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

Welcome to the first CEO Message of 2020.

 

The major news in many areas of the country this month is the devastating bushfires. AmCham Australia offers sincere condolences to those affected by the crisis. We also gratefully recognize the brave and tireless work of the first responders, RFS, Red Cross and other organisations already assisting those affected.

 

We would also like to acknowledge the support provided by everyday Australians and generous people around the world through fundraising on social media, events, and other means. I have been filled with admiration for the AmCham member companies who have shown great leadership and compassion during this time of national need. Below is a compilation of the support that I am aware of to date. If you know of other contributions by AmCham companies, .

 

AmCham Australia is also committed to doing its small part to support those in need; please let us know if we can help your company.

 

Turning our attention to the year ahead, AmCham will continue to inspire, enable and celebrate our member companies through our diverse and dynamic programs:

 

The wildly successful year-long will begin anew in February. Limited spaces may still be available in some states – please contact your immediately if you missed the deadline and still want to nominate a rising star.

 

Our highly praised missions to the US will occur throughout the year:

  • , 3-5 March (with the AmCham Boards of AU and NZ)
  • Singapore, 11-12 March (for the )
  • , 14-20 March (with Nova Group’s Jim Whalley leading the delegation to SXSW, the world’s largest music/interactive media/film festival, and the opening of a new South Australian trade office in Texas)
  • , 20-27 March (led by Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm and Boeing AU President Maureen Dougherty, with AICC)
  • FinTech and RegTech, 26-30 April (with Senator Andrew Bragg leading the delegation to Silicon Valley giants such as Google, Visa, Uber, and AfterPay)
  • , 1-7 May (with a stop in Hawaii at IndoPacific Command en route to the foremost gathering for innovation and advancements in the resource sector)
  • , 1-3 June (an investment summit bringing the diversity of the United States together under one roof – enabling any business to find the people, resources, and market it needs to be successful)
  • Washington Doorknock, 19-22 July (meeting with the top officials in the administration and on Capitol Hill, as well as executives from other AmCham member companies in the region)
  • AgTech, August 2020
  • MedTech, late 2020 (with CSIRO's David Thodey)
  • And more

AmCham’s new conference program on topics such as Diversity and Inclusion, and Health and Wellness, will continue throughout the country.

 

The traditional marquis speakers and all-star panels AmCham is famous for, such as:

  • Business Lunches
  • Breakfast Seminars
  • Boardroom Briefings

Social and networking events, such as:

  • Cocktail receptions
  • Golf Days
  • Super Bowl, 4th of July, and Thanksgiving

2020 Election Events

 

Publications, such as:

  • A report with the Bay Area Council on future investment opportunities between Australia and the West Coast of the US
  • The results of our Business Climate Survey
  • A study by Deloitte Access Economics on the economic impact of US investment in Australia

And that’s just the start. We are committed to your success now and throughout the year. Talk to us about how we can help you build your company, create jobs and grow the economy. We look forward to seeing you throughout the year ahead.

 

 

Thank you for your ongoing support,

April Palmerlee, Chief Executive Officer

American Chamber of Commerce in Australia

E

P 02 8031 9000

A warm welcome to our newest members

3M Donated a wide range of supplies to agencies and personnel who are actively engaged in fighting the fires.

AbbVie AU$240,000 donation to bushfire relief efforts.

 

Across the Ocean Shipping Donating $10 for every January booking.

 

Adelaide Convention Centre Hospitng SA4SA Bushfire Appeal Gala Dinner where all proceeds donated to the SA bushfire appeal.

 

Alcoa of Australia The Alcoa Foundation has made a US$50,0000 (~AU$73,000) donation to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

 

Allens Both before and after Christmas, Allens made donations to the Australian Red Cross and are also matching donations their people make to the Australian Red Cross bushfire appeal.

 

Amazon Donating AU$1 million in needed provisions and services.

 

American Airlines From January 8 through January 24, the airline will give 10 air miles for every dollar donated to the Australian Red Cross, with a minimum donation of $25.

 

American Express The American Express Foundation will be donating $150,000 to the Australian Red Cross, and matching donations made by American Express employees, up to an additional $150,000.

