Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Australia. Accredited Trainer in Global DISC™

John’s background and 12 year career in the audit & advisory business of KPMG Australia and China, as well as his experience in leading teams in the community, has given him insight into conducting business in China, where he has worked for over 15 years. Through his consulting career, he has developed a deeper understanding of how to help companies and workplace teams achieve their full potential as they navigate a globally connected world, cross cultures, and remain agile in volatile times.

Having grown up in Australia, John played cricket and rugby in school, and remains an avid sports fan, both watching and playing sports, and passing on this love of sports to his children. In his spare time he coaches sports teams at local schools. 

John believes that the sweet spot for a person’s work is when passion and ability collide. For him, this has happened most recently when he negotiated a cricket development program between Cricket NSW and the China Cricket Association, as well as facilitating sporting exchange programs for several rising stars in the China cricket community.

Native English speaker. Certified TEFL and Business English Trainer (Cambridge CELTA).

Bec was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, graduating with First-class Honors in Chemical Engineering at the University of New South Wales. She has lived in China since 2005, and has taught IELTS, university-level English at Central University of Finance & Economics and Beijing Jiaotong University, and Business English at China Medical Tribune. Her interests include spending time with her husband John and their two children, digital art and graphics, painting, reading & videography, as well as scouring the Harvard Business Review for helpful articles on productivity and how to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

As a trainer she believes that the person who most understands what the student needs is the student themselves. Her approach to her students is to first find out their needs, passions, interests and to learn about their work. Subsequently, from her own avid reading, Bec seeks to find real-world material that speaks to her students needs and interests, so that their learning is practical, relevant and memorable.

Certified Play Therapist. BSc (Risk Management), CUHK

Tracy is a certified play therapist. She is passionate about seeing people grow and live out their lives meaningfully. She loves to journey with and coach people using boardgames and other tools in order to achieve their life goals.

She graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a major in Risk Management Science and a minor in Integrated BBA. She worked for more than 5 years in Asia and Africa as a supervisor of community projects. She also spent another 5 years living and teaching in South East Asia, including a national university in Indonesia. These cross-cultural experiences made Tracy very sensitive to the importance of functioning well amidst intercultural relationships.

Dr Michael Barbalas is from the USA and is a China-based speaker and consultant. With over 25 years of management experience in China, in companies including Goodrich and UTC Aerospace Systems, and as President of the American Chamber of Commerce from 2006-2010, Michael brings a wealth of US-China business expertise. He holds a B.S degree in Chemistry from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Cornell University, and reads and speaks fluently in Chinese.

He is a frequent speaker in both the USA and China on US-China investment and business, and is a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations.

Dr. Byron Y. Lee is Assistant Professor of Management at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Relations and Human Resources from University of Toronto. Prior to joining CEIBS, he was an Assistant Professor in the School of Business and also the International MBA Academic Director at Renmin University of China.

Dr. Lee has given keynote speeches in Australia, Japan, Taiwan, China and Switzerland and at the Asian Talent Management Conference to HR executives in Hong Kong. He has also consulted for the government of Canada and Hydro One and has provided corporate training to multi-national companies such as L’Oreal, Johnson Mathey, Perfetti van Melle, Bank of Communications and Taiping Life. He has also taught in the Global CEO program organized by CEIBS/Wharton/IESE. We are honored to have him as a valued advisor to the iConnect Corporate Solutions team.