David Thomas is well known in the Asia Pacific region as a passionate and engaging speaker and a strong advocate of business, trade and investment collaboration in the Asia Pacific region. He has worked with SMEs across most industry sectors and is currently focused on supporting Australian Technology companies with their capital-raising and commercialisation activities in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area of China. With a 30 year career living and working in the UK, Hong Kong, Australia and the Philippines, he has provided advice, support and guidance to entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders as they navigate the cross-cultural challenges, barriers and opportunities of doing business and investing across the Asian region.
David lived in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 90s. His father, the Attorney General for Hong Kong (1983-88) was involved in the negotiations between Britain and China to design and implement the new Basic Law of Hong Kong in 1997. His step-mother was a senior political leader in Hong Kong and worked with Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher to negotiate the future of Hong Kong under Chinese sovereignty post 1997. David has had a life-long interest in Hong Kong’s role as a regional hub and China’s emergence as the financial engine of Asia. For the last 30 years, David has worked with entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders to successfully engage with their Chinese and Asian counterparts. In his keynote presentations and workshops he draws on his own personal stories, anecdotes and case studies to teach leaders how to communicate effectively across cultures.
David is a Keynote Speaker and the author of ten books and over 500 blogs on the topic of doing business in the Asia Pacific region.