Simon Pugh is the CEO and majority shareholder of QLM Label Makers, one of Asia-Pacific’s largest label and packaging companies. QLM began in 1974 as a small family business and in 2002 Simon took over the management and ownership. The company has since embarked on a continued growth strategy which now sees it operating two manufacturing facilities in Australia with sales offices in every mainland state, as well as manufacturing in 5 countries including Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. The QLM Group employs over 500 team members utilising 80+ manufacturing platforms to serve a diverse client base from Multinationals to local heroes, across a broad range of industries. QLM’s focus on providing solutions for 'what clients what to achieve' and the use of innovative technology has garnered numerous industry awards and QLM is seen as a leader in the industry. Simon is passionate about the importance of values underpinning the engagement of its team and company stakeholders

Jen is the Counsellor (Education and Research) to the Australian Embassy, Hanoi, Vietnam, with responsibility to Vietnam and Thailand. Prior to commencing this role, Jen was the Director for International Education at TAFE Directors Australia and brings with her a detailed knowledge of Australia’s tertiary education system, particularly vocational education and training. In this role, Jen was responsible for supporting Australian TAFEs to further their international engagement and as such, facilitated a number of agreements and programs that supported TAFEs expand globally. Jen also led Australia’s engagement with the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics, providing invaluable experience into global skilling systems.
Jen has previously worked in a number of positions within the Australian Government, leading policy and program initiatives spanning schools, vocational education and youth engagement. Jen was posted with the Department of Education, Skills and Employment to the Australian Embassies in Beijing and Bangkok, managing the broad bilateral relationship between China and Australia and Thailand and Australia. Jen has also worked in the education sector privately supporting both school and university engagement in China. Jen has lived in Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok, and is passionate about enabling global engagement and exchange in education.
Jen completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at the University of Melbourne.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung has served as the Deputy Director General, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam since July 2019.
In this capacity, Mr. Tien Dung plays a key role in developing policy and regulatory framework for international cooperation and foreign investment in education in Vietnam.
Mr. Tien Dung holds a B.A. Degree in English Education from the University of Languages and International Studies Hanoi (1988) and an M.A Degree in Higher Education from Southern Illinois University (2006).

An educator with more than 18 years of experience in international schools in Latin America and Asia. Member of the International Baccalaureate evaluation team. Has held administrative and academic leadership positions in different international educational contexts. Expert in psycho-pedagogy and educational entrepreneurship. He is currently the Principal of the Western Australian International School System.

Professor Claire Macken is the incoming Pro Vice Chancellor Vietnam, and has been in the interim role of Executive Dean (Academic and Students) (Interim) at RMIT Vietnam for the past 6 months at the Saigon South Campus. Previously Claire spent over 2 years as the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Learning and Teaching in the College of Business and Law at RMIT University in Australia, one of the largest business schools in the Asia Pacific region, with over thirty thousand students.

She has previously held roles as a Director of Education at KPMG, and also at Apple, leading Higher Education and Industry. Claire held various senior roles in Australian Universities, including as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Innovation and Future Learning) and Director of Online and Blended Learning at La Trobe University, and as an Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the School of Law at Deakin University. Claire is a nationally-award winning teacher, with an Australian Award for Teaching Excellence, and an Australian Citation for her work in relation Student Engagement. Claire holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), a Master of Business Administration, a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law degrees with Honours and is the author of ten books and multiple book chapters and journal articles in both the areas of law and tertiary education.

Marisha is National Director of Swinburne-FPT Joint Program and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). She has a PhD in higher education and background in the creative industries. Marisha has significant HE regulatory experience and knowledge of Higher Education policy and legislation in Australia, UK, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Vietnam, and India. She is based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Rebecca leads the Austrade Vietnam team which is focused on growing Australia’s trade, investment and education relationship with Vietnam and Cambodia.

Rebecca Ball commenced her posting to Vietnam in February 2021, returning to the market after first working in Ho Chi Minh City in 2000. Prior to her current role, Rebecca was the Executive Director, Invest and Trade Western Australia. Previous leadership roles include A/CEO South West Development Commission, Western Australian Government and Austrade Trade Commissioner roles in Jakarta and New Delhi.
With more than 20 years' experience across economic and industry development, trade, investment, tourism and education in both public and private sectors in Australia and overseas, Rebecca is passionate about representing Australia and supporting Australian enterprises to succeed globally.
Rebecca holds a Master of Business (Tourism Development) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons)(Political Science).

