Ms Seah graduated with a Master’s in Public and International Law from the University of Melbourne in 2018. She is the lead author of The State of Southeast Asia Survey Report and the Southeast Asia Climate Outlook Survey Report. 

Ms Chan has extensive experience in foreign policy, diplomacy, national security and intelligence, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Prior to assuming her current role, Ms Chan was the Deputy Secretary National Security and International Policy in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and was the National Security Adviser and Senior International Adviser to the Prime Minister.

From 2016 to 2018, she was Deputy Director-General of the Office of National Assessments (ONA, now ONI), Australia’s peak intelligence assessments agency. Ms Chan’s earlier roles include ONA’s Assistant Director-General for Southeast Asia (2011–13) and DFAT’s Assistant Secretary responsible for Indonesia, ASEAN and Timor-Leste (2006–07). She served overseas as Australian Ambassador to Myanmar (2008–11), with earlier postings in Indonesia (Counsellor (Political) then Minister-Counsellor (Political/Economic), 2002–05), Vietnam and Cambodia.

Ms Chan has a Bachelor of Arts (Juris) and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide, and a Master of Arts and a Master of Laws (International Law) from the Australian National University.

Mike has worked in cyber and tech across intelligence, policy, regulation and industry. In the public sector, he has held cyber positions in Defence Intelligence Organisation, Australian Signals Directorate, Attorney-General’s Department, and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Prior to ASPI, Mike worked with the cyber industry to grow Australia’s sovereign capability, and was Technical Director and Strategy lead in an Australian national security consultancy.

He also worked in counter-terrorism across Defence Intelligence Organisation and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Prior to working in national security, Mike spent six years in social science research at the Australian Institute of Criminology, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Department of Health.

Mike has a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and a Master of International Affairs (with Distinction) from the Australian National University, where he graduated first in his class and was awarded the university prize.”

Prerana is on the Board of SisterWorks, a Victoria based NGO that enables migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women gain independence and learn new social and vocational skills to improve their economic outlook. She stepped in as interim CEO in September 2021to lead the organisation through a critical transformation period until early 2022.

Prerana was previously Deputy CEO and Chief of Ecosystem Development at AustCyber, Australia’s Cyber Security Growth Network, charged to promote Australian cyber capability in Australia and internationally. Prior to this role, Prerana was Minister Counsellor, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner in Singapore, leading Austrade’s operations in promoting trade and investment opportunities from Australia to the ASEAN region.

Over the last 18 years, Prerana has developed extensive experience living and working in Asia and the Pacific region in both public and private sectors. As a consultant for DFAT in Jakarta Indonesia, with Deloitte in Papua New Guinea and with International SOS in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Prerana is a member of AICD and provides board advisory services to several start-ups. Board roles include BraveHER and the ACT Australia Indonesia Business Council.

Brendan started his career in politics, with a stint as an electorate officer for a NSW MP and interned with a US Senator in Washington DC. Brendan represented Australia at the Y20 Engagement Group, a sub-forum at the Group of 20 meetings in Saudi Arabia.

Prior to Immutable, Brendan was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs where he worked with Australia's largest financial institutions and technology companies to advise and structure transactions. Brendan has helped raise over $300M and advised on transactions worth over $50B for Australian companies in his career already.

Brendan is an Asia Society Gen A member and was previously a Board Member of United Nations Youth Australia and appointed to the Youth Advisory Council of the US Consulate, Sydney. Brendan holds a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney. 

Before joining Climateworks, Trang worked in both public and private sectors, including for Victoria State Government, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), ANZ Bank and KPMG. Trang has a Master degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Nottingham in the UK.

In January, Sophia formally attended the 2024 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos to speak on integrity, intention and courage in carbon markets. Previously, Sophia showcased MCi's ground-breaking technology at the Australia Pavilion during COP26, where she secured 1st Place in the Net Zero Technology Centre Pitch Battle held in Glasgow. Sophia presented at the 2023 Alpbach conference in Austria with Austrian Minister for Energy Leonore Gewesseler and won the COP28 Mission Innovation Net Zero Industries Mission Female Innovator Award for Australia. 

Committed to advancing global climate goals, Sophia is co-founding Director of CO2 Value Australia, is a member of the ACT Climate Change Council and a board member of the Climate Ready Initiative.

