ANDREW GILKES

Executive Director, China Access 2008

Andrew Gilkes has over 20 years experience in international business. For a number of years he held senior positions with Westpac Banking Corporation, one of Australia’s leading financial institutions and the country’s sixth largest company. These roles included Head of Asian Business, Head of Global Banking Relationships, Chief of Staff for the Group Executive, and Deputy Chief Economist.

In 1997 he left banking to become Chief Executive of Investment 2000, the newly created economic ‘legacy’ program of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. In the ensuing three years he led a team that designed and implemented a highly successful international business marketing program that attracted over 50 new businesses to Australia. The venture subsequently received widespread recognition as being amongst world best practice.

Investment 2000 has since become a model for other international business facilitation and partnering programs linked to major world events. It has been sustained in Australia as Australasian Access and several of the learnings and experiences gained in these venture are now being applied to China Access 2008.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of New England, Australia, post-graduate qualifications in Education and Financial Investment, and a Master of Business Administration from the International Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

ALAN CARROLL

Executive Director, China Access 2008

Alan Carroll is the Executive Chairman of Carroll Partners International, a specialist strategic management consultancy which has developed a specific focus on the Asia Pacific region and which has been built over the past two decades around twenty select major multinational corporate relationships. Alan has worked closely with these companies to develop and better execute their Asian strategies.

He is the founder and Executive Chairman of the Pacific Rim Forum, Asia Pacific’s most prestigious corporate meeting with eight Forums having now been held throughout the region during the last 12 years. Alan is also the founder of the Pacific Rim Forum’s newest initiative, Asia’s Science-Based Innovation, Life Sciences & Technology Summit.

Alan Carroll originates from Western Australia. He graduated from Georgetown University, Washington DC, where he attended the School of Foreign Service studying International Economics and Government. He is also an alumnus of the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. He was the co founder and Chairman of Australian Ratings, Australia’s foremost corporate credit rating agency, and has served as a member of the Board of McDonald’s and Chairman of Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities.

HAL JOSEPHSON

Business Development, China Access 2008

Hal Josephson is President of MediaSense™ Inc., a San Francisco firm specializing in strategic marketing planning, international business development consultation and project management services for high-tech industries.

Hal works with China Access 2008's economic development operation focusing on partnerships and alliances with Chinese companies and provides strategic consultation regarding the creative industries to the Xuhia District of Shanghai. MediaSense clients have included: Apple, Motorola, IDG, KPMG, InternetWire, Infotech Canada, Digital Club Network, Trade New Zealand, ReedMidem, Business Image Group, Netcom, Virtual Spectator, The Biz Centre and Ivistra.

From 1997-2000, Mr. Josephson was Executive Director for the NewMedia INVISION Festival, the largest North American program honoring creators of digital content in all media, including CD-ROMs, web sites, games and business applications. During this period, Mr. Josephson was also the primary US business consultant and Silicon Valley liaison for Australian Multimedia Enterprise (AME), a $55M AU new media venture fund based in Sydney.

Prior to this, Mr. Josephson was Vice President of Infotainment World, producers of the highly successful Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Before this position, Hal spent two years as President and Executive Producer of the Motorola sponsored Interactive Media Festival, a $3.7M corporate event showcasing thirty-five of the best digital media art and technology projects from four continents plus commissioned new media performances by Blue Man Group, Firesign Theatre and Herbie Hancock.

For four years, during the early nineties, Mr. Josephson was the Director of Worldwide Business Development and Industry Relations for The 3DO Company. During the eighties, Mr. Josephson was a Boulder, Colorado entrepreneur as co-founder of two IT-related public companies, TeleMedia International, a teleconferencing production and human factors training business and StarCom Inc., a satellite delivered entertainment and communications company.

Hal has IT industry experience in teleconferencing, computer gaming, software licensing, satellite communications, and cable TV broadcasting as well as specific expertise in international business development and strategic marketing. In addition, Hal has a second career in large-scale event design, development, planning and production management.