As the year concludes, Australians’ impact around the world in 2025 has been highlighted with the announcement of the Global Australian Awards winners.
In every corner of the globe, Australian have quietly been leading breakthroughs in fire safety, human rights, fintech and creative industries, to pioneering advances in ageing science, public policy, biomedical research, music, and space discovery.
This year’s Awards attracted hundreds of nominations from Australians across 140 countries, highlighting the remarkable depth, diversity and global influence of our nation’s people across every sector.
Shaping the world in extraordinary ways, Australians were selected by an independent panel of judges and celebrated at ceremonies across the world. The 2025 Global Australian Award winners include:
A world-leading fire safety and evacuation expert, Professor Galea’s research and testimony have shaped major international disaster inquiries, including the Paddington Rail Crash, the Swissair MD11 crash, the Admiral Duncan Pub bombing and Grenfell Tower fire. Professor Galea is the founding director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group (FSEG) and the Centre for Safety, Resilience and Protective Security (CSRPS) of the University of Greenwich in London.
Respected human rights barrister, Jennifer has had landmark cases spanning media freedom, climate justice and international human rights. A barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, she has acted in key human rights and media freedom cases in domestic and international courts. Her diverse and groundbreaking work includes: representing Julian Assange and securing his release; successfully defending Amber Heard in the UK; achieving political asylum for West Papuan leader Benny Wenda; and taking climate change to the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice.
A leading world-leading advocate for domestic abuse and sexual violence reform, Catherine has advocated for the rights of vulnerable communities in Australia, the United Kingdom and internationally. Growing up in Blacktown and witnessing discrimination towards the Indigenous population gave Catherine Hinwood a strong sense of social justice from a young age. Currently, she works for the National Health Service (NHS), bringing a public health approach to difficult cross-societal issues. In addition to her work with the NHS, she also led the UK government's response to COVID for victims of crime.
A people-first global executive transforming fintech and commerce media, Jamie is known for scaling Australian innovation internationally and driving major market growth. Originally from Sydney, he has a proven record of scaling Australian innovation globally. Jamie co-led the sale of Pinpoint to Mastercard, where he eventually became EVP of Global Consumer Engagement and Data Services, scaling solutions on the world stage. As Group CEO of Prezzee, he led the Australian fintech’s growth into the US, UK and Europe, supporting its unicorn valuation and earning recognition including Deloitte Tech Fast 50 and AFR’s #1 Best Place to Work. Currently as CEO of Reward, Jamie is accelerating international growth and redefining commerce media at the intersection of payments and commerce with a people-first, AI-driven model. Under his leadership, Reward has delivered over £2 billion back to UK households, fuelling over £120 billion in consumer spend across the UK economy.
One of Wall Street’s most renowned women in dealmaking, Jennifer has more than 40 years of global expertise in corporate finance, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. With an exemplary track record of cultivating and maintaining intimate relationships with CEOs and boards, she has helped shape the operating and financing strategies of some of the world’s most innovative and competitive corporations. Following her retirement in February 2025, Jennifer became an independent corporate advisor and board director. She currently serves on the public company boards of Accenture and Rio Tinto, and on the private boards of Dodge & Cox and GoopKitchen.
A highly influential creative leader in modern marketing and founder of Droga5, David is the most awarded creative in Cannes Lions history. He began his career in Australia at the age of 18 after receiving top honours at the Australian Writers and Art Directors School. By 22, David was executive creative director of the country's leading agency. He went on to lead award-winning agencies across Asia and Europe before founding Droga5 in New York in 2006. The agency was named after a laundry tag his mother sewed into his clothes at boarding school. He was among the first to champion viral, social, and earned media as central tenets of brand building. Before joining Accenture, David founded Droga5, a creative and strategic agency headquartered in New York with offices in London, Tokyo, São Paulo and Dublin. David’s influence lies in shaping a generation of leaders who see creativity not as a service, but as a force for change.
One of the world’s most influential scientists in this field, Professor Sinclair has fundamentally reshaped how ageing is understood, studied and treated. Born and educated in Sydney, Australia, he completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours) and PhD in Molecular Genetics at the University of New South Wales, before relocating to the United States as a postdoctoral researcher at MIT. Now based at Harvard Medical School, Professor Sinclair serves as a Professor in the Department of Genetics, where his pioneering discoveries have redefined the biology of ageing. His work on genes and molecular pathways that slow the ageing process, including sirtuins, NAD⁺ metabolism and epigenetic reprogramming has opened new frontiers in understanding healthspan and lifespan, with profound implications for the prevention and treatment of age-related disease.
A globally recognised human rights and humanitarian leader, Tirana is incoming CEO of Doctors Without Borders USA and former head of Human Rights Watch. An Australian lawyer, social worker and human rights advocate, Tirana is the incoming Chief Executive Officer of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) USA, and the former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. Across her career, she has led major global organisations dedicated to protecting human rights and delivering life-saving humanitarian assistance in some of the world’s most complex and urgent crises. Tirana began her career in Australia as a founding member of a refugee legal service established during the refugee crisis of 2000. She went on to work across the Middle East, Asia and Africa in international humanitarian operations, specialising in child protection and the protection of civilians in conflict and complex emergencies.
A groundbreaking UCLA research scientist advancing proteomics and cancer biomarker discovery, Dr Simonian has an extraordinary personal journey from conflict to global impact. She earned her doctorate in Advanced Medicine from the Australian School of Advanced Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. She has served as a Research Scientist at Macquarie University and later as a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Neurology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre. Dr. Simonian has made significant contributions to both research and academic teaching in her field. Notably, her pioneering work on Brain AVMs, which started at Macquarie Uni and continued at UCLA, was the first worldwide to employ proteomics to identify protein targets for vascular and molecular therapy following radiosurgery. Born in Iraq of Armenian parents, she relocated to Australia during the Iraq war. Knowing one person in Australia whom she stayed with for the first month, showed tenacity and a fearless drive to make a future in her new country.
