ASIA NEW ZEALAND FOUNDATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, NZ China Council / Executive Director, NZ China Council
During a long diplomatic career, Alistair established and led New Zealand's new Consulate-General in Chengdu, Southwest China (2014-18), and served as New Zealand Deputy Ambassador to Viet Nam and Deputy High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea. He was also New Zealand's first education counsellor to China and has lived in Japan and Taiwan. Alistair holds degrees in law and Japanese language from the University of Canterbury and is a fluent Chinese speaker.
Alistair has also managed crises in education and food safety in Asia, negotiated market access for a range of export sectors, and opened new opportunities for New Zealand companies in China. He is a fluent Chinese speaker.
He has spent time as Director of the Office of the Mayor of Christchurch, and was the Business Programme Director and South Island Manager at the Asia New Zealand Foundation during 2020-2021, where he led a programme supporting New Zealand companies to better understand Asia.
Alistair holds a first class honours degree in law and a BA from the University of Canterbury.
Job Titles:
- a Media Adviser
- Media
- Media Adviser
Carla Teng joined Asia Media Centre as a media adviser in 2023. She has over 15 years of experience in broadcast journalism and public relations. Her television career in the Philippines started as a weather presenter and news reporter for UNTV's morning programme.
Later, she joined TV5 Network as a diplomatic correspondent, covering stories about Philippines' foreign affairs department, overseas migrant workers, and world leaders' summits. She also gained journalism training in China, Singapore, and Israel.
Carla was a former member of the Vatican press and served as the close-in reporter of Pope Francis during his apostolic visits to Asia.
In 2017, she received a New Zealand-ASEAN scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and finished her Master of International Development at Massey University. After her studies, she worked as the chief editor for the Office of the President of the Philippines.
As a public relations specialist, she worked with companies such as the Ayala Corporation and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
She moved to Auckland in 2022, where she worked at one of the leading marketing firms in Aotearoa.
Job Titles:
- General Manager and Co - Founder of LILO Desserts / General Manager and Co - Founder of LILO Desserts
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor to Asialink
- Senior Advisor, Asialink, University of Melbourne / Senior Advisor, Asialink, University of Melbourne
Dr Donald Greenlees is Senior Advisor to Asialink at the University of Melbourne.
He is also a visiting fellow at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University.
Dr Greenlees is an award-winning journalist, author, and advisor on international political and business affairs. He has spent more than 20 years working in East Asia for international media, business consultancies and conducting academic and book research.
Since 2010, he has conducted academic research on Indonesian and regional foreign policy and worked as an advisor to multinational firms and high-net-worth individuals on a range of complex business, political and security challenges in Southeast Asia.
He has a PhD in international, political and strategic studies from the Australian National University and a master's degree in international relations from Deakin University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Lecturer and Journalism Coordinator, the University of Canterbury
Job Titles:
- Author and Former Diplomat
Graeme Acton joined the Asia Media Centre in February 2020, moving from the position of Foreign News Editor with RNZ in Wellington.
Graeme's experience in media stretches back to the 1980s, and he has held a series of senior editorial positions with RNZ, as Chief Reporter, Morning Report Deputy Editor, and Regional Editor.
He has also worked in commercial news radio, as well as in journalism training.
Graeme has a Political Science degree from the University of Canterbury, along with a Graduate Diploma in Journalism.
He has travelled widely in Asia, and has been the recipient of two media travel grants over the past few years, enabling him to report on issues of Islamic radicalism in Indonesia, and the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.
Philip Turner has divided his career equally between the private and public sectors. He has had 20 years of experience as a diplomat for New Zealand with postings in Tokyo, Brussels and Seoul as well as Wellington. From 2018 to February 2023, he served as New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
He has also spent 18 years working for leading New Zealand company Fonterra in China, Japan, the EU and New Zealand. He was based in Tokyo as Asia Regional Representative (2006-2008) and in Shanghai as Managing Director (President) China (2008-2012).
He has a Master of Arts, first class, in history from the University of Auckland. He speaks fluent Japanese and French, and some Korean, Mandarin and Spanish. He now lives in Tokyo.
Dr Tara Ross, Senior lecturer and journalism coordinator, the University of Canterbury