Managing Director

Veerle Vanderplasschen

Veerle is the Founder and Managing Director of Absolute Translations. She has such a passion for what she does, she reckons she hasn’t worked a day in her life.

Her respect for her team is immense and her devotion to her clients is second to none. She believes the company’s success is built on quality, integrity and exemplary customer service.

Veerle holds a European Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and Specialised Translation for the French, Spanish and Dutch languages, awarded with distinction by the prestigious Mercator College in Belgium. Mercator was integrated in recent years into Ghent University.

In addition, she holds the Australian NAATI accreditation for English and Dutch translation.

Her Master’s thesis studied the interpreting decisions made by simultaneous conference interpreters when confronted with inadvertent ‘errors’ and ‘error corrections’ by the speakers. The research received a high distinction.

Whenever Veerle has time off, she can be found MTB riding on hazardous trails, flying off ski slopes in winter and exploring the country-side on horse-back.

Project Manager

Vanda Nissen

Vanda Nissen is a Project Manager at Absolute Translations and works from our Brisbane office. She brings along extensive experience in all things linguistic and offers our clients wonderful assistance with all their localisation needs.

Vanda holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and a MA in Russian Language and Literature from the Voronezh State University (the latter awarded with 1st class honours). This university is one of the oldest and most reputable universities in the Russian Federation.

In addition to above programs, Vanda studied Polish with a focus on translation and she received a prestigious scholarship from the Polish Academy of Science in 2001 to spend an academic year in Warsaw for her PhD program.

Vanda also holds the Australian NAATI accreditation for professional English into Russian translation.

Finally, she is an accredited teacher in Russia as well as Australia. She has been a lecturer of Russian at the Voronezh State University and the University of Adelaide. Moreover, she has delivered courses for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and a number of language schools across the country.

Vanda moved to Australia in 2010 after spending six years in Denmark and Sweden, where she learned Danish and Swedish. She really enjoys languages and feels comfortable in multilingual environments. And if this wasn’t enough, Vanda also is an accomplished pianist.

Whenever Vanda is not working, she will be found reading, playing music or enjoying the beautiful Brissie lifestyle.

Client Relationship Manager

Samuel Pavin

Samuel Pavin is our Customer Relationship Manager. He brings more than 15 years of experience in sales, customer service, marketing and management to his role. Samuel is a dedicated and relentless multilingual professional who is devoted to achieving outstanding results for Absolute Translations’ clients.

Prior to joining Absolute Translations, Samuel worked in the tourism, financial and information technologies industries, in roles ranging from sales to marketing, management, customer relations and business development. A wealth of experiences that he brings to the table not only for Absolute Translation but for our clients too.

Some of Samuel’s career highlights include some unique roles and projects. From a one-of-a-kind international sales role for small businesses at Arval (BNP Paribas) dealing with customers all over Europe to building, launching and managing IBM’s initiative for startups (Global Entrepreneur) in France as a founding member of the program.

As a result of having managed complex projects worldwide, Samuel has gained an excellent understanding of clients’ needs when it comes to global market targeting and expansion.

Samuel holds a Master’s degree in Foreign Languages applied to Business and Trade from the University of Rennes II, France. A solid business qualification and background topped with strong translation qualifications, at the core of his diploma, and dedicated work done in both the corporate, small business and startup worlds.

Finally, in addition to his passion for foreign cultures, travel and sports, Samuel is also a freelance brand strategist and an influencer; a jack of all trades who brings all his passions and experiences – and most of all, dedication – to his role at Absolute Translations!

Senior French Translator

Emmanuelle Hautbois

Emmanuelle is Absolute Translations’ senior translator and reviser for the French language and is part of our secretariat in-house team.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Technical translation (English/Spanish/French) awarded by the CFTTR (Centre de formation des traducteurs, terminologies et rédacteurs de Rennes) of Rennes, France.

Emmanuelle started her career as a translator and project manager in Paris. She continued to pursue her career in Vienna, Austria and in Winnipeg and Toronto, Canada.

On returning to France in 2007, she began a career as a freelance translator specialising in technical, legal and medical translations from English and Spanish into French.

In 2009 she was recruited by Rennes University to become associate professor in technical translation and oral communication (Spanish<>French), which she continued until 2012.

In addition to her busy career, Emmanuelle is an active member of ASETRAD and IAPTI, international associations of translators and interpreters, which help her keep up to date with all the latest in the translation and interpreting industries.

Having lived in Austria, Canada and France, she’s particularly sensitive to linguistic and cultural differences and always willing to discover language intricacies and share with others the passion she has for her profession.

When Emmanuelle is not working, you can find her practicing yoga and trekking in the countryside and along the coasts of Brittany. She loves to travel and whenever she can she “escapes” to discover and explore new cultures. She’s also a true opera and theatre lover.

Senior Chinese Translator

Milton Guo

Milton is Absolute Translations’ senior translator and reviser for the Chinese language. Milton is our direct cultural link with China. He brings along linguistic and cultural expertise in all aspects of the Chinese language.

Milton was awarded a BA in English Language and Literature by China’s Southwest University. In addition to his official academic achievement, Milton has been an autodidact in a wide range of fields he is interested in.

He studied in-depth the basics of how to fly an aircraft while working in the largest pilot training school in China and became one of the first CAAC certified flight interpreters in China, and worked as an interpreter for Chinese pilots trained at FlightSafety centers in Canada and Australia.

His strong interest in computer and programming science allowed him to build and run one of the first personal websites in China in the late 20th century, which further expanded his knowledge in the IT field.

Milton started his translation career in 1991 and became a full-time professional translator in 2006. Since then, he served many Fortune Global 500 companies, major international organisations and top universities around the world, in a wide range of fields including Commerce, Marketing, Education, Law, IT & Computer, Finance, Human Resources, Localisation, Healthcare, Government, Aviation and Sports & Fitness.

During his free time, Milton enjoys brisk walking & swimming (even in deep winter) to keep his body fit and writing poems and reading to keep his soul fit.

Senior German Translator

Andrea Reinacher

Andrea Reinacher is our senior German translator and reviser with native-level English, fluent French, and basic Spanish and Italian.

While Andrea was born and educated in Southern Germany, she went to study in Scotland, she taught German in France and has been living in London for many years where she has made her passion – spoken and written communication – into a successful career.

Andrea holds an MA in French, English and Psychology from the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and the postgraduate Diploma in Translation awarded by the Chartered Institute of Linguists in London of which she is also a member.

In addition to the above, she has a Certificate in Marketing from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Diploma in Arts Marketing and Management from Birkbeck College/University of London.

She also lends her voice to voice over projects and is an accredited German teacher, having taught many students the intricacies of the German language. Furthermore, she acts as a German examiner for several British institutions.

In her free time, she does yoga, goes on countryside walks and enjoys the opera.