Qualifications & Background

• Michelle is a highly experienced lawyer with over 20 years of post-qualified legal experience.

• She has broad-based legal experience, and has handled matters across a broad spectrum of legal specialities, including corporate M&A, general commercial contracts, data privacy, litigation and alternative dispute resolution, employment, real estate, technology and media, intellectual property, consumer protection, regulatory and compliance, company secretarial, banking and finance, and public policy and advocacy.

• Michelle is a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia, the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the Supreme Court of Hong Kong. She is a fully accredited, General Panel Mediator of the Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited (HKMAAL).

• She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Macquarie University, Australia. She also holds a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from The College of Law.

• Michelle has worked at top tier, award-winning, global law firms including Allen & Overy and King & Wood Mallesons, advising global MNCs and financial institutions on a diverse range of legal issues and transactions, including private M&A, IPOs, commercial transactions, as well as corporate and financial services law matters.

• For 12 years, Michelle was a trusted senior media executive, legal and strategic advisor and business partner at the Asia Pacific business of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), a global technology, media and entertainment company, where she advised on all manner of legal and business matters across all Turner Broadcasting business lines (including CNN, Cartoon Network and digital businesses), spanning 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region. She led M&A and business development initiatives, advised on wide-ranging and complex issues in a constantly evolving media industry and dynamic regulatory environments. Michelle also built, led and managed diverse, high performing legal teams across multiple jurisdictions.

Board Advisory & Board Experience

• Michelle was a board member of TurnOut Ventures Limited for 6 years, a joint venture between Turner Broadcasting and Outblaze/Animoca Brands, focused on interactive gaming in the Asia Pacific region. She was a board observer of POPS Worldwide for 2 years, a cutting-edge digital entertainment startup in Southeast Asia.

• Michelle has also advised board members and investors across the Asia Pacific region, from startups to publicly listed companies, on matters of corporate governance, corporate strategy, corporate law and M&A.

• She has provided bespoke training and workshops for directors and senior executives covering director’s duties, negotiation skills, legal risk management, and regulatory and compliance matters.

Leadership Expertise

• As an experienced corporate executive who has built a successful career in complex, matrixed, multinational companies, Michelle is an expert at fostering stakeholder relationships, advising and influencing stakeholders, as well as collaborating with diverse teams across business lines and time zones.

• She has successfully established, built and motivated high performing legal teams based in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong. She is a proven and well-liked team leader, having managed, developed, and mentored legal practitioners of varying seniority, from senior lawyers to paralegals.

• She has led legal team transformations, including through the implementation of legal technology, devising and implementing workflow efficiencies and restructuring internal and external legal resources.