Alibaba Masterclass 2020

Australian and New Zealand businesses have always been at the forefront of embracing change. Sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practice are of the utmost importance in embracing the ‘new normal’ post COVID-19.

The Alibaba Masterclass: One-on-One Workshops for Australian and New Zealand Businesses is a key opportunity for business leaders, exporters, brands and retailers across Australia and New Zealand to interact with Alibaba’s management team in Australia and New Zealand to share insights, knowledge and know-how.

According to a global survey by McKinsey in April, consumers said they would “shop less frequently in physical stores for items other than grocery,” with many consumers expecting to spend more online. Digital savviness will remain crucial as retailers and brands adapt to consumer preferences shaped and shifted by the pandemic.

By joining the exclusive one-on-one program, experts from Alibaba Group will provide a personal meeting session for Australian and New Zealand businesses. The private session will cover the challenges and opportunities encountered during this unique time in history and how businesses can take to be successful across Asia Pacific and China region.

How to participate the program

Connect with new growth and embrace the digital era.

Meet our mentors

Maggie Zhou

Managing Director,
Alibaba Group (Australia and New Zealand)

Expertise:

Alibaba’s Ecosystem, export, business acceleration, digital transformation,
Alibaba’s culture.

Suggested Audience:

All Australia and New Zealand businesses.

Maggie Zhou was appointed Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand in March 2016 for Alibaba Group. As one of the key veterans of the company, Maggie has witnessed major company developments as the company has expanded its businesses outside of China and as well as the progression and development of Mainland China’s e-commerce market. In her current role, as part of the company’s globalisation strategy, she is responsible for establishing a local presence for Alibaba in Australia and New Zealand to further develop infrastructure and help local merchants enter the vast China consumer market. She will guide you through how Alibaba’s core values can contribute to enhancing your business operations.

Scott Ni

Senior Director,
Alibaba Group (Australia and New Zealand)

Expertise:

Export, cross-border businesses, e-commerce, marketplaces in China and Asia, digital transformation, China market.

Suggested Audience:

Local brands, exporters, brands and merchants.

A 19-year veteran with Alibaba Group, Scott Ni joined the company in April, 2000 and has held key leadership roles in sales, marketing and marketplace operations. He spearheaded the globalization of Alibaba.com in India from 2008 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2014, he led the transformation of Taobao University, Alibaba’s flagship training and development platform. Prior to his current role in Alibaba Australia and New Zealand office, Scott had serviced in Alibaba Strategic Investment and led the integration of major M&As, including Lazada and Youku. You are able to learn about all know-how on how to connect your brand to the Asian and China markets via
Alibaba’s export solutions.

John O’Loghlen

Director,
Alipay (Australia and New Zealand)

Expertise:

Cross-border businesses, mobile payment and banking solutions, Chinese.

Suggested Audience:

Retailers, restaurants, tourism and hospitality businesses.

John O’Loghlen joined Alibaba Group in March 2016 as Director of Business Development for the Tmall Global business where he oversaw the on-boarding of over 250 ANZ brands onto the Tmall Global e-commerce platform. John brings to Alipay strong cross-border trading experience and knowledge to support Ant Financial’s developments in this market.

Raymond Ma

General Manager,
Alibaba Cloud (Australia and New Zealand)

Expertise:

Cloud technology, storage, networking, security and data infrastructures, go-to-China.

Suggested Audience:

Business Leaders interested in Cloud and Emerging Technologies, architects, developers, IT engineers.

After graduating from Northwestern Polytechnical University in China with a Master of Computer Science, Raymond Ma began his career at IBM. The following ten years were spent working across IBM IT consulting arm, before moving on to run product portfolio of IBM Smarter Cities. In 2015 that Raymond was appointed General Manager of Alibaba Cloud ASEAN. In this role he specialized in providing cloud and big data services to ASEAN market. He was then assigned as General Manager of Alibaba Cloud in ANZ markets in 2018. You will be able to seek advice on how to enhance your digital infrastructure for your business.

James Hudson

Director of Corporate Affairs and Marketing,
Alibaba Group (Australia and New Zealand)

Expertise:

Marketing, media, migrant media, reputation, brands.

Suggested Audience:

Local brands, exporters, brands and merchants.

James joined Alibaba Group in 2017 as a founding member of the Australian and New Zealand team overseeing Alibaba Group’s marketing, media and government relations activities across Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining Alibaba Group, James was the Chief Executive Officer of the Australia China Business Council’s NSW Branch supporting member companies in their trade, investment and business engagement with China. Prior to joining ACBC, James was the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) as the China and East Asia Adviser providing guidance to the organisation on its strategic science partnerships, and commercialisation and licensing activities with the Asian region. You can seek advice from James about how to build stronger Asia capability in Australia.

Pier Smulders

New Zealand Country Manager,
Alibaba Group (Australia and New Zealand)

Expertise:

New Zealand businesses, cross-border trading, tourism.

Suggested Audience:

New Zealand local brands, exporters, brands and merchants.

Pier Smulders is Country Manager for New Zealand with Alibaba Group. As part of the Global Business Team, he works across Alibaba businesses supporting their activities in New Zealand with a focus on helping New Zealand exporters build brands in China and tourism enterprises and retailers reach more Chinese travelers in New Zealand.

Limited places available. Secure your place now.