RUNDOWN:
17:45   Registration and Networking Reception
18:10   Welcoming Remarks and Introduction
18:18   Address by Prof. Alec Cameron, Vice Chancellor and President, RMIT University
18:28   Fireside Chat with Prof. Alec Cameron and Algernon Yau, JP, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the HKSAR
18:48   Closing Remarks and Continuation of Reception
19:30   End

ASHK Members: HKD100
Non-Member Ticket: HKD150

As part of Asia Society’s global “Season of Australia”, Asia Society Hong Kong Center, in partnership with Asia Society Australia and RMIT Asia Trade and Innovation Hub, is proud to host a reception and program celebrating the Australia-Hong Kong relationship. This program will bring together Australia’s Hong Kong-based community to reconnect and recognize the importance of people-to-people links in the Australia-Hong Kong relationship.

The program will feature an address from RMIT University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Prof. Alec Cameron, on the importance of shared expertise and close regional partnerships, followed by a fireside chat with Mr. Cameron and Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development and RMIT alum, Algernon Yau, in conversation with ASHK President S. Alice Mong, to discuss his experience studying in Australia and the future skills required to address the urgent social, economic, and environmental priorities that will define our futures.

Professor Alec Cameron has been Vice-Chancellor and President of RMIT University since January 2022. Prior to joining RMIT, he was Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at Aston University in the UK since 2016. Professor Cameron is a Rhodes Scholar (1986) with a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford in Robotics (1989). He is also a graduate of the University of Sydney with Bachelors’ degrees in Science and Electrical Engineering. His early career involved executive roles at Sun Microsystems and Telstra, and he was the inaugural Dean of the Australian School of Business, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources and Infrastructure) University New South Wales (2003-12) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), University of Western Australia (2013-16). In 2022, Alec was appointed Director of AARNET, Australia's national research and education network. The Vice-Chancellor works with the leadership team, staff and students at RMIT to deliver an enhanced education experience for nearly 100,000 students in Australia and internationally.

Mr Algernon Yau, JP, assumed the post of the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development on July 1, 2022.  His portfolio covers policy areas from trade, commerce to telecommunications and broadcasting, and from promotion of intellectual property and consumer protection to boosting inward investment. Before joining the Government, Mr Yau held key managerial positions in the aviation and logistics sector.  He was Chief Executive Officer of Greater Bay Airlines, and prior to this, Chief Executive Officer of Cathay Dragon, Executive Director of Cathay Pacific Board, and Director Service Delivery of Cathay Pacific.  Mr Yau managed different aspects of business operations throughout his career in the private sector, and also served on various advisory bodies of the Government. Mr Yau holds a Bachelor of Business degree in Transport and Logistics from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. He is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Hong Kong.

S. Alice Mong is President of Asia Society Hong Kong Center (ASHK), an independent non-governmental educational organization established in 1990. Ms. Mong previously served as the Executive Director of ASHK from August 2012 until 2024, and as a consultant to ASHK in preparation for the February 2012 opening of its permanent home at the Former Explosives Magazine in Admiralty.  Prior to ASHK, Ms. Mong worked in New York for almost a decade in the non-profit sector in senior management positions. She was the Director of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) from 2009 to 2011, overseeing the expansion project of the 30-year-old organization. She stepped down as Museum Director in July 2011 after successfully transforming the museum from a New York Chinatown institution into a leading national museum dedicated to preserving and presenting the history, heritage, culture and diverse experiences of people of Chinese descent in the United States. Ms. Mong also served as the Executive Director for the Committee of 100 in the United States, a Chinese-American non-profit membership organization founded by architect I.M. Pei and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She began her career at the Ohio Department of Development in Ohio, and later became Managing Director of the Ohio Office of East and Southeast Asia in Hong Kong. Ms. Mong worked for Hang Lung Property Group from 1995 to 2002. She serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of The Ohio State University Alumni Association.

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong Center, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong Center does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.