Previous winners - Lord Mayor's Multicultural Awards for Business

2022 winners 

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Awards for Business for their contribution to the Brisbane economy.

Nick Xynias Multicultural Young Business Person of the Year – Mr Johnny Shin, Solomons Group Australia

This award recognises the success, creativity and energy of a multicultural young business leader under the age of 35, celebrating both their contribution to their community and that of Brisbane’s continued economic prosperity.

Johnny Shin is the Managing Director and founding partner of Solomons Group Australia. Solomons is a multicultural and multidisciplinary firm providing top-tier advice in investments, tax and legal advisory services for corporate and high-net-worth clients across the Asia-Pacific region. Johnny was born in South Korea and migrated to Australia in 2002. Prior to establishing Solomons Group in 2019, Johnny has spent close to decade working for number of leading financial institutions like Macquarie Bank and Ord Minnett. Under Johnny’s leadership, Solomons has established a reputation of providing quality advice, genuine care and always having client’s best interest at heart. This has led to multiple Institutional mandates from multinationals making Solomons one of the fastest growing advisory firms in Australia.

Multicultural Business Person of the Year – Mr George Sha, Balanz

This award recognises a successful multicultural Brisbane business leader and celebrates the recipient’s contribution to the Brisbane economy and recognises them as a local champion of enterprise who may have a global outlook for their business. 

George Sha moved to Brisbane from Shenzhen China in 2001. He has more than 17 years’ experience in banking and finance industry. He co-found Balanz in 2014 which is now one of Australia's leading finance broking firms that delivers customised finance solutions for businesses and their key people. Balanz has placed and managed more than 6 billion dollars of debts to date, with 20 team members and 3 offices across Brisbane, Sydney and Townsville. Balanz aims to source most suitable finance solutions for as many Australian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as possible.

Multicultural Entrepreneur of the Year – Ms Nina Nguyen, Pakko

This award recognises a multicultural Brisbane business leader that demonstrates through their business success, entrepreneurial flair, embedding a culture of innovation as a central pillar to their growth strategy. The recipient will personify the best in entrepreneurialism, possessing qualities from clear leadership and sound management to determination and ambition.

Nina Nguyen was born at a Malaysian refugee camp to Vietnamese immigrant parents; they first arrived in Sydney in 1991 and later resettled in Brisbane. Motivated by passion to help her parents' farming business, Nina founded Pakko in 2017, a manufacturing company where a box is never just a box. Pakko is on a mission to lead a manufacturing renaissance in Australia that embraces innovation and sustainability while supporting the growing needs of Australian businesses. Nina supports diversity and inclusion within the workplace and community and is an Ambassador for Inspiring Rare Birds, Brisbane. In 2022 Nina was awarded the prestigious Telstra Best of Business Award for Progressing Australia and regularly contributes as an author for Inside Small Business.

More information

For more information on the Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Awards for Business, contact the International Relations and Multicultural Affairs Unit on 07 3403 8888 or via email.