The ANCA Group Hosted fundraising barbeque to support bushfire relief, matching all donations made by our people at the event. Donating all ANCA fundraiser proceeds to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal and to Wildlife Victoria.

 

ANZ Offering $1-million packages to support customers and communities affected by the bushfire emergency.

 

Apple Launched a donation campaign in partnership with the Australian Red Cross. CEO Tim Cook has also announced the company will be donating an undisclosed amount.

AT&T Donation up to AU$250k to various charities including Foodbank Australia, Red Cross Australia, Wires and Ellen DeGeneres Go Fund me campaign. AT&T staff members have donated more than $20,000 and given numerous hours of work to Foodbank and RFS. 

 

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The ABC’s Party of the Decades reached 3.5 million viewers and helped raise more than $2 million for the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fun.

BHP Foundation In addition to the AU$2 million already donated to Australian Red Cross, the BHP Foundation will make a AU$500,000 donation to be evenly distributed between Zoos Victoria and the WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation to assist with bushfire relief efforts.

 

Bechtel Group Foundation made an AU$300,000 (US$208,000) donation to Australian Red Cross and WWF-Australia to support the bushfire recovery efforts in Australia.

 

Boeing Australia AU$1million donation to the Australian Red Cross.

 

BP Donating a total of A$635k+ across 7 charities.

 

Brickworks Since November- replacing all bricks and roof tiles, free-of-charge, to victims who built with their products.

 

CBRE CBRE Disaster Relief Foundation- all proceeds will go to the Australian Red Cross.

 

Chevron $1 million donation to Australian Red Cross.

 

Citi Donation to the Red Cross bushfire relief effort to A$360,000, including matching employee donations up to $50,000.

 

Clayton Utz Pledged at least $200,000 in donations to bushfire relief and recovery causes, as well as offering up to 20 days of extra paid leave for staff wishing to volunteer with organisations assisting in the bushfires.

 

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola Foundation is making a $1 million donation to The Salvation Army’s immediate disaster relief efforts in fire-affected communities. Coca-Cola Australia is donating $250,000 to the NSW RFS, the Country Fire Authority VIC, and the SA Country Fire Service Foundation.

 

ConocoPhillips Donation of $50,000 to GIVIT to support relief efforts following the bushfires in Central Queensland.

 

Coopers Brewery Financial donations from the company as well as from individual members of the Cooper family. The Coopers Brewery Foundation is also matching personal donations from staff while the brewery is providing free beer for various fire services.

 

Corrs Chambers Westgarth Donation of $50,000 to the Australian Red Cross.

 

Crown Resorts James Packer and his Crown Resorts have donated $5 million to the country's bushfire relief.

 

CSIRO Continue to support state fire authorities to predict, manage and assess the impacts of bushfires.

 

CSL Pledged a $500,000 AUD donation that will help provide urgently needed aid to people and wildlife affected by the situation. CSL’s funds will be channeled through the Australian Red Cross, the State based fire authorities and wildlife agencies.

 

Delta Air Lines Donating $250,000 to American Red Cross in support of Australia bushfire relief efforts.

DHL Since December 2019, DHL in Australia has donated a total of $33,574 through company and employee donations. The DHL Australian Bushfire Fundraising Appeal will match all donations dollar-for-dollar up to a total of AU$500,000, with the goal of together raising AU$1 million.
 

eBay Contributing $100,000 to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal through the Red Cross while also matching all Australian employee donations to the appeal.

 

EY Donated $100,000 so far and will match employee donations to bushfire relief and recovery. Volunteer leave will be uncapped for all volunteer firefighters, emergency personnel and Army reservists.

GE The GE Foundation has made a US$250,000 donation to the Australian Red Cross to support the immediate relief effort. Their local employees have been fundraising for the Australian Red Cross since November and GE is 1:1 matching personal donations from staff. GE Australia has also made 20 days of paid community-service leave available for staff volunteering with a recognised emergency-services body.

 

GFG Alliance SIMEC Mining, a member of the GFG Alliance, has donated $250,000 to the Mayoral Relief Community Fund.

Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers Donated $200,000 to the Australian Red Cross. The G+T Foundation is currently accepting donations from staff which will then be matched by the firm and provided to several bushfire-related charities.

GMUSG
Donations to foodbank SA and the Salvation Army. GMUSG has also requested members to make similar donations.