Jimmy Pham has been a pillar of the Hanoian community for over 22 years. Born in Saigon but raised in Sydney, Jimmy keeps a foot in both camps which has allowed him to successfully operate in the hospitality sector in Vietnam, for over 20 years.
Jimmy’s long history operating the KOTO social enterprise has allowed him to not only develop extensive experience in the social justice space, but also vast business networks within Vietnam.
His high visibility among both expats and local Vietnamese has long been an asset that he has utilised by mentoring socially inclusive businesses into thriving institutions in Hanoi through the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion.

Dr. Nguyen Thu Anh is an epidemiologist with more than 20 years of experience. She holds an honorary position as Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Sydney and the head of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Viet Nam. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, and the WHO GDG on Latent TB Infection Management.

Nguyen Thanh Son is a serial entrepreneur, lecturer, author and communications expert.

Son actively invests in communications, education and healthcare services. He is the founder and/or chairman of T&A Ogilvy, one of the top PR agencies in Vietnam; Sage, a communications and branding academy; GPA, an English education company; MVV Coaching, a blended learning platform; Blue Productions, a movie production company; Forinco, a cancer treatment clinic chain; Amigo Pharma, a pharmaceutical company and Sunny Vales, a digital marketing company, among others. In total, Son founded or co-founded 20 businesses.

T&A Communications was later acquired by WPP, the world’s biggest marketing communications company. Amigo Pharma was acquired by Cuu Long Pharma and Sunny Vales by Yahoo! SEA.

For 16 years (1996 - 2012), Son worked as Trade Representative for Oklahoma Department of Commerce in ASEAN countries.

A native of Hanoi, he graduated from the Moscow Institute of International Relations with a Master’s degree in International Journalism in 1994.

Son is a USIS Business Fellow (Class of 2002) and a Rockefeller Fellow (Class 2005). In 2006, he became the youngest person to receive the prestigious position of Asia Leadership Fellow from the Japanese Government and Japan Foundation in the programme’s history. He lectures on communications at Hanoi National University in Vietnam. He is also a famous literary critic and an art and movie columnist.

In 2012, Son founded Global Shapers Ho Chi Minh City Hub, a World Economic Forum community of bright young business and political leaders. He also serves as an advisor to Regional Board of Advisors of the Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social Awareness - a media and advertising industry-led initiative for building public awareness on social development issues and achieving behaviour change.

Son shuttles between HCMC where he lives with his wife, actress Hong Anh and his office in Washington D.C.

Denis Brunetti is the President of Ericsson Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos since July 2017. Prior to his current role, Denis was President of Ericsson in Sri Lanka and the Maldives from May 2014 to June 2017.

He has worked in the global ICT industry for over 30 years, having held leadership positions with Ericsson across a range of countries, including Australia, Sweden, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Denis proudly served as the Co-Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam in 2018/2019, contributing to the EU & Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Denis has also been Co-Chairman of the Industry 4.0 Advisory Group in the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and is currently Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) and Board member of the Vietnam Business Council for Women’s Empowerment (VBCWE). Denis also currently serves as a Director on the Board of the Australian Chamber of Commerce (AusCham) and Board member on the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) of the School of Science, Engineering and Technology at RMIT Vietnam.

Mario is an Australian national, a Queenslander by heart. His education started in Brisbane, Queensland at the former Tourism College of Australia, thereafter he gained most of his professional certifications through Cornell University & Accor Academy.

Mario has more than 22 years’ experience at hotels across The Middle East, South East Asia and the Pacific region. First entering the hotel business at the Carlton Crest in Brisbane, he has been working for various international hotel chains such as Le Meridien, Swissotel, Amari & Centara Grand, specializing in Food & Beverage leadership roles. Mario first joined Accor in 2015 at the Pullman Danang Beach Resort and came back to Accor at Sofitel Saigon Plaza in August 2018 as Executive Assistant Manager, subsequently rising up to General Manager.

Mario is an outgoing, dynamic and sales focused professional, who has a relentless drive to deliver more than just results. He has a track record of effectively leading and managing all aspects of a Hotel with multiple outlets, and of making guests genuinely feel cared for, valued, and respected. Mario has the strengths of an analytical and expedient approach to problem solving which always results in a win/win resolution for all parties.

