VMDO Networking Breakfast- APAC Exchange

Feb 20th will see VMDO host their first Networking Breakfast in almost four years, to be held at CY Venue (formerly Music Market).

With the event supported by Asia TOPA, the topic for the morning will be APAC Exchange, featuring a panel of experts discussing building meaningful exchange between the Victorian music industry and South East Asia, as well as a Q&A where you'll have the opportunity to ask your questions. There will also be hang out time, and a selection of breakfast food available to snack on while you make plans for the ASEAN region using your new-found knowledge.

The panel will include Michael Choi, CEO of InQ International (VN), Dong Nguyen, Founder of Hot Panda Media (VN) and Esti Zilber (Sounds Australia) and will be moderated by Wenona Lok, Promoter Live Nation (AU).

DOORS WILL OPEN AT 8.30am WITH THE PANEL BEGINNING AT 9am SHARP

Michael Choi is a true global citizen, having lived and worked on most of the continents. He made a name for himself as a bass player, music producer, music director and programmer, working with the likes of Annie Lennox, Gareth Gates, Atomic Kitten & Kanye West to name but a few. He became best known for his role as the music director and bassist for MIKA for his 1st album “Life In Cartoon Motion”, playing to sellout stadium crowds for over 3 years, and travelling many times around the globe. In 2017, Thanh Bui invited Michael to come to Vietnam. Having never lived in Asia, it was an undeniable opportunity. After establishing InQ International, Michael has already made an impact and has produced Vu Cat Tuong’s latest album “Inner Me” as well as the album “3” from Ngot. 
The expansion over the 7 years includes schools, a 450-seater venue (Golden Bird) and a 2000-capacity venue (Capital Theatre). In 2024, Michael formed A.M.P. (Association of Music Professionals), with many of his colleagues in the Vietnamese industry. The idea was to organize and galvanize the main players who had the desire, ability and resources to enter the international music industry. Though very new, it has already had a huge amount of interest from agencies around the world. including Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Mexico.

With a decade working in the music industry in Vietnam, Dong Nguyen has been working in multiple segments as an artist manager, event promoter, A&R and music production, brand partnership, marketing & PR, artist booking agency, and more with his company, Hot Panda Media. Hot Panda Media’s goal is to be the bridge to connect and provide solutions for domestic and international artists, creatives and companies in South East Asia, one of the most exciting regions in the world.

Wenona Lok is a Promoter and Talent Buyer at Live Nation Australia and New Zealand, focusing on Asian pop content and talent. In her role, Wenona is tasked with breaking and touring Asia-Pop acts across the region and working with local teams to bring more diverse Asian talent down under. Wenona displays a wealth of knowledge of the Asian touring market and has a proven track record of managing successful relationships with Asian talent, evidenced by her work promoting a diverse range of Asian-Pop tours, including sell-out K-Pop acts TWICE and ITZY, Mandarin Pop/Rock acts Mayday and Joker Xue and K-Indie Yerin Baek, Chinese hip-hop artist MaSiWei, and Thai-Kiwi Phum Viphurit.  Wenona is also a contributing editor of Live Nation’s Future Sound (Asia Pop) report and wrote the forward for the report.

Joining Sounds Australia in 2010, Esti Zilber has played a key role in developing and delivering Sounds Australia’s program across the US, UK and Asia. Her work with inbound buyers across Australia’s domestic music conferences has seen thousands of invaluable connections made between international industry and local artists and managers. During the peak-pandemic years of 2021 and 2022, Esti managed Sounds Australia’s Export Stimulus Program, which saw $1.2 million distributed, across three rounds, to over 320 Australian artists, crew and music professionals. That financial support was used to realize “significant career-defining moments” in global markets and earn much needed income after 18 months of cancelled work due to the impacts of the pandemic.