Google Working with the Bushfire Recovery Agency and State and Territory governments on disaster relief and recovery, and is contributing $10m of bushfire support to Australian emergency services organisations and non-profits.

Herbert Smith Freehills Matching staff donations and special paid leave for employee volunteers.


Holden
Pledges $1 million to the bushfire appeal.
 

The Hospital Research Foundation Donated Provided a $200,000 grant to the CFS Foundation to support Country Fire Service volunteers and their families impacted by the effects of their service, physically and/or mentally.

HSBC Donation of AU$200,000 from its Global Disaster Relief Fund to bushfire relief efforts.

 

Incitec Pivot Limited Contributing $400,000 for bushfire recovery to help communities.

 

INPEX Operations $1M pledge and matching staff donations up to $100K.

 

InterContinental The hotel group has donated funds, meals and paid leave to employees who volunteer.

Intuit Pledge of $1,000,000 USD to help with relief efforts and rebuilding of affected communities. This is alongside other company-wide activities, like donation matching through their We Care and Give Back program, where Intuit is doubling donations made through employee giving campaigns.Collectively, they have already raised an additional $100,000 USD to help support emergency relief for the wildfires.

 

ISS International Committed a $20,000 donation to The Australian Red Cross.

 

J.P. Morgan Donation of $725k.

 

Johnson & Johnson Donating a total of $600,000 in financial support to the Australian Red Cross and St Vincent de Paul Society, as well as donating 200,000 units of personal care items through Foodbank. Providing uncapped paid leave for employees who are volunteering with emergency services working to combat the fires and their destruction.

 

KPMG Extended paid leave for employee bushfire volunteers and ADF reservists, financial donation to the Australian Red Cross.

 

Lendlease Donated $500,000 to the Australian Red Cross and pledged to match individual donations from its employees to the charity on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

 

Marriott International All Marriott International hotels in Australia will be donating room nights for volunteers from fire services and departments. Each hotel will be providing options for guests to donate cash or Marriott Bonvoy points upon check out. Donations will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery fund.

 

MinterEllison 220 days paid leave for bushfire volunteers and ADF reservists, will match donations made by employees, providing pro bono legal services to those impacted.

 

Monash University Offering staff paid firefighting and emergency assistance leave, and student grants if studies have been impacted by the bushfires.

 

NAB Pledging $5 million support for bushfire recovery. Extending grants to affected businesses and farmers.

 

NOJA Power Donation to the Australian Bushfire Appeal in support of those impacted.

 

Norton Rose Fulbright Australia Donations to the Australian Red Cross, NSW Rural Fire Service and Victorian Country Fire Authority.

 

Pfizer Donation supporting the Red Cross' disaster relief and recovery efforts for the bushfires.

 

PwC Donated $500K to the Australian Red Cross and implemented uncapped paid leave for our people who are volunteering with our emergency services.

 

QIC Ltd QIC teams across Australia are donating their time by staffing these donation points via our dedicated volunteer leave policy, and volunteering on frontlines.

 

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) From 14 January, QPAC will be partnering with companies and artists performing at their venues to coordinate bushfire appeal bucket collections after most of their evening performances. All money raised will be donated to the Australian Red Cross and WIRES Wildlife Rescue.

 

Rio Tinto Providing employees involved in current volunteer firefighting efforts with full leave entitlements. Donation of $1 million to the Australian Red Cross.

The Star Entertainment Group Pledged donations totalling AU$150,000 to bushfire relief organisations. Providing paid leave to workers volunteering with emergency services, including those embroiled in the bushfire crisis.

 

Steinepreis Paganin Steinepreis Paganin Charitable Foundation hosting an event to support Salvation Army's Perth bushfire appeal.

 

Suncorp Group Increased its donation to the bushfire relief effort to $500,000 and continues to double match employee donations with over $90,000 contributed to bushfire relief agencies to date.

 

Uber Australia Pledged $500,000 to support people affected by the bushfires in Australia and the volunteer firefighters responding to the blazes.

 

United Airlines Supporting the GlobalGiving's Disaster Recovery Network.

 

Verizon Donated $143,316 to the Australian Red Cross and $71,965 to WIRES.

