February 2020 Message from AmCham CEO undefined
February 2020
Message from AmCham CEO April Palmerlee

AmCham’s recent , completed at the end of January, shows strong confidence in business prospects for the year ahead. More than ¾ of the companies responding expect their sales in Australia will increase next year, and more than ½ expect to increase the size of their Australian operations over the next two years. The biggest risk companies cited were the expenses in operating in the Australian market, followed by trade policy and protectionism. About half of the respondents said that the US-China trade conflict was having no impact on their Australian operations, a third said it had a minor negative impact and 7% said it had a significant negative impact. A sampling of questions is below. Thank you to all AmCham companies who participated, and congratulations to the random prize winners: Harold Abrahams, Kathie McGregor and Jeffrey Nevill.

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The new year is off to a strong start at AmCham. In Melbourne, we hosted Telstra CEO Andy Penn for a significant address covering his views on corporate responsibility. You can read some of the extensive media coverage:

We have also hosted the Opening Receptions for our AmCham Academies in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, with Brisbane launching today, and Perth later this week; Super Bowl networkers, and several committee meetings.

 

Academy Opening Ceremony in Sydney

 

Academy Opening Ceremony in Melbourne

 

Academy Opening Ceremony in Adelaide

 

Super Bowl Networker in Sydney

 

Super Bowl Networker in Melbourne

 

Super Bowl BizBash in Brisbane

In response to member feedback, this year we are increasing the number of free of charge events and experimenting with different times of day for our activities. For example, this month we hosted an afternoon roundtable on sanctions with visiting US officials; an afternoon discussion with Deputy Assistant Secretary Sandra Oudkirk; afternoon briefings on US tax policy; and a dinner with Admiral Philip Davidson, Commander of US IndoPacific Command.

We have a Breakfast Tech Series coming up, a High Tea for International Women’s Day, and a few golf days around the country. So, whatever your schedule or preferences, there should be an AmCham activity that makes sense for you.

 

Also in response to discussions with our members, we have added a special feature for those of you renewing your membership this year: is now available, giving you access to discounted tables, leadership lunches, webinars, and professional services.

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And, of course, as you would all know, the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was first reported from Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019. Since then, it has spread rapidly, affecting thousands of people and businesses around the world, including in Australia. Reaction to the spread of the virus has led authorities across the region to close borders, cancel events, postpone school opening, and ask travellers to defer non-essential trips. The AmChams of the Asia-Pacific Business Summit in Singapore scheduled for March 2020 has been postponed after the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCAN) raised the threat level in Singapore from yellow to orange. The Australian economy has been moderately impacted, with universities and the travel industry hardest hit. According to Capital Economics estimates, the outbreak will cost the global economy $280 billion in the first quarter.

 

AmCham Australia, like our members, partners and suppliers is taking a considered and informed approach to keeping safe whilst carrying on with business. Webinars and information on the global response to the virus and its impact on the business community can be found on our website .

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And, finally, I'd like to remind you to check back from time to time to keep updated with the extensive efforts of the AmCham community to support the victims of the bushfire. We have updated the listing of contributions from AmCham member companies and urge you to keep us informed as your companies undertake additional efforts.

 

 

Thank you for your ongoing support,

April Palmerlee, Chief Executive Officer

American Chamber of Commerce in Australia

E

P 02 8031 9000

I’m delighted to welcome these new members and here are links to their websites:

Upcoming Events

NSW

Combined Chambers International Women's Day

WHEN Wednesday 11 March 2020, 7.30am - 10am

WHERE Doltone House - Jones Bay Wharf

CONTACT

QLD

Trade and Investment with the USA Business Luncheon

WHEN Friday 21 February 2020, 11.30am - 2pm

WHERE Stamford Plaza Brisbane

CONTACT

SA

Trade & Investment: South Australia's International Engagement

WHEN Tuesday 3 March 2020, 12pm - 2pm

WHERE InterContinental Adelaide

CONTACT

VIC

International Women’s Day Forum and High Tea

WHEN Thursday 5 March 2020, 2pm - 5pm

WHERE Grand Hyatt Melbourne

CONTACT

WA

Australian and U.S. Relations Through a Historical Lens

WHEN Tuesday 17 March 2020, 12pm - 2pm

WHERE Crown Perth

CONTACT

Premium Network News

Lendlease

Lendlease appoints Robert Welanetz to the Board

 

Lendlease this month announced the appointment of Robert (Bob) Welanetz to the Lendlease Board as an independent non-executive director, effective 1 March 2020. Mr Welanetz will stand for election at Lendlease’s Annual General Meeting on 20 November 2020.

 

Mr Welanetz is based in the US and has significant executive, advisory, strategic and operational experience in the property and construction sectors, gained over an international career spanning over 40 years....

 

Top 100 Graduate Employers 2020

The Australian

 

The definitive guide to Australia's most sought-after graduate employers, based on more than 2680 votes by Australian university students.

 

AmCham Members are leading the way, with nine of the Top 10 employers AmCham companies: Google Australia, Apple, KPMG, Deloitte, Microsoft, CSIRO, ANZ, NAB, J.P. Morgan, Boeing Australia, McKinsey & Company, Rio Tinto, Allens, Woodside Energy, Herbert Smith Freehills, Lendlease, MinterEllison, BP Australia, Clayton Utz, DHL, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Citi, Lockheed Martin, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Chevron, Suncorp Group, Gilbert + Tobin.

 

United Airlines

United Airlines to Become Only Major U.S. Carrier To Own and Operate a Flight Training Academy

 

United Airlines this month further expanded its innovative Aviate pilot program by signing a purchase agreement to become the only major U.S. carrier to own a flight training academy. The United Aviate Academy will give the airline more visibility and direction over the recruitment, development and training of future pilots, enabling United to increase the percentage of women and minorities who become pilots....

