Dynamic duo balance life, careers and vision for Canberra

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Headshot of Renee on the left and Tony on the right

4 minute read

Tony Pan is Managing Director and Founder of TP Dynamics, and works alongside his wife, Renee Huang, TP Dynamics’ Chief Finance Officer.

Together, they completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the ANU College of Business and Economics (CBE), with Renee completing an additional Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law.

Throughout their studies, they learned to adapt to the multicultural community and developed various skills which became essential to the business: the ability to keep their passion and motivation, and always staying committed to their goals. The pair grew to love Canberra and decided to settle here.

In 2011, Tony and Renee harnessed their passion for the region. Seeing the level of potential in the city, they established TP Dynamics – an urban development company with a focus on sustainable and high-quality projects. TP Dynamics’ vision is to create an innovative, world-class capital city through building vibrant and smart urban spaces.

Through their company, Tony and Renee are committed to making contributions to the community and laying the foundations for a world-class capital city.

In this interview, Tony and Renee discuss their journey together so far, expand on their business, and reflect on balancing their vision with increasing life responsibilities.

Q. What attracted you to Australia and why did you choose to study at ANU?

Tony
Australia is a beautiful, multicultural country. Before I even got to know the city and the University, I chose ANU, as it is one of the top universities in the world. It showed great support to international students.

Renee
I love the Australian lifestyle and ANU is the top university in Australia.

Q. How did you meet and what is it like working with your partner?

Tony
We met at ANU. I was sub-letting the share accommodation, and Renee was looking for a room for her friend.

We try to maintain boundaries at work and be respectful of each other’s work. We also try to minimise business conversations at home. I focus on the development and pursing new projects, and Renee is more engaged in managing the group’s finance and administration, as well as engaging with international investors.

Q. Why did you and Renee start TP Dynamics and what was that experience like?

Tony
I’ve had a passion for tall buildings since I was a little kid, and my family used to do property development in China. While I was studying at ANU, my eyes were always on the land and I was conscious of the growing demand for better homes. After I graduated from ANU, I started to purchase old houses and vacant blocks to start renovations. I also began building new residential houses, and then broadened our scope to include townhouses, mixed-use precincts and urban revitalisation projects.

Like all businesses, we’ve had ups and downs, but I would say we had a great experience building up our teams and projects, and being able to bring better developments to our Canberra community.

Q. As business owners and parents of two young kids, how do you find balance in your personal and professional life? What strategies have you found to be effective in managing your time and responsibilities in both areas?

Tony
We are very lucky that we have family support with kids. Besides that, we try to take turns to have fun time with the kids every night, so the other one can concentrate on the work. Weekends is our family and friends catch-up time, as we value the importance of relationships.

Renee
Full-time work with two young kids sometimes can make you question yourself. One thing I have been learning to do is scheduling my day, and setting alerts and reminders for everything. Every night, I will write down my to-do list for the next day and assign them to specific times. The next day, after a chaotic morning and rushing to the office, I can start to focus on my work straight away.

Q. Where do you see TP Dynamics in the next five years? What do you believe is key to the growth of the business?

Renee
I think TP Dynamics has been growing rapidly for the past 10 years in terms of the size and the diversity of projects, and the valuable team members. In the next five years, TP Dynamics will deliver projects from Canberra-based to nation-wide.

In terms of projects, we are aiming to incorporate green energy and technology to provide a better lifestyle. For example, the Yowani project will be a five-star green community. Of course, people are always the key. We could not achieve what we have achieved today without our teams.

Q. How do you think students can maximise their ANU experience? What career advice would you give to current students?

Tony
I think students should pay attention to the ANU student life and participate in campus events, as I developed a lot of useful skills through making friends with different cultural backgrounds. Get into the internship program or get a part-time job – real-life working experience could help you apply your academic knowledge to its use.

Renee
ANU and CBE offer many great programs. I think participating in them could be beneficial for developing the soft skills as well as building the network. Building up professional skills is essential to any kind of future work for graduates. Any extra skill you can obtain is always welcome.

Tony and Renee have listed TP Dynamics as a CBE Internship host for Semester 2, 2023. Applications for CBE-sourced Internships close Wednesday 24 May, click here to find out more.

The ANU College of Business and Economics offers an extensive range of specialised programs. Click here for more details.