Our Board

Andrew assumed his present position as Chairman Japan & Executive Director, Development Partnerships in July 2024 after 17 years as the Managing Director and CEO of the Lendlease business in Japan. During his tenure the business in Japan has seen tremendous growth and diversification, from a leading Project Management provider to becoming a successful Real Estate Investment and Development organization. This diversification includes Japan’s first independent telecoms tower company, a major data center development, R&D and office value add conversions. Through his extensive relationships in Japan, Andrew has facilitated Japanese capital investing into Lendlease products in London, New York, Sydney and Melbourne. With over A$12 billion in end value projects invested to date, his current role will focus on growing these partnerships to facilitate new investments and real estate development across diverse product lines including Build to Rent, Office, Industrial, Data Centers and Apartments.

Andrew served as the Chair of Australia New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan from 2016 to 2019 and currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Australia Japan Business Corporation Committee (AJBCC).

Ben Opie is the Chair and Lead Tax Partner of KPMG’s Global Japanese Practice in Australia.  He has been a partner of the firm since 2008 working predominantly in New South Wales and Western Australia. 

Ben is passionate about the strong business and cultural relationship between Australia and Japan and has been fortunate to be able to support this through his professional work, coordinating teams to support the success of significant Japanese investment into Australia, and contributing to various community-based Japanese organisations. 

He is a regular visitor to Japan and has worked alongside organisations such as JETRO and Austrade, providing taxation, economic and political update presentations in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. 

Ben joined KPMG as a graduate in 1998 after completing a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Western Australia. 

Mark is based in Sydney and was most recently the Regional Managing Director for Compass Group in Asia Pacific and a member of Compass Group’s Executive Board.

One of Mark’s greatest passions is encouraging healthier lifestyles and a more sustainable food system. Mark is also passionate about building Australia’s trade and investment in Asia and is chair of a BCA/Asia Society Taskforce focusing on building Australia’s trading relationship with Asia. Prior to joining Compass Group Mark had a diverse career holding leadership roles with LG Electronics, The Coca-Cola Company, Waterford Wedgwood, Cinzano, Allied Domecq and Gillette.

As the Vice President and Regional Head of Government and Public Policy for Asia Pacific at Google, Michaela Browning oversaw the company’s interactions with governments, institutions, businesses, and civil society stakeholders in the region.

Prior to this, Michaela held a range of senior positions in the Australian government, including as a senior diplomat of over 27 years with a focus on Asia, trade and security, including a number of senior roles responsible for strengthening Australia’s relationship with Japan.

She was the inaugural CEO of the National Foundation for Australia China Relations in 2020. She served as Australia’s Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau from 2017 to 2020, and on diplomatic missions in Singapore and Thailand. She also served as senior international adviser to Australian foreign and defense ministers.

Michaela has held senior trade and economic roles including leading global investment promotion activities, and leading Australia’s established markets operations for Australia’s trade and investment commission. She previously led Australia’s development assistance program for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was a trade negotiator to the WTO and for Australia’s free trade agreements with the US and Singapore. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a member of the board of CPA Australia, an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, and advisory committee roles in education and humanitarian disaster response organisations.

She has a Bachelor of Economics and Masters in Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University, with a focus on Japan and Japanese language.

Peter brings a wealth of experience to our board as Chair of AIA Australia Limited and Director of Linfox Australia Pty Ltd and Mutual Trust Pty Ltd. He also servs as Chair of the Royal Institution of Australia, the Australian Science Media Centre, the Faculty of Business and Economics at Melbourne University, the Shared Value Project, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication at UNSW and member of the Advisory Board of the AALD. 

Peter was CEO of Oceania Capital Partners and held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited from 2001-2004.  He worked in the Investment Banking industry including 15 years with Macquarie Bank where he helped establish the Japan desk.  He began his career in the Tokyo Office of Booz, Allen and Hamilton.  He holds an Honorary Doctorate from Murdoch University, a Masters from Stanford University and a Commerce degree from Melbourne University.  He speaks Japanese, having studied at Keio University in Tokyo and Yamate High School in Yokohama. 

Peter was Chair of the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, Deputy Chairman of The Myer Family Investments and Asialink, and a Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Crown Ltd, Foxtel Ltd, The Nine Network, the National Portrait Gallery, The Centre for Independent Studies and the Australia-Japan Foundation. 

In the June 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Peter was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and the AICD. In   2019 was awarded the Australian Academy of Science Medal. 

Tim Lester is the Executive Chair of Australian based Asia Pacific consulting and advisory firm, Jameson Boyce Partners. As a chair, director, leader, legal counsel and adviser Tim has stand-out expertise and insight derived from over 30 years of Australian, regional and global experience across Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. He is an expert in bilateral relations between Australia and Japan and fluent in Japanese. Supporting the value he brings to the AJBCC, Tim has led and advised on some of the largest and most complex projects and transactions in the region.

He has particularly deep experience across the energy, green energy and resources sectors, including supporting companies and guiding and advising boards on important strategic investments and transactions (including their funding) as well as providing advice and guidance on strategic direction, risk, good governance and positioning organisations in responses to changes in the regulatory and policy environments across Australia and the region. Tim’s expertise and experience is also built on his many years of chairing industry bodies and not for profit organisations (as well sitting on their boards)- such as the ANZCCJ, the Australia Japan Foundation, the UWA Business School Board and its Ambassadorial Council and many others, his long history of working across Sydney, Perth and Tokyo and advising and supporting Governments (and their agencies) in Australia, in Japan and the region on trade and investment initiatives and policy. Tim is also currently Chair of the AJBCC’s Clean Energy Transition Advisory Committee.

Veronica L. Taylor is Professor of Law and Regulation at the Australian National University (ANU) and Visiting Professor in Law at the University of Tokyo. Her research and policy work focusses on regulation, rule of law, and corporate governance. She is currently an Expert Advisor to the Deregulation Taskforce (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet), Deputy Chair of the Australia-Japan Foundation (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), a non-Executive Director of the Foundation for Australia-Japan Studies, and a non-Executive Director of ANU Enterprise. She received the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Citation in 2017.