My guest today is Celeste Koravos, a Principal in Decarbonisation & Energy Transition at Xodus, focusing on Japanese investors in Australia and their partnerships with Australian companies to achieve Net Zero.

Celeste’s choice to study Japanese in high school led her to gain experience working as a foreign lawyer in Japan, and also to lead one of Australia’s oldest business organisations in the Australia-Japan space.

To me, Celeste’s Clout is her ability to leverage her Japanese language capability and understanding of the Japanese business culture to help build a stronger Australia-Japan community in Victoria, and to build partnerships that help connect Australian and Japanese expertise and capital.

We talked about Celeste’s experiences working in Japan, how she sees Australia’s expertise in helping Japan in their goal towards decarbonisation, how learning Japanese has shaped her Australia-identity and the Japanese contribution to female empowerment.

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Melbourne · Tokyo

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FOOD: Tokyo Banana

MUSIC: Noriko Tadano

BOOK: The Courage to be Disliked

PERSON: Celeste's Family

My guest today is Kevin Wang, Product Manager at a Ride-hailing Company.

Kevin’s Asia journey started in his birthplace Nanjing, where he lived until he moved to Sydney when he was 10. Kevin’s career has spanned across Asia, spanning financial payments platforms, a global digital advertising agency, and now SEA’s largest ride-hailing platform.

To me, Kevin’s Clout is having the conviction to leverage his language and cultural abilities, whilst being able to successfully build expertise within the technology verticle that cuts across all regions.

We talked about Kevin’s China experiences, being a bilingual Chinese-Australian but yet somewhat foreign in his birth country. And we talk about his perspectives as an Asian-Australian who has built a career in tech, on Australian innovation and the role that Asian-Australians play to uplift the Australian tech workforce.

Welcome to Clout Asia, where we ask Australians to take us on their journey to Asia capability by choosing a food, song, show, and person that captures the essence of their experience - to help us understand, what being an Aussie with Clout, is all about.

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Nanjing · Sydney · Beijing · Chengdu · Singapore

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FOOD: Bread soaked in fishhead soup 鱼头泡饼 Yú tóu pào bǐng

MUSIC: Chengdu by Zhao Lei 趙雷《成都》 

SHOW: Good Life《生活万岁》Shēnghuó wànsuì

PERSON: Kevin's Kiwi manager who hired him to move to China

My guest today is Natalie Lowe, an Aussie entrepreneur who has built her brand and business in Asia.

In 1999, Nat packed her bags with $1,000, bought herself a one-way ticket, and flew to Singapore. 20 years on and she is still in Asia and has built a thriving creative agency business headquartered in Shanghai with her husband.

We talk about Nat’s struggles with her identity as a global citizen versus the girl growing up in Sydney’s inner West, the importance of communication, and never believing failure to be an option.

Welcome to Clout Asia, where we ask Australians to take us on their journey to Asia capability by choosing a food, song, show, and person that captures the essence of their experience - to help us understand, what being an Aussie with Clout, is all about.

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Sydney · Singapore · Hong Kong · Shanghai

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DRINK: Coffee (lots of it)
MUSIC: Lose Yourself by Eminem 
MOVIE: Fight Club
PERSON: Natalie's Father

My guest today is Andy Curtain, a recovering comedian having spent years touring China and Asia performing in Chinese and English.

Andy is currently the APAC Head of Comedy for Asia, at US multinational entertainment company, Live Nation.

Andy’s Asia journey started in the same way he ventured into comedy - on a whim.

After moving to Shanghai in 2009, Andy built a thriving local comedy community that fostered the rise of stand-up comedy in mainland China.

He owned and ran Shanghai’s Kung Fu Komedy Club, before moving to Hong Kong to launch the ill-fated Riff comedy club.

We talk about lawyers becoming comedians, language as a tool to help unpeel the layers of a city, a Canadian becoming China’s “favourite foreigner”, and eggplants.

