UNSW Foundation Board Director, UNSW Law alumnus and member of UNSW Law Advisory Council, Stuart Fuller, assumed the role of Asia Society Australia’s chairman in late November. He is currently Global Head of Legal Services for KPMG as well as its Asia Pacific Regional Leader for Legal Services and was an Asia Society Australia board member for three years prior to his appointment.
“I am proud to accept the role of Chairman of Asia Society Australia as it has become the nation’s premier organisation for Asia engagement,” Mr Fuller said. “I look forward to leading the Board and shaping the strategy for the next chapter of Asia Society in Australia during this critical time of change for our region.”
Mr Fuller graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from UNSW Sydney in 1990. He says lawyers underestimate their core skills – to read, absorb, synthesise and react, all in an articulate way, both in writing and speaking.
“These are core skills and fundamental capabilities for success in any career, and in life. UNSW Law School gave me these skills, but in a unique way of its teaching method, the human interaction and the broader focus on society. It is law in context, which creates life connections for your career and with your colleagues and friends.”
In his KPMG roles, Mr Fuller leads a team of more than 2700 legal professionals across 80 jurisdictions in the firm’s global legal network. Prior to joining KPMG, he was the inaugural Global Managing Partner of King & Wood Mallesons, based in Hong Kong. He led the combination of those law firms in a unique ‘east-west’ professional services firm business model.
Leading global legal organisations enables Mr Fuller to bring insights into business and industry trends, with a focus on cross-border investment and trade policy, and the global capital markets. His experience also brings perspectives on the opportunities and challenges for business and people in the developed, developing and emerging markets, and across their cultures.
For more than 60 years globally and 20 years in Australia, Asia Society has been building bridges of understanding between Asia, Australia and the United States across business, policy, education and the arts. It is a not-for-profit, non-governmental and non-political organisation empowered by leading Australian and regional business, government, education and cultural institutions. Former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister the Honourable Kevin Rudd will be appointed the first Global CEO of the Asia Society in January 2021.