2020 Global Australian Awards winners & finalists
Global Australians of the Year
Dr Abigail Allwood
Global Australian of the Year and Technology & Science Award winner
Dr Abigail Allwood is at the cutting-edge of space exploration.
Tim Kentley Klay
Global Australian of the Year & Commercial Creatives Award winner
Tim Kentley Klay is a creative and technical entrepreneur. He describes himself as a painter, designer, animator, film-maker, trouble-maker and thinker.
Global Impact
Dr John McHutchison AO
Global Impact Award winner
Dr McHutchison AO has played a central and critical role in developing the curative treatments for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).
Global Icon
Sophie Blackall AM
Global Icon Award winner
An Australian icon in the world of Children’s Books, Sophie Blackall creates places to escape to during stormy times, and return from wiser, calmer and changed.
Alumni
Premesh Chandran
Alumni Award
As an important proponent of free speech in Malaysia and a disruptor of the media landscape, Premesh Chandran creates space for voices against corruption and government abuses.
Nukila Evanty
Alumni
With a background in international law and a heart in the marginalised communities of Indonesia, Nukila Evanty works to place people at the centre of development and communities at the core of the decision-making process.
Dr Vandana Joshi
Alumni
Working to shift the health paradigm in war-torn countries and disaster response situations, Dr. Vandana Joshi is showing the world that good governance and community engagement are by far the most effective strategies to promote health.
Asia Impact
Dr Rossa Chiu
Asia Impact Award
Dr Rossa Chiu is a professor in the department of chemical pathology and Associate Dean for Development at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Cat Thao Nguyen
Asia Impact
Cat Thao (Nguyễn Cát Thảo) is a trailblazer assisting organisations and individuals to lead inclusively in a globalised world.
Thomas Ko
Asia Impact
Thomas Ko is an internationally recognised expert in oral biological drug delivery and sports medicine.
Emerging Leaders
Dr Susan Graham
Emerging Leader Award
Dr Susan Graham leads a team of passionate engineers, plant scientists and drone operators to tackle global scale deforestation.
Pichamon Yeophantong
Emerging Leader
Dr Pichamon Yeophantong tackles big, real-world problems and focuses on finding solutions.
Dr Samuel Wills
Emerging Leader
Dr Wills's research has led to significant real-world impact.
Yong In Cho
Emerging Leader
Yong In Cho is a fintech expert, specialising in the payments industry, with deep knowledge of the financial technology market across Asia.
Education & Research
Olivia Humphrey
Education & Research Award
A visionary who democratised access to educational content, Olivia Humphrey founded a new channel for streaming films to members of academic and public libraries, in turn forging a new model to monetise and distribute independent films.
Prof Justin Wolfers
Education & Research
Described as one of Australia’s most unorthodox and influential academic exports, Professor Justin Wolfers shifts the lens on economic discourse and the stereotype of economics in equal measure.
Prof Karen Thorpe
Education & Research
In her formative years as a young teacher, Karen Thorpe was struck by the stark inequities in children’s early learning opportunities.
Life Sciences
Prof Jill Banfield
Life Sciences Award
A mineralogist-turned-microbiologist, Jill Banfield has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of the structure, function and diversity of microbial communities in natural environments and the human body.
Prof David Hunter AC
Life Sciences
Professor David Hunter is one of the leading cancer epidemiologists in the world.
Dr Sandro Demaio
Life Sciences
A public health advocate and sustainable food architect, Dr Alessandro (Sandro) Demaio founded his career using nutrition as a platform for social change.
Sustainability
Dr Bart Kolodziejczyk OAM
Sustainability Award
Dr Bart Kolodziejczyk is a nanoscientist and inventor intent on busting his brilliance out of the lab and into the world of commercialisation.
Caroline Angoorly
Sustainability
A suit-wearing eco-warrior armed with a strategic mind and commercial rigour, Caroline Angoorly has earned her stripes operating, developing and financing large energy infrastructure projects.
Prof Jenni Evans
Sustainability
Showing that science is an innately creative endeavour, Professor Jenni Evans has forged a brilliant career merging research fields and forging interdisciplinary partnerships to tackle complex hypotheses and society’s biggest challenges.
Science & Technology
Prof Bryan Gaensler
Science & Technology
Professor Bryan Gaensler is an award-winning astronomer and author who is internationally recognised for his groundbreaking work on dying stars, interstellar magnets and cosmic explosions.
Prof Daryl Williams
Science & Technology
Professor Daryl Williams is the inventor and scientific pioneer of a new family of scientific methods for powder characterisation.
Dr David Pender
Science & Technology
A manufacturing revolutionary, Dr David Pender has designed and run some of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world.
Social Impact
Nicholas Wyman
Social Impact Award
For the past 25 years, Nicholas Wyman has sought novel ways to connect youth with the jobs of the future.
Andrew Hudson
Social Impact
To meet crisis day in and day out, Executive Director and CEO of Crisis Action, Andrew Hudson, relies on honesty, trust and inspiration.
Samah Hadid
Social Impact
A fearless campaigner, advocate and writer, Samah Hadid connects her own proud Arab and Muslim heritage to the global fight for greater equality.
The Arts
Christopher Doyle
The Arts Award
Christopher Doyle is an award-winning cinematographer.
Dr Christian Thompson AO
The Arts
Dr Christian Thompson AO is a contemporary artist whose work explores identity, cultural hybridity, gender & history.
Garry McQuinn
The Arts
As a maverick of global stage productions, Garry McQuinn operates at the heart of untold stories and new audiences.
Financial Services
Jennifer Nason
Financial Services Award
Jennifer Nason is considered one of Australia’s most successful global business leaders and one of the most senior and influential women on Wall Street.
Paul Chapman
Financial Services
Originally from Melbourne, Paul Chapman co-founded the game-changing ‘Moneytree’ platform, giving people greater control over their finances and disrupting Japan’s digital banking environment in the same beat.
Shuyin Tang
Financial Services
An impact investment warrior, Shuyin Tang is a pioneer bringing fit-for-purpose financing to impactful businesses in Southeast Asia.
Commercial Creatives
Charles Caldas
Commercial Creatives
A paradigm shifter in the global independent music industry, Charles Caldas has earned his reputation fighting to ensure artists share in the profits from the digital music revolution.
Jess Conoplia
Commercial Creatives
A global leader shaping film and television industry policy, Jess Conoplia has actively lead on-screen sector development, diversity and advocacy for members world-wide.