Australia

An acknowledged leader in the global professional services market, Stuart brings deep industry insight, cultural intelligence, commercial acumen and global leadership and management experience from his roles as leader of KPMG’s global legal services businesses of 4,000 legal professionals across more than 80 jurisdictions, and as the inaugural Global Managing Partner of King & Wood Mallesons. He builds and enables business and people, with a strong focus on technology-enabled solutions and creating and embedding global teams.

He has a broad and proven range of global connections, skills and experience from his time leading global businesses, with deep connections across Asia, Europe, North American and Latin America. He also has board and chair experience.

He is also an expert in the financial services markets and their regulation, securitisation and structured finance, and the global capital markets.

As an Asian-Australian, Vera sees great value in fostering cross-border relationships and is known for orchestrating success between East and West. She is a seasoned executive with a track record of successfully navigating business challenges such as restructuring, transformation, and rapid expansion into new markets in the Asia-Pacific region. She has held senior roles at Deloitte, National Australia Bank and Ernst & Young.

Vera’s commercial mindset and strategic relationships underpin her ability to guide clients through intricate processes, always with a focus on long-term success. Passionate about people, she has a strong track record of helping others advance their careers, especially in the Asia-Australia landscape. Her commitment to bridging divides and creating opportunities drives her to deliver results with integrity, bring positive energy, and build a future of shared prosperity.

Previously, Nicole was the Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at Macquarie University in Sydney, with responsibility for a global portfolio that included international business development, transnational education programs, pathways and scholarships, international relations, student and staff global mobility and international operations.

Nicole has also held similar roles at Griffith University and in the Queensland Department of Education.

Nicole holds undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Mandarin from the ANU, as well as postgraduate qualifications in Marketing and Business Management from Monash University, and the Australian Company Director’s Diploma.

She was the inaugural CEO of the National Foundation for Australia China Relations in 2020. She served as Australia’s Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau from 2017 to 2020, and on diplomatic missions in Singapore and Thailand. She also served as senior international adviser to Australian foreign and defense ministers.

Michaela has held senior trade and economic roles including leading Australia’s global investment promotion activities, and leading trade and investment operations for established markets (Americas, Europe, Japan, Korea, NZ and the Pacific) at the trade and investment commission (Austrade). She previously led Australia's development assistance program for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was a trade negotiator to the WTO and for Australia’s free trade agreements with the US and Singapore. She is one of Australia’s members of the APEC Business Advisory Council, on the Board of the Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee and of the Asia Society (Australia Chapter). She is an Advisory Board member for the Asian Development Bank. She is an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. She has previously served on boards for professional services, education, veterans volunteer and disaster response organizations.

She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has a Bachelor of Economics and Masters in Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University.  

Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer of ARA Infrastructure, a part of Asset Management Limited, a Singapore-based integrated real assets fund manager.

Prior to joining Hastings, Grant was Australia’s Consul-General in Guangzhou, China. As Consul-General, Grant led a 120-strong team responsible for all aspects of Australia’s relationship with south China including trade development, investment attraction and political relations. This included building effective relationships with senior Chinese Party leaders, government officials and leading Chinese State-owned enterprises and private-sector companies to promote Australian Government policies and commercial interests.

Previous to his role as Consul-General in Guangzhou, Grant was a Director of the China Trade and Economic area at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra and, prior to this role, served the Australian Government overseas in Jakarta, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. Grant has a Masters of International Affairs and a Bachelor of Asian Studies (with majors in Mandarin Chinese and Asian History) from the Australian National University.

He serves on the boards of the Asia Society Australia, the Asia Foundation Australasia, and A Rocha Australia, and the Advisory Board of the Institute of Southeast Studies in Singapore. He previously served as a director of the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, a member of the Victorian Branch of the Australia-Indonesia Business Council, Vice-Chair of the Australian Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (AusPECC) and as a consultant to government institutions and companies in Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, the United States and China, as well as international agencies such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the ASEAN Secretariat.

He was previously the founding President and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Monash University Indonesia, Vice President Global Development and Director of the Australian APEC Studies Centre at RMIT University, Dean of the College of Asia & Pacific at the ANU, founding Director of the Crawford School of Public Policy at ANU and Professor at the University of California, San Diego.

He has published widely on Southeast Asian politics, international relations in the Asia-Pacific region and higher education. He was the founder of the Australia-Indonesia Governance Research Partnership and is the recipient of the Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation for contributions to the promotion of relations between Japan and Australia (2006) and also a recipient of the Presidential Friends of Indonesia award (2010).

Wayne serves on the boards of Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed Sun Hung Kai & Co. Limited and Global Invacom Group Limited, a company listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange Limited and the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market. He was previously an independent non-executive director of Floatel International Limited, a company headquartered in Norway which owns and operates a fleet of offshore accommodation vessels.

He holds various not-for-profit board / advisory roles both in Australia and Hong Kong, including Council Member of Oxfam Hong Kong. Wayne has worked extensively in Greater China & North Asia for over 20 years having lived in Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and South Korea. He is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.  

Su-Ming is non-executive director of Booktopia Group Limited and has been chairman/director of over 20 Australian companies operating across retail, technology, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare and tourism sectors. 

Su-Ming is a Professor of Practice at UNSW, a director of Sydney Writers’ Festival and a member of UNSW Business School Advisory Council. He was a member of the Council of University of Technology Sydney and a director of several other NGOs. A Fellow of the AICD, Su-Ming holds a ME from the University of Canterbury, NZ and a MBA from AGSM, UNSW.