 

Virgin Australia The Group is matching – dollar for dollar – all employee donations made to the Salvation Army Emergency Services up to $250,000. Four-week paid leave period in place for employees who are accessing approved Emergency services leave to volunteer for the firefighting effort.

 

Visy Anthony Pratt has pledged $1 million to the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.

 

Westfield Group Scentre Group has made a cash donation of $500,000 to The Salvation Army Australia and giving access to their digital media screens and community desks in centres to support ongoing fundraising.

 

Woodside Energy Donation of $430,000 to the Australian Red Cross and $330,000 to the Business Council of Australia's Volunteer Support Trust.

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

Upcoming Events

Super Bowl LIV Networking Event

 

The NFL Super Bowl is just around the corner. If you can’t be at the game in Miami, the next best thing is to experience AmCham’s Super Bowl networking event in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane! AmCham's annual Super Bowl events attract companies and their guests from the entire AmCham Membership.

 

Come and enjoy American-style hot dogs and buffalo wings with a Budweiser beer while watching the big game. You will have the opportunity to make new business connections, network in a unique venue, be in the running for competition and lucky door prizes, and enjoy this great American sporting event.

SYDNEY

MON 3 February 2020

10am - 3pm

P.J.O'Brien's

MELBOURNE

MON 3 February 2020

10am - 3pm

P.J.O'Brien's

BRISBANE

MON 3 February 2020

9am - 2pm

The Defiant Duck

MEL

Business Briefing with Andy Penn, CEO, Telstra

Keynote Speaker:

Andy Penn, CEO and Managing Director, Telstra

 

Hear from Telstra's CEO, Andy Penn, at AmCham's first 2020 Business Leaders Briefing on Thursday 6 February.

 

Andy Penn became the CEO and Managing Director of Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, on 1 May 2015. At Telstra Andy is leading an ambitious change program transforming Telstra to be positioned to compete in the radically changing technology world of the future with 5G at its core.

 

Andy has had an extensive career spanning 40 years across 3 different industries - telecommunications, financial services and shipping. He joined Telstra in 2012 as Chief Financial Officer. In 2014 he took on the additional responsibilities as Group Executive International.

 

Prior to Telstra, Andy spent 23 years with AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, part of the AXA Group, one of the world’s largest insurance and investment groups. His time at AXA included the roles of Chief Executive Officer 2006-2011....

WHEN

Thursday 6 February 2020

12pm - 2pm

 

WHERE

RACV Club Melbourne

 

EVENT SPONSORS

If you're interested in finding out more about the sponsorship opportunities available at this event, please contact the .

ADL

BIOTECHNOLOGY: Health is the New Wealth

Panel of Speakers:

  • Yvette van Eenennaam, General Manager, Adelaide Bio Med City
  • Dr Terry Sweeney, Managing Director, IBM Watson Health
  • Professor Karen Reynolds, Director, Medical Device Research Institute (MDRI) | Dean, Medical Device Partnering Program (MDPP) Dean (Research), College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
  • Facilitated by Dr Stephen Rodda, Chair, The Hospital Research Foundation

Welcome address by Hon Stephen Wade MLC, Minister for Health and Wellbeing

 

Longevity is every individual’s desire – but more importantly, we want a quality life - to fight disease, be physically fit and age well.

 

How is South Australia creating a competitive environment to generate new opportunities in the Health and Medical Industries? How will we grow our global reputation in this sector? Our panel of experts will explore the opportunities and supports for business and industry.

WHEN

Friday 14 February 2020

11.45am - 2pm

 

WHERE

InterContinental Adelaide

 

EVENT PARTNERS

Global Intertrade | DW Fox Tucker | PwC | Flinders University | The Hospital Research Foudation

BNE

Trade and Investment with the USA Business Luncheon

Panel of speakers:

  • Mark Russell, Senior Commercial Counselor, U.S. Consulate Sydney
  • Paul Martyn, Chief Executive Officer, Trade and Investment Queensland
  • Wayne Gerard, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Redeye
  • Fourth panelist to be announced soon!
  • Facilitated by Kristin Devitt, Director, KDPR

The United States and Australia enjoy a deep and multi-faceted relationship spanning many years and generations. We are trusted trade and investment partners, conducting US$65 billion in two-way trade and an investment relationship valued at US$1.1 trillion, making the United States Australia’s largest economic partner. Our panel of experts will examine the trends, challenges and opportunities in the trade and investment relationship between our two countries.