Sophia’s insights and contributions have been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Economist, The Innovator, TEDx and the Australian Financial Review. Ms Hamblin Wang has spoken prolifically about the circular carbon economy as an official delegate at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, WEF Annual Meeting in Davos 2020, WEF Pioneers of Change Summit 2021 and New York Times London Climate Week 2022. 

Anh holds a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and has completed the General Management Program at Melbourne Business School.

Jon brings in-depth expertise on global trends in education, built on the rigorous analysis of a wide range of external and in-house datasets. His work is informed by an up-to-the-minute industry perspective, developed collaboratively with a global network of stakeholders, policy-makers and experts.

For 13 years she served as National Executive Director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, an independent international policy institute established as a branchof Chatham House in 1924, with close links to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Under her leadership, the AIIA was recognised for three years running as the top think tank in Southeast Asia/Pacific and one of the top 50 think tanks worldwide in the University of Pennsylvania’s Global Go To Think Tanks Index, the only comprehensive ranking exercise. In 2017, she co-authored Think Tank Diplomacy, the first book-length discussion of the role of policy institutes in the international sphere.

‍She joined the University of Melbourne in 2019 as Director of Diplomacy at Asialink and then as a Research Fellow/Associate in the Asia Institute. Most recently she was a visiting fellow in Taiwan at the Ministry of Defense’s think tank – the Institute of Defense and National Security Research – funded by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taiwan Fellowship.

Melissa has extensive experience establishing and sustaining Australia-Asia engagement through Track II dialogues involving government officials, academics, media and business. She is a lawyer and specialist in conflict resolution, including negotiation, mediation and peace education, who worked as program manager of the University of Melbourne’s International Conflict Resolution Centre and Senior Fellow of Melbourne Law School.  Melissa is a prolific commentator with expertise in Australian foreign policy, Australia’s key relationships across Asia and the practice of diplomacy.

Possessing an entrepreneurial mindset, she co-founded KOS Magazine, a platform that publishes stories on how everyday people positively impact their local and wider communities to create change and is a TEDx speaker. She holds a Master of Marketing from Monash University, has completed the AICD Governance NFP Directors course and was recognised as a 2023 McKinsey & Co. Rising Young Leader. With a passion for empowering the next generation of changemakers, Sarah’s goal is to become an impactful leader in international affairs to create sustainable change for youth across the globe. 

Prior to joining KPMG in March 2018, Stuart was the inaugural Global Managing Partner of King & Wood Mallesons, based in Hong Kong, having led the combination of those law firms in 2012. Stuart was a partner at King & Wood Mallesons for 20 years, first practising as a capital markets, securisation and financial markets regulatory expert, and then holding a number of management and leadership roles across the firm and the capital markets industry in Australia.

Stuart is a member of the UNSW Law Advisory Council. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of laws degree from the University of New South Wales.

In his current role, he works with clients, consulting them on driving decision & automation efficiencies around the inter-sectionality of Finance, Technology & Data. With a cross-regional experience spanning India, Australia & New Zealand markets, he is passionate about leading cultural diversity initiatives within & outside of his organization.

She reports for Bloomberg’s terminal service, digital, TV and radio. Prior to joining Bloomberg’s newsroom she studied at the ANU graduating with a bachelor of politics, philosophy and economics and bachelor of arts, majoring in international relations.

She is passionate about using multimedia storytelling to shine a light on social issues, and has reported across all platforms. Before working at Bloomberg, Keira interned with ABC and Reuters in Jakarta, and completed a degree in Professional Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne.

Under his leadership, AKYPA actively fosters people to people connections and professional development opportunities for early to mid career professionals with an interest in the Australia-Korea bilateral relationship. Daniel's commitment to creating a vibrant community where members can thrive both personally and professionally has resulted in a diverse range of networking events, workshops, and mentorship programs organised under his leadership. Through his innovative approach and unwavering dedication, he continues to shape AKYPA into a catalyst for meaningful connections and opportunities for young professionals in Australia and Korea.

Aster holds a Master of Development Studies from the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Arts (International Studies) from RMIT University. Aster has spent extensive time studying and working in Indonesia with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, focusing on regional security issues, international development, and migration issues.

Prior to working with Asia Society Australia, Aster was a Program and Engagement Manager for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, expanding the reach of the world’s leading youth development program.