Chair

Mr David Palmer

Appointed Chair in 2008 for five years

David Palmer, the Managing Director of Meat and Livestock Australia, was raised with a farming and livestock production background and has held a number of positions in the Australian red meat industries. Mr. Palmer has been traveling to Korea for business purposes for over two decades and has established strong links within the commercial sector in Korea.

After serving six years as Executive Director of The Cattle Council of Australia, he joined the Australian Meat & Livestock Corporation in 1995, managing food safety and quality assurance programs.

In 1998, Mr. Palmer joined the newly formed Meat and Livestock Australia Limited and helped establish the company in his role as General Manager, Industry Affairs and Communication, based in Sydney. He left this role to be the North American Regional Manager in December 2002, and represented the interests of the Australian beef, sheep meat and goat industries throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico from 2003-2006. In February 2006, Mr Palmer was appointed Managing Director.

Mr Palmer is also a director of AUS-MEAT Limited and MLA Donor Company Limited.

Members

Dr Bronwen Dalton

Appointed in 2009 for three years

Dr Bronwen Dalton is Director of the Centre for Australian Community Organisations and Management; Coordinator of the Masters of Community Management and Student Ombudsman at the University of Technology, Sydney.

From 1992 to 1995, Bronwen was Assistant and later Acting Director of the National Korean Studies Centre (NKSC) and a Lecturer of Korean Language and Studies at the Universities of Melbourne and Swinburne. Bronwen completed her D.Phil in 2001 at the University of Oxford where she researched the sources of political corruption in South Korea. Bronwen also has a BA from the Australian National University (ANU) and a MA from Yonsei University, Seoul.

Bronwen has published various Korea-related academic articles and chapters as well as reports for government including an export guide for Austrade and a report on Korean language teaching for the National Institute for Language and Literacy. Bronwen has lived, studied and worked in Korea for several years and speaks Korean.

Associate Professor Chung-Sok Suh

Reappointed in 2011 until 10 July 2012.

Chung-Sok Suh is an Associate Professor in the School of Organisation and Management at the University of New South Wales and the director of the university’s Korea-Australasia Research Centre (KAREC). Professor Suh is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Review of Korean Studies and an Associate Editor of the Journal of the Korean Economy. He has researched and published widely on the activities of Korean multinational corporations overseas and on corporate strategy in East Asia.

Professor Suh has a Bachelor of Economics from Seoul National University and a Masters of Commerce and a PhD from the University of New South Wales.

Mr Carillo Gantner AO

Appointed in April 2011 for three years.

Carrillo Gantner AO is a Director of the Myer Family Company. Director of The Myer Foundation and Chairman of the Sidney Myer Fund. Former Executive Committee member of the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium. Chairman, The Asialink Centre, 1992-2005. Counsellor (Cultural) at the Australian Embassy, Beijing, 1985-1987 and elected Councillor, City of Melbourne 1990-1993.

He has a BA University of Melbourne, a Master of Fine Arts (Drama), Stanford, California, a Graduate Diploma in Arts Administration, Harvard.

Carrillo has held significant roles in the arts field, including current appointment as Chairman, Melbourne International Arts Festival. Previously held roles as Founder and Director, Playbox Theatre, Chairman, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 1994-2000, Chairman, Asialink, 1992-2006 and President, Victorian Arts Centre Trust, 2000-2009.

In 2001, appointed Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for services to performing arts and fostering cultural exchange between Australia and Asia. In 2006, University of New South Wales awarded him a Doctorate of Letters Honoris Cause for services to arts and community. In 2007 Carrillo was named Victorian of the Year.

Mr James Casey

James Casey is a Division Director of Macquarie Bank Limited.

James joined Macquarie in 2000 as the International Business Development Manager for the Bank's Securitised Lending division, and during that time worked on business expansion projects in Korea, China and throughout South East Asia. In 2003 James established Macquarie Securitisation China in Shanghai and an associated home loan broking business. Since 2005, James has undertaken various roles within the Australian business and is currently head of Mortgage Products within the Macquarie Adviser Services division.

James has had a long association with Korea. He was born in Seoul and spent the first 8 years of his life there. He subsequently worked in Korea as a lawyer (1989-1991) and Trade Commissioner/Senior Trade Commissioner in the Australian Embassy (1995-2000). He has also made numerous business trips to Korea during his time at Macquarie Bank.

James has been a member of the Australia Korea Business Council Executive as well as having a long association with the Australia Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NSW) firstly as Secretary during his university student days and then more recently as President in the mid 2000s.

James is a Korean speaker.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Ex-Officio Board Member

As per the Orders Constituting the Australia-Korea Foundation, the Secretary or a representative appointed by the Secretary, holds the position of DFAT ex-officio Board Member. The Deputy Secretary responsible for North Asia normally represents the Department in this role. The position is currently held by Dr Heather Smith.