Prue Holstein had a 38-year career serving as Trade Commissioner and Consul for the Australian Government in Chicago, USA and then in Osaka, Japan and also served in Tokyo as Commissioner for Japan and Korea, for the Victorian State Government. She also built up and ran the Australian chapter of an American non-profit, the Asia Society developing programming for senior Australian and Asian business leaders. Holstein has an MBA from the University of Melbourne and a PhD in Japanese Studies from Monash University. She speaks Japanese and German and has a working knowledge of French, Spanish and Italian.