Dr. Jonathan Austin
Ambassador to China at New Zealand EmbassyJonathan Austin has most recently been Divisional Manager, Pacific Regional at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington. This division leads on New Zealand’s overall Pacific policy, geopolitics and security, engagement with partners, regional agencies, oceans and fisheries and labour mobility.
Dr Austin was New Zealand Ambassador to Indonesia (2019-2021) and High Commissioner to Singapore and Maldives (2016-2019).
Prior to moving to Singapore Dr Austin was Director, Intelligence and Assessment (and head of the National Assessments Bureau) in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Wellington. His previous career was in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including as Divisional Manager of the Middle East and Africa Division.
From 2010 to 2012 he was New Zealand High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Tonga. This followed secondments as Senior Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and two years in the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands where he was Deputy Special Coordinator and New Zealand’s senior representative.
Earlier diplomatic postings have included Pretoria, Dili (as New Zealand’s first Representative) and Nuku’alofa. In Wellington he has worked on development policy, organisational strategy, UN and human rights issues, Indonesia and Europe engagement.
Han Lin
China Principal at The Asia GroupHan Shen Lin is the China Managing Director for The Asia Group, where he leads the firm’s China operations from its Shanghai office. Working in close collaboration with the Washington, DC–based China Practice, Han spearheads local engagements and strategic initiatives, leveraging nearly two decades of in-country experience across China’s financial markets and corporate strategy landscape. In parallel with his role at TAG, Han serves as an Associate Professor of Practice in Finance at NYU Shanghai, where he teaches undergraduate, graduate, and executive-level courses in global finance and markets.
Previously, Han was Deputy General Manager at Wells Fargo Bank in China, where he held key governance and risk management responsibilities as a member of the Asia-Pacific Governance Committee and interim China Country Manager. He also led the China Corporate Banking business, advising multinational clients on cross-border financing and U.S.-China strategic opportunities. His prior leadership roles at Wells Fargo included Asia-Pacific Head of Financial Institutions USD Product Sales, Senior China Coverage Banker in the Financial Institutions Group (FIG), and Corporate Strategy Project Lead. Han holds an M.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins SAIS, an M.S. in Global Finance from the joint HKUST–NYU Stern program, and an LL.M. in China Civil and Commercial Law from Fudan University Law School. He earned his B.B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
An engaged member of the Shanghai business community, Han is active in the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, where he serves as Chair of the Financial Services Committee and previously served four years on the Board of Governors. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran (Indo-Pacific) and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Ukraine). Han resides in Shanghai with his wife and two daughters. He is a regular commentator on U.S.-China business and finance issues and has been quoted in leading global media outlets including the Financial Times, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BBC, Channel News Asia, South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera, and Nikkei Asia.
Daniel Young
Tatua China President of TatuaDan is the Chair of NZBRiC and the President of Tatua China, where he leads its Shanghai-based team in driving growth and innovation in the dairy industry.
Before joining Tatua, Dan spent 12 years at Fonterra, where he held various positions, starting in engineering, transitioning through human resources, and ultimately finding his passion in sales.
Dan holds a Master of Dairy Science and Technology from Massey University, along with Bachelor degrees in Engineering and Commerce from the University of Auckland.
Kourosh Asghari
Vice President of CGP GroupKourosh is the leader of CGP’s Consumer team. Kourosh has worked since 2010 in both in-
house HRBP roles and executive search roles. Since 2012 he has had a specifically focused on
HR and recruitment within the FMCG and consumer industry in China. Kourosh has developed
and leads one of the most successful recruitment teams in China supporting 100s of mid to senior
level professionals with their career moves every year.
Kourosh focuses on working with the top bilingual candidates China across commercial
disciplines across food and beverage, personal care and cosmetics as well as the consumer
durables industry. This network includes more than 9,000 relevant contacts on wechat. A key
differentiator to Kourosh and his team is their focus on long term business relationships which
focus on satisfying both candidates and clients through professionalism, perspective, commercial
acumen, HR expertise and strict adherence to recruitment best practice recruitment.
Kourosh's HR career started in New Zealand focusing on large scale restructures and change
management initiatives. In 2012 Kourosh joined the trade development arm of the New Zealand
government supporting leaders across Asia, India and the Middle East on change management
and restructuring, recruitment, learning and development, employee performance and
engagement, remuneration and local labor laws. A major focus during this time was working
with leadership to lift the capability of the greater China team to consult on regional business
development opportunities.
Kourosh received Bachelors of Science and a Bachelor of Commerce with First Class honours
with Majors in Psychology, Management and Human Resource Management from Victoria
University of Wellington. Kourosh is married with two children to a Chinese citizen and has
HSK level 4 Chinese language capabilities. He regularly provides insights through “The FMCG
Insider” and speaking engagements.
Jessica Miao
Chairman/Founder of United Media SolutionJessica is Chairman and Founder of United Media Solution (UMS). Based primarily in the Ningbo and Shanghai office, she is responsible for growing exploring new avenues of business for UMS and spearheading the company’s future.
As the founder of UMS in 2011, Jessica identified a need to help foreign businesses to navigate China's complex digital landscape and connect with Chinese consumers through digital and social marketing communications. Drawing on her media and digital marketing experience with significant skills in Strategic Marketing, Social Media and Digital Marketing, she has grown UMS into a leading international business. She has built a strong reputation as an expert on marketing in China with regular invitations to speak at business and trade events in China, New Zealand and Australia.
Jessica graduated from the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) in 2007 with a Bachelor degree in Mass Communication / Media Studies and completed a post-graduate diploma in Film/TV/Media Studies at the University of Auckland. Jessica has been honoured with a number of awards including: Young Entrepreneur Award in 2012, Young Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2013 and 2014. Zhejiang’s Top 100 Innovative Women in 2017 and the Australia-New Zealand Community Awards ‘New Zealand Women in Leadership Award’ in 2022.
“You get the best from us.”
Abby Ye
Global Director of Food Service & President of China at SynlaitAbby Ye joined Synlait as Global Director of Food Service and the President of China in March 2023.
Before working for Synlait, Abby was the Marketing Director of APAC for Savencia Fromage and Dairy Company, based in Singapore. During this time, Abby gained a wealth of experience in marketing and business development, working with companies and partners across North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as across Asian markets.
Abby holds a Masters Degree from Fudan University and is a member of Mensa International.
James Zhang
Sales Manager at Silver Fern FarmsJames Zhang is Sales Manager (China, Hong Kong & Taiwan) at Silver Fern Farms, with over 10 years’ experience in the food industry spanning New Zealand’s dairy and red meat sectors. He brings a strong understanding of global commodity markets, combined with extensive on-the-ground experience across Greater China, supporting market development, customer engagement, and strategic growth initiatives.