King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) China Practice Consultant, David Olsson, has been elected as the National President of the Australia China Business Council (ACBC) and chair of its Board of Directors.
David is a trusted legal advisor in the Asia Pacific region having held a number of key leadership roles at KWM in Australia and Asia, both as a partner and in his current role as China Practice Consultant.
David's appointment as National President and chair is testament to his ongoing work in the region and with the ACBC, where he was already a member of the Victorian branch executive committee and chaired its Finance and Investment Services Working Group and China Capital Markets Working Group.
Commenting on his appointment, David said: "It is a tremendous privilege to take up the position of ACBC National President. The Australia-China relationship is one that is sophisticated and mature; it has delivered substantial benefits to our two countries and still has much untapped potential. At ACBC, it is our mission to capture that potential for our membership."
Complementing his work with the ACBC, David also acts as a business champion for DFAT's New Colombo Program, leads several industry working groups that focus on financial market connectivity between Australia and China, is on the advisory board of the Australia-China Belt and Road Initiative and the international advisory forum for AusIMM, as well as being the vice-chair of the Australian National University Foundation.
Working to be a trusted partner to business, industry and government at this critical juncture in the economic relationship between China and Australia is something David is particularly excited about.
"Having worked for many years in the region, it's clear to me that if Australian business is to succeed in the decades ahead, we will need to be smart, agile and open-minded about the opportunities, risks and challenges ahead. I'm looking forward to working with Australian business in this important endeavour."
David will take over from The Hon John Brumby AO on November 26, 2019 after he steps down from the role he had held since November 2014.
