Board Statement | Leadership Succession
New CEO and Executive Director
Simon Woods
The Board is pleased to announce that Simon Woods will become the next CEO and Executive Director of AustCham Shanghai.
This decision is in line with Board strategy and succession plans set out in mid-2019, as the Chamber navigated unprecedented uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.
The decision is further backed by strong endorsement from the outgoing CEO and Executive Director, Bede Payne, and close observation whilst Simon served as General Manager.
Simon will lead a secretariat that has been rebuilt since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and now includes three strong Senior Managers – Ruby Yu, Anna-May Isbey, and Mike Cheung. In his role as the General Manager, Simon has also identified and restructured the team to include additional resources focused on member projects and Alumni engagement.
The Board has every confidence in Simon and the leadership team to take the Chamber forward over the next period of growth. Simon will begin his tenure as CEO and Executive Director on 8 November 2021.
Outgoing CEO and Executive Director
Bede Payne
The Board wishes to thank the outgoing CEO and Executive Director, Bede Payne. Bede took the reins of the organisation at a difficult time for AustCham Shanghai, the Australia-China business community, and for the Australia-China relationship. His leadership in this period has been outstanding and in many ways unrelenting – in often demanding circumstances.
Bede was tasked by the Board to stabilise the Chambers operations and restructure for a post-Covid world, rebuild our organisational voice with Chinese and Australian governments, and identify and on-board a new leadership team. Originally, Bede committed to these tasks over a period of 12 – 18 months starting in Q3 2019.
Bede has achieved these things and more, and we are grateful for his commitment during this time. We are pleased that Bede has accepted our offer to remain with the Chamber through the transitional period providing strategic advice to the Chamber.
We wish Bede well in his future endeavours and ask members to thank Bede directly for his incredible service to the community. On a personal note, we wish Bede and his family well with the arrival of their newly born daughter.
A Chamber Positioned for the Future
2020 had tested and reaffirmed the critical role of a strong, active and involved Chamber in maintaining healthy China-Australia business relations. 2021 sees the team evolving quickly to future-proof the Chamber, and step-up support to members who are still facing significant challenges.
As we move forward, the Board remains focused on delivering on our strategy to bring more value to our members. We do this by continuing our support of Australian businesses in and entering China, fostering stronger relationships with local government relations, strengthening communications, curating new member initiatives, and increasing collaborations with key industry partners.
With members’ ongoing support, we believe we are in a strong position to continue to serve the community and our collective business interests in China.
The Board thanks the AustCham Shanghai team – past and present – for their continuous support to our members and the wider community.
Kind regards,
