Our Staff

Meet the AmCham Team

 


 Chief Executive Officer
April Palmerlee

April Palmerlee is Chief Executive Officer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia. She joined AmCham in 2017 after a distinguished career in government, education, and the corporate sector. American-born, Palmerlee has lived in Sydney since 2003 and is a dual citizen. She received a BS from Georgetown University and a Master’s from Columbia University. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Immediately after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, she was appointed to the senior executive service of the US Department of State where she served as Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues (now called Ambassador-at-Large, equivalent to Assistant Secretary). Before that, she was a senior executive at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. She has also worked for couturier Oscar de la Renta, financial publisher The Bank Credit Analyst, and not-for-profit The Spanish Institute. She is currently on the selection committee for the Fulbright scholarship in NSW and the Georgetown University Australian and New Zealand Studies Board.



General Manager
Doug Grant

Doug Grant joined AmCham as General Manager of NSW & ACT in December 2018.

He has over twenty years’ experience working within the finance industry as a Business Development Manager, Broker, consultant and sales and marketing representative. In that time Doug has built a broad network of business clients and referral partner contacts across most industry sectors through his focus on relationship creation, ongoing relationship management and solutions sales. Recent activities include non-conforming loan structure and financing solutions outside of mainstream financial industry services, and establishment of referrer partner networks and systems as sources of new business. His understanding of sales processes, cycles and mindsets has enabled him to quickly establish and build rapport leading to constructive relationships with all business levels, from administrative staff through to senior executives.

Doug is looking forward to engaging with current members and forming new relationships to grow the membership base of valued AmCham business partnerships.



General Manager
Rasa Buckley

Rasa Buckley joined AmCham as General Manager South Australia in March 2019, returning to her hometown Adelaide after 20+ years in Asia.

A graduate of the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Economics (Asian Studies) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting); Rasa worked in Hong Kong, Singapore & Malaysia for Global Media Companies including Lucasfilm, CNBC, BBC and TechTV.

An expert in building exposure, promoting brands, creating compelling stories and producing innovative events, Rasa ran her own Communications company for clients including Disney, Maker Studios, NBCUniversal and Sony Entertainment Television Networks.

Drawing on her long experience in Asia, Rasa’s role at AmCham supports business objectives by connecting people together globally as well as locally and leading them to success.



General Manager
Adam Serry

Adam Serry joined AmCham as General Manager Victoria in January 2020.

He has over twenty years of experience in general management, relationship management and business development across sectors including not for profit, membership organisations, finance / accounting, legal and professional services. This includes senior relationship / engagement and management roles at CEDA and The Institute of Chartered Accountants (now Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand), and as General Manager VIC/TAS of The Tax Institute.

 



Personal Assistant to CEO
Winda Tiodang
 Government Relations Manager
Amie O'Mahony
 Member Engagement &
Administration Lead
Karen Kelly



Event Manager
Claire Harrison
 		Special Projects Officer
Alice Abraham
 Membership &
Event Administrator
Kiara Mackellar


Accountant
Michele Merdith
 Assistant Accountant
Harry Wijesundara