaw the M1 Upgrade, the construction of the Deer Park Bypass and Geelong Ring Road, completed the upgrade of the Calder Freeway to improve links to Bendigo, and was responsible for commencing the Peninsula Link project on the Mornington Peninsula.

In the Major Projects portfolio, he was responsible for big ticket items like the development of AAMI Stadium, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, as well as the Melbourne Recital Centre and Melbourne Theatre Company’s auditorium.

Tim’s first budget as Treasurer in May 2015 delivered the biggest education budget and investment in public transport in the State’s history. His second budget in April 2016 included the single biggest school capital investment in Victoria’s history as well as fully funding the construction of Melbourne’s new Metro Tunnel. His third budget in May 2017 included an unprecedented $1.9 billion investment to tackle family violence.

The 2018/19 Victorian Budget focused on continued jobs growth, investment in major projects and the Free TAFE initiative.

The 2019/20 Budget delivered a suburban transport blitz, universal three-year-old kinder, and the solar homes initiative, while maintaining a strong and steady economic approach.

In Tim’s time as Treasurer, we have seen a significant improvement in Victoria’s economy, with the fastest growth in full-time jobs in the nation.

Tim studied Arts/Law at the Australian National University prior to taking up roles with the Federal Firefighters Union and the Storemen and Packers Union. Tim still holds a legal practising certificate and is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

He later served as Assistant Secretary of the ACTU before taking up a position as Chief of Staff to Premier Steve Bracks.

He is married with two children and is a passionate supporter of the Western Bulldogs, Melbourne Storm, Melbourne Victory and the Melbourne Vixens. In his spare time, Tim works towards fulfilling a dream of being an accomplished chilli farmer.

Previously, he was a policy officer and manager of the Australia-China Council at the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In this role, Philipp led the strategic renewal of the Council and had broader responsibilities for the Australia-China bilateral relationship. Philipp was one of the principal authors of the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper - China Country Strategy. 

Philipp was also Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific at the University of Sydney, advised the University of Sydney on their China strategy and managed La Trobe University's partnerships in the Gulf States, Vietnam and Thailand. 

Philipp spent over 6 years in China working in education and development. He is the recipient of the ‘Rose Award’ by the Shenyang Municipal Government for his contribution to Shenyang City. In 2009 he was also awarded the Australian Government’s Endeavour Executive Fellowship to research China's policies on leadership development at the China National Academy of Education Administration in Beijing.

He is a board member of the Australia-Vietnam Young Leadership Dialogue, Asia Recon, Haymarket HQ and Sydney City Council's Chinese New Year Advisory Panel. In 2015, he was invited as the only Australian to the 2015 Congress of Vienna - a preeminent global track-two dialogue on major-powers conflict, migration, equality and innovation. He is the creator of Disruptive Asia - a thought-leadership project examining the impact of Asia's rise on Australia.

Philipp has a Bachelor (Honours) degree in Chinese language and history from the Far Eastern National University in Russia. He also studied in Jilin and Liaoning Normal universities in China. He holds a Master of Educational Leadership and Management from RMIT University in Australia. He grew up in Vladivostok on Russia's Pacific coast and is a fluent Chinese and Russian speaker.

She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Most recently she served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, working on a range of U.S. trade negotiations and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. In that capacity she was responsible for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, including the bilateral negotiations with Japan. She also was the chief negotiator to the U.S.-Korea (Korus) Free Trade Agreement. 

Cutler received her master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University.

John’s role includes driving transformation of the organization to develop new business models and new ways of servicing clients and ensuring that Deloitte continues to be the World’s leading Professional Services Firm. Prior to this role, he was the CSO for Deloitte Australia and the Asia Pacific region, where he responsible for developing plans for future growth and structure of Australia and the region. Until June 2019, John was Deputy Chairman of Deloitte’s Global Board and was a member of the Global Board’s Composition and Risk Committees. The youngest of four brothers, John was born in Bruce Rock, Western Australia. He has two children. John has an appreciation for art and is the former Independent Chairman for The Brett Whiteley Foundation and a Director of the Asia Society.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Sydney and in 2012 received a University Alumni Award for professional achievement.

She has a deep interest in developing a culture of philanthropy and sits on a number of not-for-profit boards, including Australian Philanthropic Services. She is currently also Trustee of the St Vincent’s Curran Foundation and Chairman of Future Generation Global Investment Company, Australia’s largest impact investing fund with a focus on child and youth mental health. Her family foundation supports a variety of community-based initiatives such as the Hunger Project in Malawi, Africa.

In the business sphere, she is Chairman of Thales Australia Limited, a non-executive director of Qantas and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Company Directors.

She was previously Chairman of QBE Insurance Group, a director of Telstra, Coles Myer, Energy Australia, TAB, St Vincent’s Health Australia, Crane Group, a non-executive director of AGL Energy and President of the NSW State Library Council.

Belinda is a champion for increasing opportunities for women in leadership positions and is a past president of Chief Executive Women, which comprises more than 400 of the country’s women leaders.

Compass Group Asia Pacific has 65,000 employees in 10 countries, serving over 400 million meals at 3,500 sites a year.

One of Mark’s greatest passions is encouraging healthier lifestyles and a more sustainable food system. Mark is also passionate about seeing Australia realise its full potential within the Asia Pacific region and is chair of a BCA/Asia Society Taskforce focusing on building Australia’s trading relationship with Asia.

Prior to joining Compass Group Mark had a diverse career holding leadership roles with LG Electronics, The Coca-Cola Company, Waterford Wedgwood, Cinzano, Allied Domecq and Gillette.

Mark has lived in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland and Australia.

Stroud-Watts has conducted in-depth interviews with many leading business, financial and corporate newsmakers including Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, Nobel Laureate for Economics Angus Deaton, World Bank Managing Director Bertrand Badre and the founders of China’s largest conglomerate, Fosun. She has also reported live from major events, most recently China’s 19th Party Congress in Beijing.

Stroud-Watts joined Bloomberg in 2015 as an anchor for Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. Prior to joining Bloomberg, she was the Senior Business Anchor for Channel NewsAsia in Singapore. She began her career as a lawyer in Melbourne before making the switch to journalism as a Business Anchor with CCTV News in Beijing, and subsequently to Fox Business Network as its Asia Markets Reporter.

Fluent in Mandarin and English, Stroud-Watts graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, History and Political Science, and a Bachelor of Law degree.

He is now an independent writer, editor and consultant; is researching a book about Australia and Asia; and writes a column on economic diplomacy for The Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter. He is a member of the Australia-ASEAN Council board (AAC); and a former member of the Australian National University Indonesia Project advisory board; the Australia Japan Foundation board; and the steering committee for the Australia-Indonesia Dialogue.  

His connection with the region began as a high school Indonesian language student and then as an exchange student in the Philippines. This year he has been a member of an international observer group during the Indian election; attended the Australia-Vietnam Young Leadership Dialogue in Ho Chi Minh City; and served on the selection panel for an AAC Muslim Exchange Program in South East Asia.