Brunswick has announced the appointment of Michaela Browning as a Partner and the CEO of Asia Pacific, effective 1^st April 2024. Michaela will work with Lisa Foley, Managing Partner of Asia Pacific; teams across Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo; and global colleagues to drive Brunswick's regional growth. She will advise clients on critical issues ranging from geopolitical and digital transformation to cybersecurity, regulatory, financial governance and risk areas.

Michaela joins Brunswick from Google, where she led regional government, institutional and corporate policy partner and civil society stakeholder relations as Vice President and the Regional Head of Government and Public Policy for Asia Pacific. She was also on its Asia Pacific Operations, Global Affairs and Risk leadership committees. 

Michaela has amassed an expansive career within the Australian government, including as a senior diplomat for more than 27 years, focusing on Asia, trade and security. She served as the inaugural CEO of the National Foundation for Australia China Relations and Australia’s Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau. Michaela also acted as a senior international advisor to Australian Foreign and Defense Ministers.

Michaela continues to serve on regional institutional, trade and Asia-focused business boards and advisory groups, including the Digital Advisory Group for the Asian Development Bank, APEC Business Advisory Council and the Asia Society Australia.

Brunswick's Chief Executive Officer, Neal Wolin said, "Michaela is an accomplished strategic leader with extensive experience as a trusted advisor to senior business and political figures across Asia Pacific. Over the last 20 years, Brunswick has built a very strong business in Asia Pacific, which continues to present extraordinary opportunities for growth. Michaela brings deep knowledge of so many of the critical issues facing our clients in the region. She will be a fantastic leader of our teams as we seek continued success in Asia-Pacific, and I am very excited to work with her."

Michaela said of her new appointment, "I am absolutely delighted to be joining Brunswick. The Asia Pacific region is fast evolving and dynamic, with unprecedented geopolitical, technological and environmental change and complex regulatory developments. There is enormous opportunity to provide organisations with advice on critical issues as they seek to navigate the extraordinary opportunities and challenges successfully, and as they build value for their stakeholders and the societies in which they operate. The Brunswick team in Asia Pacific and across the globe are first class, and I am looking forward to engaging with them and the firm’s clients."