My name is Doan Giang Nguyen. I wá born in 1986 and currently living Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
I had spent 10 years in Melbourne (2002 – 2012) taking Highschool (Taylors College), Undergrad (Bachelor of Management and Accounting – Monash University) and Postgrad (Master of International Business - Monash University). After graduation, I had applied and been awarded Australian citizenship on the 12th of September 2012. In simpler words, Australia is my second home and I am emotionally attached to it. I always wanted to go back to Australia either as a vacation or business trip.
From 2012, I am running my family business as Deputy Managing Director of San Ha Company Limited. San Ha is a food company that specializes in distributing both locally made fresh meat and imported frozen meat. Australia is one of our top food sources. Apart from my professional career, I continued to pursue academic career and graduated MBA from RMIT Vietnam in 2016.
I became AusCham member since 2015 because I would like to keep in touch with Australian values and remind me those beautiful times I had. Recently, I was appointed as a member of BOD. I am determine to contribute in any way I could in order to bring Vietnam and Australia closer.

Julie Doherty is a higher education specialist with over 20 years experience in the career education. learning and teaching and student engagement sector. Management experience gained through leading a team of Career Development Consultants to deliver faculty based career sessions in addition to centrally based workshops and one to one consultations. Industry experience in co-ordinating careers fairs, employer presentations and panels. Experienced in a number of career development instruments and keen to embed real world skills in curriculum.

Particularly skilled in relationship building, connecting people and working across teams for optimal outcomes. Measuring by deliverables and results focused, I am keen to make a difference in the education sector across a range of areas. Ultimately committed to optimizing student's life skills to enable them to lead productive, professional and civic lives.

Camellia has over 10 years of experience working in the hospitality industry in Australia and Vietnam. Very often, she finds herself playing different roles in life: a hospitality professional, an educator, an event planner, and an occasional artist. She is proud to represent the new generation of hospitality leaders in Vietnam with precise knowledge of local culture and a global mindset.

Kien is Director of Trade and Investment of NSW in Vietnam from 1 December 2020. His mission is to enhance the visibility of NSW in Vietnam, as a wonderful place to study, a source of high quality yet affordable F&B products, technology products and services, and a place to invest in world class infrastructure. This mission is to be fulfilled by materializing trade, study and investment opportunities.

Kien is an Australian alumnus, having graduated from University of Queensland with a Master of Economics. He also studied Arabic, Political Economics at Cairo University, and English literature at Hanoi University.

He has public sector experience from working for the Ministry of Agriculture of Vietnam, in the areas of international cooperation, agricultural / forestry / aquaculture / agribusiness R&D and policy.

He worked for the UK Department for International Development as Climate and Environment Adviser, but also covered education and de-mining, from 2009-2014. He then worked for several foreign funded projects in climate policy (GIZ) and good governance for inclusive growth (USAID).

He has 4 years of private business sector experience from managing a company (CEO Hospitality) operating in hospitality (hotel management and operation) and property management (office building, and residential estates). He led the successful opening (2018-2019) and operation (break-even through 2020 during Covid-19) of a 5-star 500-room hotel in Phu Quoc, Vietnam.

Damien Van Eyk is the Chief Commercial Officer at Chisholm Institute, one of the largest Vocational Education providers in Victoria.

Damien has extensive experience across various commercial fields including tourism, aviation, and vocational education. Working closely with government, industry, and community stakeholders to drive outcomes that meet the needs of modern societies and their evolving workforces.

Damien’s global experience includes senior commercial roles Cambodia, Dubai, Taiwan and his native Melbourne. Damien holds and Executive MBA.

20 years of experience the in International Education sector. Currently, I’m the Education and Training Business Manager of the GoWA Singapore Office and in charge of promoting Western Australia as a destination to study, and a partner in Education and Training in Vietnam and other countries in the region including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. Prior to GoWA, Singapore Office, I held various positions during my wide-ranging career in international education in the different international education groups.

Barney is the Head of School and a Professor at the School of Information Systems and Technology Management (SISTM) of UNSW Business School. He graduated with a PhD in Information Systems from the National University of Singapore, and was formerly Professor of Strategic Information Systems at The University of Sydney.