A multi-platinum and award-winning Australian DJ/producer/songwriter & composer, Tushar Apte is based in Los Angeles. His production & writing credits include lead singles and major releases with Benson Boone (on the platinum selling debut GHOST TOWN), Chris Brown, Demi Lovato, Blackpink, BTS, Zayn, Nicki Minaj, Noah Cyrus, Steve Aoki, Taking Back Sunday, Surf Mesa, and many more. Records that Apte have produced and written on have amassed over 3.5 billion streams. A true multi-genre, multi-format talent, he’s found success in Pop, Dance, R&B, Alternative and Film/TV. Tushar is an accomplished Flim and TV composer, having composed on shows for NBC (“Zooey’s Incredible Playlist”), BET (“The Bobby Brown Story” composed with Babyface), ITV (“BBQ Champ”), BBC (“Walking With Dinosaurs”, and others), Netflix (“Jr. Jams”) and many more. He continues to move into future- forward avenues of music creation and development in the world of music AI – working on major projects for Mercedes, Mastercard, Riffusion, Bytedance/Tiktok, Michael Ovitz' Ai startup Sound Patrol and more.
Chief Scientist at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at Caltech, Jessie Christiansen is an Australian astrophysicist internationally recognised for her pioneering work in exoplanet discovery and cataloguing. A key member of NASA’s Kepler Science Office, she helped identify thousands of new worlds and contributed to the development of several NASA missions, including TESS, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and the Habitable Worlds Observatory. Jessie has also championed citizen science through platforms like Zooniverse, enabling global participation in the search for exoplanets. Her achievements have earned her the 2018 NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal and established her as a leading voice in space science and public engagement.
An award-winning social entrepreneur and changemaker, Dang Thi Huong’s work bridges Australia and Vietnam through purpose-driven innovation and women’s empowerment. From humble beginnings in Vinh Phuc Province, Huong’s journey has been one of extraordinary resilience, leadership, and impact. Through the Australian-founded social enterprise KOTO, Huong gained vocational training, a scholarship to study in Australia, and the confidence to pursue higher education. After professional experience in Australia’s tech sector, Huong returned home to lead social impact programs, including the DFAT-funded Her Turn initiative for ethnic minority girls. In 2018, she founded HopeBox Vietnam, the country’s first social enterprise dedicated to supporting survivors of gender-based violence. Through partnerships with Uniqlo, Meta, RMIT, and Vietnam Airlines, HopeBox provides employment, training, and a pathway to independence for women rebuilding their lives. Huong also co-founded WExchange, connecting international students and young Vietnamese professionals through mentorship and experiential learning, and currently serves as Executive Director of the Australia-Vietnam Leadership Dialogue.
“From London to New York, Vietnam to Singapore - we are very proud to be shining a light on the success of Australians around the globe,” said Global Australians CEO, Kate McQuestin.
Australian talent is not confined by borders – it thrives across them. Honourees include world-renowned scientists, advocates, innovators, cultural leaders and entrepreneurs whose work is transforming global systems, saving lives, empowering communities and elevating Australia’s influence worldwide.
“Together, they represent Australian ambition at its best — bold in vision, generous in spirit and determined in action. They are resilient, curious and unafraid to take the leap.”
“Australians back themselves and they back each other. That ‘have-a-go’ attitude and spirit is loved around the world and is at the heart of our global reputation. And yet, Australians are famously modest. Many don’t seek recognition for what they’ve achieved.”
“As a largely volunteer-driven organisation, Global Australians is proud to help tell these stories because we believe they matter. Choosing to go global means choosing uncertainty. It means learning fast, adapting constantly and backing yourself when there are no guarantees.”
“By recognising Australians who do this with excellence, we don’t just celebrate their individual success — we celebrate Australia’s collective ambition, while capturing valuable insights from more than one million Australians spread across the world, facilitating knowledge sharing and turning global experience into international influence.
“Ensuring success travels both ways. What we gain abroad becomes Australia’s gain and the great Australian bond never breaks – no matter where we may be in the world.”
This year’s Awards coincide with the organisation’s evolution from Advance.org to Global Australians: The Global Community for Australian Ambition. At the heart of Global Australians are our people — uniting more than one million Australians and centred on a simple belief: We Go Further Together.
In addition to honouring this year’s winners, Global Australians is launching a series of initiatives designed to support Australians living and working overseas, as well as helping them return, including the Career Pathway Program to assist Australian skills and talent to come home, community networking events and a new digital community platform facilitating knowledge sharing and connecting Australians by location, sector and interests.
The organisation relies on corporate, government and philanthropic support to operate, with partners including Macquarie Group, Qantas, King & Wood Mallesons and Trade & Investment Queensland backing its mission.
The independent judging panel of the 2025 Global Australian Awards included: Tan Kueh, Philip Aiken AM, Gemma Manning, Bruce Goodwin, Trent Blacket, Doug Ferguson and Kate Woolley
About Global Australians (formerly Advance.org): Global Australians: The Global Community for Australian Ambition is a not-for-profit organisation founded in New York in the spirit of mateship after 9/11. More than 20 years on, it unites one million Australians across 140 countries. Connecting the dots to the people, places and opportunities that matter globally, while tackling shared challenges, unlocking opportunity, and strengthening Australia’s links to the world.
Media contact: Global Australians CEO, Kate McQuestin on +61 411 839 174
Video footage and images of the award winners as well as from events in London, New York, Los Angeles and Sydney are available upon request. Full biographies, video interviews and further information are also available.