David Chiem

Born in Rach Gia, Vietnam, David and his family fled Vietnam and arrived in Australia as refugees in 1978.[5]

He graduated from University of Technology, Sydney where he received a BA in communications, and earned a master's degree in film-making from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS).[6]

When he was 14 years old, he was selected to play a starring role on "Butterfly Island" and became the first Asian to be given a starring role on mainstream Australian television drama series.[5]

He founded a company, MindChamps, that focuses on early-childhood education in Singapore.[7][8] MindChamps was first launched as an educational research centre in Sydney, Australia in 1998. MindChamps then went on to establish its global headquarters in Singapore in 2002 and was subsequently listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in November 2017[9]. MindChamps PreSchool has since expanded into Australia, Abu Dhabi, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia.

In 2019, he was recognised as Entrepreneur of the Year by the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Singapore (AustCham)[10] .

David is also a published author, and has written two novels with Brian Caswell, Only the Heart and The Full Story.[11] The books have been nominated or shortlisted for a number of Australian literary awards, including New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.[12] Only the Heart has been used as a set text for many years in Australian schools.[6]

Other books by David include the parenting and educational book Deeper than the Ocean, and its follow-up The Art of Communicating With Your Child as well as Pre-school Parenting Secrets – Talking with the Sky. He also co-authored The 3-Mind Revolution an educational psychology book with Caswell.[13]