Roger and Jeanette Wolfe are returning to Brisbane after 4.5 years in Beijing where Roger was WesTrac’s general manager, mining, for China. Roger served for two years as the Chairman of AustCham Beijing, steering the Chamber through some of the city’s and country’s pivotel moments –including the 2008 Olympic Games and the global financial crisis. Roger and Jeanette were well respected by the Australian community in Beijing and will be greatly missed.

Ben Bravery recently launched Kexue Communications in Beijing to assist Chinese researchers with marketing, promotion, public relations and technical editing of their work to ensure it is disseminated to a broader audience beyond the scientific community. Ben, who is originally from Queensland, has a background in zoology, and first arrived in China in 2007 working with endangered deer as part of the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development program. He later took up a position with the Chinese Academy of Sciences as managing editor of a peer-reviewed journal before starting Kexue Communications. Fellow Australian Tim O’Mahony joined the company in June as Operations Manager. Tim holds a Bachelor degree and Graduate Diploma in Science Communication from the Australian National University and Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. Tim most recently worked as communications manager for a Filipino non-profit organization as part of an aid program.

Australian Melissa Shaw is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at the Sofitel Shanghai Hyland. Previously Melissa was the Director of Sales and Marketing at Sofitel Werribee Park Mansion Hotel and Spa in Melbourne. Melissa has also worked for Sofitel in Brisbane. Melissa is originally from Brisbane.

SeaLink Travel Group, South Australia’s Largest Tourism & Transport Organisation, has appointed Lucy Jin as its first Business Development Executive to be employed outside of Australia to drive growth out of the Greater China market. Lucy’s appointment will pave the way for the company’s first South Australian Mandarin language tour set to start in April 2011. Lucy will be based in Beijing.
She is fluent in Chinese, Korean and Japanese, and will also be responsible for driving growth in the Japanese and Korean markets.

Steve Barclay has recently taken over as the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Sydney. His key task will be to ensuring Hong Kong’s status as the best place to do business in Asia. The HKETO is Hong Kong government’s representative office in Australia and New Zealand and aims to promote Hong Kong’s trade and economic relationships with  the two countries. The HKETO provides enquiry and information services for the public about events and developments in Hong Kong and assists companies in Australia and New Zealand to explore and expand business opportunities in Hong Kong.

Patrick Groom has been appointed the International Admissions and Placement Manager with Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business with responsibilities focused on marketing Cheung Kong’s MBA program around the globe as well as supporting international students to find jobs upon the completion on their MBA. Patrick has been in China for more than three years, most recently living in Shanghai where he has been studying Mandarin. Patrick is originally from NSW.

Yew Chung International School of Shanghai (YCIS Shanghai) has announced the appointment of Andrew Mellor as the school’s new Western Co-Principal for Early Childhood Education and Primary. Andrew has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s Degree in Administration and Learning from Flinders University in South Australia.
Since 1995, he has been in numerous leadership roles, including principal of several schools in the US and Australia.

Marco Jacobs has recently joined the Beijing Consulting Group as a Senior Consultant in their Shanghai office. Marco is from South Africa originally and has worked in advertising, FMCG and sales and marketing roles in the UK and South Africa. He holds an MBA from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. ■

*If your company or organisation has an Aust-China HR related announcement to make or you know of people on the move, send details to sophiel@chinaconnections.com.au