 

SingularityU

Transformational Impact for Leaders Navigating Change

 

Human life is undergoing a digital transformation at an exponential rate.

 

SingularityU empowers individuals and organisations to solve humanity's grand challenges through learning, connecting and innovating, using accelerating and converging technologies.

 

The SingularityU Australia Executive Program is a three and a half-day immersion that brings together fearless Australian innovators, executives and entrepreneurs to discuss topics key to the future of our country.

 

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5% Off Promo Code: AMEP

 

Premium Network News

Nicholas Varigos | Managing Director

OPPEUS International

 

Nicholas is the founder and Managing Director of Oppeus International. He is also a Governor of AmCham Victoria. He has practised in senior executive search, Board and leadership consulting since 1993 and possesses extensive experience across diverse sectors including mining & resources, engineering services, financial services, health, agribusiness, IT, manufacturing, education, Government and professional services sectors....

 

Favourite movie?

My favourite movie is “If” – it stars a very young Malcolm McDowell who goes to a British Public (i.e. Snobby Private) boarding school and suffers at the hands of both teachers and school bullies. The ensuing mayhem and take over that occurs is fabulous. Made me wish when I was young and saw this film that I had a time like that to settle a few scores at my old “Public School”. Moreover it points out that humanity cannot be stood on, nor the human spirit controlled.

 

What historical event do you wish you were either a part of, or were able to experience?

The Battle of Salamis was the naval battle fought in 480 BC between the allied Greek City States against the overwhelming Persian fleet and forces. The battle occurred in the straits of Salamis just outside Athens. It followed the Battle of Thermopylae where the 300 Spartans were defeated by treachery and resulted in the continued Persian assault.

 

The Athenian General Themistocles faced Persian King Xerxes and enticed him to engage in a naval fight despite being heavily outnumbered. The resulting great victory changed the history of Europe and the world forever by stopping the Asianisation of Europe by a much greater power. It set the world on the path of what we know as European Civilisation. It brought the world democracy and freedom. The impact of this battle cannot be counted in numbers, but by the way we enjoy western freedoms and culture today.

 

Being part of that war and being a victor against such overwhelming odds is awesome and almost unfathomable to think about.

 

Most rewarding part about your job?

Helping my clients see leadership challenges through a broader prism than their own paradigms and finding them the right leaders to change their business or people issues. “Finding & Supporting Great Leaders” is what we do at Oppeus.

 

The biggest risk you took?

Starting my own business and taking on global players in our own way. Having faith that we can do it and being competitive against the world’s best.

 

Dream dinner companion?

Mr Jeff Bezos CEO/Founder at Amazon.

Premium Network News

Why hyper-personalisation will rule corporate training

 

Acquiring and retaining the best talent is a constant challenge for every workplace, and the fierce competition for skills has forced organisations to be increasingly creative and effective with their employee engagement processes and strategies.

 

When it comes to learning and development, organisations need to accept the stark reality that one size doesn’t fit all – today, people can consume or access learning and training materials in myriad ways.

 

How we best learn as human beings will not change – there will always be subject matter experts passing their knowledge onto others. The only change will be the delivery method: an online video, a podcast, or a course on their smartphones.

 

In some scenarios, a mixture of online and face-to-face training might suit.

 

Training in the workplace used to centre on compliance but has now become a powerful tool for retention because people see opportunities to learn and progress their careers.

 

To stay ahead, organisations have to ready themselves for one of the biggest changes in the workplace of the future - hyper-personalised learning and training.

 

Learning and training at work will no longer rely on the traditionally prescriptive model. In future, employers will be able to assign budgets to their employees who will be given a virtual credit card to purchase Eventbrite tickets for conferences, books, online courses, and more (GO1’s platform has this capability built-in).

 

Giving employees the power to choose will shake up the corporate training world and define the workplace of the future.

 

Over time there will be less emphasis on qualifications and more on skills as micro-credentials or nanodegrees gain in popularity. Employees who have obtained a nanodegree for a particular skill will be in greater demand compared with their general degree-holding peers.

 

For employers, the pathway to achieving high performing teams will be to focus on upskilling their employees (helping them get better at what they do) and recovery (taking care of their mental and physical wellbeing).

 

With increasing rates of anxiety and depression, making workers happier, healthier people is key.

 

is the world’s largest marketplace of professional learning. Known as the Spotify for workplace training, it offers over 60,000 online courses from hundreds of content providers under a single subscription.

 

Through , employers are able to provide their employees everything from compliance through to professional development training in one place.

GO1 trains over 2 million people from 2000 organisations globally with a course completed every 1.3 seconds.

 

Customers include Delta Airlines, ANZ Bank, Westpac Bank, Bank of Queensland, RM Williams, Foxtel and Queensland government.

 

Headquartered in Brisbane, GO1 has offices across Australia and in Salt Lake City, London, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City and Johannesburg.

 

It was the first Australian company to receive investment from Microsoft’s venture arm, M12, who led ’s $30M+ series B raise in 2018.

 

GO1 was recognised by LinkedIn as one of Australia’s top 20 start-ups in 2018 and 2019.

 

Premium Network News

If you have job listings pertinent to AmCham members, please and they may be announced in an upcoming CEO message or listed on our website.

Become a Member
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The American Chamber of Commerce in Australia

Website | ABN 62 000 361 633

SYDNEY/CANBERRA

02 8031 9000

MELBOURNE

03 9027 5633

ADELAIDE

08 8212 4688

BRISBANE

07 3220 2478

PERTH/DARWIN

08 9325 9540

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