In Vietnam, Ms. Van Tran represents Study Queensland, a dedicated division of Education within Trade and Investment Queensland. She is working with both Australian and local stakeholders to strengthen gov-to-gov partnerships, promote Queensland Education’s excellences, as well as inspire and encourage young people to explore the world.

Mr. Vo Van Thuan, who is in charge of training management of Ba Ria - Vung Tau College of Technology (BCTECH), has over 21 years of experience in the field of vocational training. His qualifications include a Master Degree in Control and Automation Engineering and a Certificate in Vocational Management.
As an experienced teacher and a vocational education manager, Mr. Thuan is in charge of admissions management, training, quality assurance, student affairs, scientific research and business cooperation. In addition, he is also an accreditor for vocational education quality accreditation. Before becoming Vice Principal, he worked as Head of Training Department and Head of Quality Assurance Department of BCTECH.
He joined in the project management of a trial implementation program at an international level for 20 students studying Mechatronics with Chisholm, from 2016 to 2020. He has been taking part in the project management of the international pilot training program for 31 students studying Welding and Metal Cutting under the German transfer program since 2019.
With a training scale of nearly 3500 students, BCTECH is currently training 21 college-level disciplines, 22 intermediate-level ones, and 14 elementary-level jobs. BCTECH has been approved as one of 45 colleges that the government has designated as being given priority for investing into high-quality colleges, is one of the first two colleges in Vietnam to be evaluated and receive a "Good" grade under the UK's Ofsted quality assessment framework. BCTECH was honoured to be awarded the Second-class Labour Medal by the President in 2019.

My Holland is the CEO of EQuest Asia, a 2020 EuroCham business winner, an executive coach. She was born in France, completed her MA in France, her MBA in the USA. She brings a multi-cultural perspective to her leadership interventions and coaching, as well as a neuro-leadership angle to promote sustainable behaviour change. Her background in positive psychology and emotional intelligence combined with her business background help her to understand the challenges that organisations are facing in the VUCA world. Featured on Vietcetera, Vietsuccess

Paul Simos is an accomplished Executive Life Coach, Health Coach & Certified Trainer.
He has a fundamental belief about his clients which frames how they work together i.e. they already have everything they need to achieve success. His role as a coach is to stimulate and challenge his clients to unlock their successful beliefs, skills, and behavior patterns.

Chau Ngo is Victoria State Government’s Education Services Director, representing Study Melbourne in Vietnam. She leads a variety of Victoria’s education and training initiatives including the Study Melbourne Hub in Vietnam.
Chau offers expertise in strategic communications and business development in the international education and training sector across Vietnam and Australia. Prior to her current role with the Victorian Government Trade & Investment Office HCMC, Chau was part of the Australian Department of Education at the Australian Embassy in Hanoi. Chau possesses a wide range of experience supporting government-to-government relationships, transnational education partnerships and skills development programs.
• Introduction about Victoria and Melbourne
• Victoria’s education and training
• Support for international students
• Introducing Study Melbourne Hub HCMC

I was born in Phan Thiet, a fishing village. I started cooking at 7 years old to help my parents. My first lesson was how to cook rice probably and steamed glory morning vegetables from my mother. I learned how to bake cake in the traditional way from my mother.
Have been working in hospitality for over 20 years in Sydney and continuing in Saigon after moved back to Vietnam since 2012.

I have been experienced in different restaurants and plus cooking is my passion which gave me a great opportunity to gain knowledge of how to become a professional chef.

Since I won The First Master Chef Viet Nam title and plus with my hospitality experience for 20 years, I am doing F&B consulting, working as a chef to develop some new concepts.
Achievement:
- Won the first Master Chef Viet Nam 2013
- Chef of the year 2014 from the 'The Thao Van Hoa Dan Ong'
- Chef we love from Dep Magazine, issue on August 2015

Aaron Funnell is Executive Director of Outward Bound Vietnam, a social enterprise that aims to build life-skills through outdoor learning experiences. He has a Masters of Education, an Executive MBA and a Diploma in Training and Assessment. Aaron is a member of the Association for Experiential Education Accreditation Council (USA), and is Chair of the AusCham Education & Training Committee. Aaron has been based in Hanoi since 2017, and in Asia for two decades.