David Thomas

Well-known in the Asia Pacific region as a thought leader on China, CEO and founder of Think Global Consulting

Author

Keynote speaker on Future Trends, Innovation, Leadership and Globalisation, David motivates and educates global business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors about the massive potential offered by modern China.

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What David Thomas's clients say

Here is some of the feedback from audiences and clients who have worked with David.

"David recently presented at a client function on China’s 12th Five Year Plan. His presentation was engaging, humerous and delivered in a relaxed manner and was well received by our clients. His insights into the China economy and future plans were enlightening even to our China delegates. We would not hesitate to use David again and would recommend him to anyone needing an engaging speaker."

Mary Oxley,

DHL Global Forwarding

"We had David presenting at our National Conference this year and he really knows his stuff. Feedback from his session was excellent and there’s little doubt that he’s the master of his topic. We look forward to hearing more from David."

Robert Gerrish,

Founder & Director,

Flying Solo

"When building a bespoke forum and study tour experience out of Hong Kong for our Practice Principals, it was clear we needed to engage a China expert. Someone with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the region and who would be able to translate these into learnings relevant to the Australian advice professional and business owner. All roads led us to David and from the outset his knowledge and willingness to open doors for us proved invaluable. We also had David address our group as a keynote speaker which rated as one of the standout sessions of the program. We were thrilled with David’s contribution to the success of the Magnitude Principals Forum and hope to work with him again in the future."

Jessica Brady,

National Manager, Licensee and Offer Development,

BT Group Licensees, BT Financial Group

"David is a great presenter and an expert in his field. He has an amazing depth of knowledge and is very easy to work with. He will put a great amount of effort into ensuring that your audience leaves with meaningful key messages that relate to their business."

Melanee Mak,

Marketing and Events Manager,

Russell Investments

"David Thomas has presented his ” Innovation and Consumption” keynote to a number of our CEO Groups and the feedback has been tremendous. China is an important issue in all of our business conversations and David’s ability to deliver concise, relevant and timely messages whilst motivating business leaders to take action makes him a highly sought after speaker on the topic of doing business in China."

Peter Hocking,

CEO,

EGN Australia and New Zealand

"The presentation was absolutely amazing. His ability to provide us with a very entertaining mix of history, economics, social development and future trends was exceptional…"

Nick Dowling,

CEO,

Jellis Craig

"We really loved having David’s participation at our conference. Although it was a tough gig talking to our delegates during the gala dinner David did an excellent job and we’ve had a good number of members contact us regarding same. The topic was on point and so too David’s presentation."

Amanda Kohler,

National Property & Commercial Manager,

First National Real Estate – Corporate Office

"David is a very knowledgeable and engaging presenter, who connected well with the CPA Australia audience."

Michelle Coleman,

Product Development Executive,

CPA Australia

"David Thomas was the opening keynote speaker at our Danish CFO Agenda conference in Copenhagen, where we gathered 200 CFOs and finance leaders from large Danish companies for a day of inspiration and discussion. The delegates were all very positive about the performance and content delivered by David. He is a great speaker and facilitator and very knowledgeable on his topic."

Dorthe Harding Keilberg,

Partner,

Deloitte Consulting A/S, Denmark

"David recently presented at a client function on China’s 12th Five Year Plan. His presentation was engaging and delivered in a relaxed manner and was well received by our clients. His insights into the China economy and future plans were enlightening even to our China delegates."

Mary Oxley,

Regional Sector Head Consumer & Retail,

DHL GLobal Forwarding

"David was the highlight of our recent real estate event for business owners. He provided loads of practical tips on how to embrace the opportunities in China…"

Leanne Howard,

Head of Growth & Client Engagement,

Real Estate Results

"I just wanted to pass on my sincere thanks for your excellent presentation to our senior bankers and customers on China and India. The feedback from the session has been overwhelming."

Rachel Slade,

Former Head of International Products,

Westpac Banking Corp

Available for

David’s speaking themes

Languages:

Chinese ,
English

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David Thomas's 2022 biography

David Thomas’ Background

He takes them on a journey to identify, build and facilitate long-term business and investment relationships and he arms them with the knowledge and tools to navigate the cross-cultural challenges.

David is the CEO and Founder of Think Global Consulting. Think Global facilitates business and investment partnerships between Asia and Australia. In essence, David is a bridge builder providing a solid foundation for the west to do business with China in Australia, China and all over the world.

He believes that every company, large or small has to have a strategy for China. David travels from Asia to inspire, motivate and educate business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors around the world on the massive potential created by the rise of China and he supports them on their journey to identify, build and facilitate long term business and investment relationships.

David’s unique value lies in his ability to not only identify business trends, opportunities and challenges in China, but also his “hands on” experience from having worked on the ground for the past 30 years. He is therefore able to illustrate and enhance his presentations by including practical examples, case studies and anecdotes from his own personal experiences and stories.

Having worked with SMEs from many industry sectors (e.g. retail, professional and financial services, manufacturing, food, tourism, education, publishing, real estate, design and technology) David’s experience and expertise is broad and deep. He regularly speaks at Conferences, Workshops, Seminars and Board Meetings to a wide range of audiences and industry sectors and tailors his presentations accordingly.

He regularly travels around China working with local partners and investors, as well as hosting Chinese delegations and missions of investors, SMEs and entrepreneurs around the world. Find out more about David’s personal story in an interview with the China Daily Asia.

As a speaker and thought leader, David is charismatic, bold, friendly and has the unique ability to demystify a country that has been long hidden from Western view. He challenges people’s thinking and views about China whilst empowering his audiences to see and understand the opportunities that working with China brings.

David wants people to take take another view and look differently at China.