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Rob Whiddon was Managing Director of Trade and Investment Queensland, the international arm of the Queensland Government, for six years from 2008 to 2014.
TIQ assists Queensland business with export advice from its professional team in its Brisbane headquarters, and through its many international offices in The Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Under his stewardship of TIQ the Queensland Government opened a trade and investment office for Latin America based in Santiago, Chile, the first Australian state to have a base in the region.
As MD of TIQ he had a very close relationship with ALABC, and he continued that involvement by joining ALABC in a personal capacity after his TIQ term concluded. He has been a Director of ALABC for the past twelve months.
Now living on the Gold Coast, Rob remains involved in international trade and investment activity. As well as ALABC he is on the board of the Council On Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR) , and also on the Management Committee of the Queensland Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He received an Australia Latin America Business Excellence Award in 2013 for an “outstanding contribution to business between Australia and Latin America”.
As MD of TIQ he served on the board of Australia Trade Coast, and was Chair of the Queensland Government’s G20 Economic Benefits Working Group when the G20 met in Brisbane. He is a member of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, and of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Prior to his appointment to TIQ, Rob was Chief of Staff to Queensland Premier Peter Beattie for eleven years, and before that a Private Secretary to the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Bill Hayden