 

**All luncheon attendees gain COMPLIMENTARY access to AmCham’s from 2.30pm – 4pm**

WHEN

Friday 21 February 2020

11.30am - 2pm

 

WHERE

Stamford Plaza Brisbane

 

EVENT PARTNERS

Brisbane Airport Corporation | ConocoPhillips | KPMG | KDPR | Mater Foundation | UQ Business School | QPAC

 

EVENT SPONSOR

Logan City Council

SYD

Tech Talk Breakfast - Big Data: The Lifeblood of Business

Panel of Speakers:

  • Martin Creighan, Managing Director, AT&T Australia/ New Zealand
  • Matthew Payton, Strategic Advisor - Agile Operations, Datacom

AmCham is excited to kick off the Tech Talk Series for 2020.

 

Business is awash with data. An ever-expanding range of data sources in the digital world is generating big data metrics.

 

It has been forecast that in the year 2020, 1.7 Megabytes of data will be created every second for every person on earth.

 

AmCham has brought together a panel of industry experts to discuss the enormous growth in data, data storage and security, recovery and data analytics and why it is critical for business to ensure they are at the forefront of the data wave.

WHEN

Wednesday 26 February 2020

7.30am - 9am

 

WHERE

Sydney CBD

 

EVENT PARTNERS

If you're interested in finding out more about the sponsorship opportunities available at this event, please contact the .

PER

The Future of Defence Tech

Keynote Speaker:

Todd Alder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Orbital UAV

 

Orbital UAV's world-leading propulsion solutions exceed the competition benchmark for reliability, power, and system durability and the company is uniquely positioned to meet the high-performance requirements of UAVs through its patented technology and proven operational experience. Orbital UAV has offices in Australia and the United States to serve its global customer base, including Insitu Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, and Textron Systems – both world leaders in the supply of tactical military UAVs.

 

Join AmCham to hear from Orbitual UAV's Managing Director and CEO, Todd Alder to discuss how the company has taken its Australian designed and built products and delivered them to a global customer base – becoming a world leader in its field.

 

Todd Alder will focus his presentation on how Orbital UAV went about developing a global customer base, supplying the world’s largest defence prime contractors, manufacturing transformation, IP protection and maintaining a competitive advantage see where the future of defence technology is headed and how your business can benefit!

WHEN

Friday 13 March 2020

12pm - 2pm

 

WHERE

Hyatt Regency Perth

 

EVENT SPONSORS

If you're interested in finding out more about the sponsorship opportunities available at this event, please contact the .

Premium Network News

Lendlease

Sustainability: The Next Chapter

 

2019 has yet again been a milestone year for Lendlease’s leadership in pushing new and better outcomes for people and the planet. For this, we are proud to have maintained top positions in the 2019 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) rankings.

 

This is testament to our ongoing commitment to lead truly sustainable efforts in the industry – environmentally, socially and economically. The Lendlease Sustainability Framework was developed to respond to the need to plan for future generations and integrates sustainability into every part of our business....

 

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Advocates for Early Notification to Innovators of Market Entry by Generic Medicines

 

Following related discussions during a September 2019 delegation to Australia, the U.S. Chamber is advocating for a patent linkage mechanism – or “early notification” to the innovator of market entry by a generic version of a patented medicine. The Chamber sent a follow-up letter to Minister for Health Greg Hunt, which recommends Government consideration “of providing confidential notice of such an application solely to the manufacturer of the innovative medicine whose safety and efficacy data would be relied upon by the Government for approval of the related generic product.”

 

For a copy of the letter, .

 

Premium Network News

Adam Serry, General Manager VIC

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.

Premium Network News

A new offering at AmCham Australia: If you have job listings pertinent to AmCham members, 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


Podcasts

Posted on 3/04/2018

How Business Really Works: Digital Journey with Moe Ali

What's new in technology and how can your business stay ahead of the game? Moe Ali, Group Vice President of Gartner ANZ, talks to Duff about cyber-security, the importance of incorporating technology insights and information to the core of business m

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