Norman Wong
Mr Norman Wong
Strategic Business PlannerMelbourne City Council,
Economic Development Unit
Following my great grandfather’s brief sojourn to the Australian goldfields at the turn of the century, my great Uncle became the first member of the Wong clan to settle permanently in Australia in the 1930’s. He subsequently assisted my father to migrate. I was born in Australia and spoke my parents’ Guangdong dialect before I learnt English at school.
During my high school years I became particularly interested in Chinese history politics and language. I completed a Commerce/Arts degree at Melbourne University majoring in Chinese, Accounting, Economics and Politics. I also studied at National Taiwan Normal University’s Mandarin Training Centre.
My career has been a varied one; I have worked in the food, banking and telecommunication industries in various customer relations and financial positions. I have also assisted the Chinese Chamber of Commerce with a number of projects. In 1996 I completed a Master of International Business.
My current position is with the Melbourne City Council’s Economic Development Unit, where I am a Strategic Business Planner. This involves promoting Melbourne’s economic development by encouraging business growth and investment, developing and reviewing business policy and strategy and facilitating business development. The particular Asian aspect of my work is to facilitate business opportunities between the City of Melbourne, our Asian partners in the Business Partners City network and our sister cities, particularly Tianjin and Osaka.