Odette Hampton, Consul-General San Francisco
Odette Hampton is Australia’s Consul General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Austrade based in San Francisco.
Odette is an effective executive with more than a decade of experience working with globally scaling startups, providing commercial advice on their go to market strategy across the US, UK and Australia. Odette expanded the San Francisco Landing Pad to assist more than 400 Australian startups land and expand in the US, execute their growth strategies and raise capital from US venture funds. Odette led the high performing technology sector team across the Americas with a focus on cyber security, AI, quantum and other critical technologies to achieve more than $550m in FDI.
Odette is currently leading Australia’s commercial engagement on APEC 2023 and the development and promotion of Austrade’s Americas strategy to attract and support the companies that will enable Australia to achieve its sustainability goals in the transition to Net Zero.
Prior to Austrade, Odette was the Head of Financial Services (ANZ) for the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) where she led the creation and implementation of the Australia-UK Fintech Bridge, contributed to trade policy and the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement and advised British companies on global expansion following the Brexit referendum.
Odette practiced as a lawyer at Gilbert + Tobin Perth, in the corporate advisory team, primarily advising tech and mining companies.
Odette holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame Australia and studied abroad at The Catholic University of America in Washington DC where she interned in the US Senate. Odette has a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the College of Law and has been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.