Welcome to Clout Asia, where we ask Australians to take us on their journey to Asia capability by choosing a food, song, show, and person that captures the essence of their experience - to help us understand, what being an Aussie with Clout, is all about.

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Melbourne· China · Hong Kong

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FOOD: Eggplant
MUSIC: She Came to My Concert by Jacky Cheung 张学友《她来听我的演唱会》
SHOW: Dwelling Narrowness 《蜗居》
PERSON: Dashan 大山

Karan Anand is the Managing Director for Australia at fintech company Hnry.

Unlike my other guests, I didn't know much about Karan's background apart from what was on his LinkedIn, but we had a great conversation. Perhaps it was because our journeys were so parallel yet so different.

We discuss Karan's experience growing up in Darwin as the only kid with a turban and delve into the inspiration behind his creation of a community that empowers Sikh young professionals.

Today, Karan cuts across cultures and diasporas, standing at the forefront of revolutionizing how freelancers and self-employed professionals approach taxes. As the Managing Director for Australia at Hnry, he tackles a universal issue faced by many in Western nations.

Welcome to Clout Asia, where we ask Australians to take us on their journey to Asia capability by choosing a food, song, show, and person that captures the essence of their experience - to help us understand, what being an Aussie with Clout, is all about.

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FOOD: Butter Chicken

MUSIC: Enter Sandman by Metallica 

TV SHOW: The West Wing

PERSON: Virat Kohli (Indian cricketer)

In our mini bonus episode, Lucy interviews Victoria about her new role at the ANU's Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership (CAAL). Victoria shares insights about her position and highlights some of the exciting projects that CAAL is currently involved in. These projects aim to break the bamboo ceiling and encourage more Asian-Australians to take up leadership roles.

More on the Counting for Change project

More on the William Ah Ket Leadership Program (applications close Sunday 25 June 2023 at 5pm AEST)

More on the Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership

Victoria Kung is an Australian-born Chinese to Shanghainese and HK parents.

At uni, Victoria was one of the few Asians who studied English Lit and Philosophy. Upon graduation, she took a non-linear career path and accepted an offer to study international relations at Tsinghua University. After returning to Australia, she joined the Australia China Business Council and later the School of Asia-Pacific at ANU.

Since our interview, Victoria has joined the esteemed Jieh-Yun Lo at the ANU’s Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership.

We delve into Victoria's cherished childhood comfort food - Shengjianbao, her most influential figure, and the challenges she faced professionally upon returning to Australia, as companies did not recognize the value of her experience in Asia.

Welcome to Clout Asia, where we ask Australians to take us on their journey to Asia capability by choosing a food, song, show, and person that captures the essence of their experience - to help us understand, what being an Aussie with Clout, is all about.

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FOOD: Pan-fried Pork Buns 生煎包

SONG: Simple Love by Jay Chou 《简单爱》 

TV SHOW: Nothing but Thirty《三十而已》

PERSON: Victoria's Mother

James Scullin is the Programs Director at Asia Society.

James' Asia journey started when his Melbourne school made Mandarin studies compulsory for the first four years of high school.

James and I first crossed paths via our China connection. But what intrigued me about his Asia journey was his experience leading guided tours to North Korea, which later inspired him to create a photo book documenting the hotels in the country’s capital city.

We talk about the juxtaposition of China’s rapid development versus its enduring cultural identity, I discover James’ love for Japanese surf rock, and we dive behind the scenes into his time in North Korea, including the making of his book Hotels of Pyongyang.

Welcome to Clout Asia, where we ask Australians to take us on their journey to Asia capability by choosing a food, song, show, and person that captures the essence of their experience - to help us understand, what being an Aussie with Clout, is all about.

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FOOD: Pyongyang cold noodles

MUSIC: Takeshi Terauchi

TV SHOW: Early movies by Zhang Yimou

PERSON: Ri So Hyang (North Korea tour guide)