In its ongoing efforts to grow Sydney’s business event success in the valuable Chinese market, Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has appointed industry expert Cheryl Siow to the role of Director – China. Cheryl brings to the role more than 12 years’ experience working in the business event industry with a diverse stakeholder base including Chinese [...]

Sofitel Melbourne On Collins’ General Manager, Clive Scott, was honoured to be presented with the Gold Tourism Medal by ATOUT France’s Regional Manager, Patrick Benhamou, at an Elegant French Soiree held at the hotel recently. The Tourism Medal was created in 1989 to reward people who, through their voluntary or professional contribution as well as [...]

Business Events Sydney’s (BESydney) Sales Research Executive Christina Barton has been selected as one of the 20 future leaders to attend the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Forum for Young Professionals at the Exhibition for Incentive Business Travel and Meetings (EIBTM) in Barcelona in November. The ICCA Forum for Young Professionals (FYP) gathers the [...]

Tourism Wollongong‘s energetic General Manager Greg Binskin today announced he was leaving the job to spend more time with his family as the organisation takes on a broader marketing and development role as Destination Wollongong. “After 11.5 years building Wollongong’s image as an exciting tourism and lifestyle destination, Greg believes the time is right to [...]

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre has again proved fertile ground for young talent, with technical trainee Josh Lazarus awarded an Australian Vocational Student Prize by the Federal Government. Announced by the Acting Minister for School Education, Senator Chris Evans, the $2000 prize is awarded for showing outstanding skills while undertaking a Vocational Education and [...]

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer, Sandra Chipchase, today announced the appointment of Wayne Deed as the new Regional Manager, New Zealand. Ms Chipchase said that Mr Deed’s extensive industry experience and knowledge of international tourism with particular reference to the Australia Pacific region, will be a great asset to the Destination NSW team. “New Zealand [...]

Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach is pleased to announce the appointment of six key team members today, each bringing distinguished expertise in their respective fields to the hotel.  Kate Gerits, General Manager Leading the team is the general manager, Kate Gerits, who will oversee all hotel operations. Kate commenced her career in hotel operations in 1995 [...]

Director Association Relations Asia-Pacific, Stephan Wurzinger has relocated from MCI’s Singapore regional hub to Sydney in a move that will see Australia hosting significantly more Asia-Pacific and international association conferences. As a 20 year veteran of the conference industry in Europe, Middle East, South Africa, Canada and Asia, Stephan actively coordinates 28 of the most [...]

The Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau’s (MCVB) International Incentives Coordinator, Jenna Lipshut, will head to China next week, where she will participate in five months of intensive Mandarin language studies, as a recipient of the Victorian State Government’s Hamer Scholarship. The program, which provides funding for recipients to study in China, is part of a [...]

Dynasty Hotel Group (DHG) which operates Heritage Hotel Management in New Zealand are pleased to announce Graham Yan, formerly Chief Financial Officer of the Group, to the new position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Based in Auckland, Graham will be responsible for the overall management of the Dynasty Hotel Group (DHG), overseeing both the Group’s [...]

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has appointed a new hotel general manager for Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach, Kate Gerits. Effective today, Kate will oversee the hotel’s operations, reporting to Bill Edwards. Kate replaces Leeanne Graham who will relocate to Perth and continue working with IHG on a project basis. Kate commenced her career in hotel operations [...]

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has appointed a new hotel general manager for Crowne Plaza Adelaide, Linda Collis. Effective today, Linda will oversee the hotel’s operations, reporting to Bill Edwards, IHG director of operations, Australasia. Linda replaces Brendon Meppem who will transfer to Malaysia to manage Holiday Inn Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie. Linda commenced her career in [...]

Karen Krieger joins the Exhibition and Trade Fairs (ETF) team as Event Director and portfolio lead for the upcoming Australian Business Events Expo and Sydney’s Event Showcase as well as leading the team to Entech, later in the year. Ms Krieger returns to Sydney from the UK to take up this position having gained over [...]

Sarah Blithe (nee Huband) has been appointed as the new conference sales manager for Heritage Queenstown. She joins the hotel from Mediaworks where she was a senior account manager. Sarah has an extensive background in sales, conference management, promotional events and launches. She has qualifications in business and business communication and is completing a commerce [...]

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) welcomed its new General Manager, Club Melbourne Ambassador Program, Suzana Bishop today. Suzana returns to the MCEC team from MCI Australia where she oversaw the strategic direction of the Australian PCO division as Practice Leader Institutional Division. During this time she developed strong working relationships with key Club [...]

Stepping up to the plate came naturally for Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (MCEC) new executive chef Tony Panetta. Since joining MCEC as sous chef in October 2010 he worked his way up to chef de cuisine after six months and took on acting executive chef in November 2011. Panetta said: “I’m passionate about the [...]

BE Sydney appointments – Head of Client Services & Head of Bidding and Strategic Partnerships  Australia’s leading convention bureau, Business Events Sydney (BESydney), has continued to recruit industry leaders to newly formed roles following the company’s recent restructure. Joanne Sollom will join the company as Head of Client Services today and Oliver Philpot will assume [...]

Cathie McBean appointed IHG director of marketing, Northern Territory  IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has appointed a new director of marketing for Northern Territory, Cathie McBean. Effective today, Cathie will oversee the marketing operations of five hotels within the state including Crowne Plaza Alice Springs, Crowne Plaza Darwin, Holiday Inn Darwin, Holiday Inn Esplanade Darwin and [...]

Emirates has appointed Timothy Shepherd as its new Regional Manager for Queensland, bringing over 20 years of experience in the travel industry to the role. Mr Shepherd has held a number of senior sales positions, including Head of Sales for NRMA Tourism & Leisure, and National Sales Manager positions at both Scenic Tours and Harvey’s Choice Holidays.  Earlier in his career, Mr Shepherd worked for Ansett Australia [...]

Microhire, the corporate and business event staging specialists, with over 23 years of experience in the audio visual & computer hire, corporate conference and professional exhibition industries is pleased to announce the appointment of the team that will drive the companies Queensland expansion.  The team has over 57 years of experience in the event staging [...]

The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) recently announced a key appointment to its administration team. This is part of the company’s commitment to strengthen the business tourism industry for Malaysia which highlights its new branding direction in making Malaysia as Asia’s business events hub. Mohd Nordzat Mohd Yusop joins MyCEB as Senior Manager, Finance [...]

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has appointed a new hotel manager for Holiday Inn Potts Point, Chris Curran. Effective today, Chris will oversee the hotel’s operations, reporting to Bill Edwards, IHG director of operations, Australasia. Chris replaces Gareth Long who has transferred to India to manage Holiday Inn Amritsar Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar, Punjab, India. Chris [...]

Following the addition of 43 Mirvac hotels to its network, the PR team at Accor has announced a new member, with Angela O’Connor – formerly Assistant Communications Manager at Mirvac – taking on the role of PR and Communications Executive, Accor Asia Pacific. In addition to overseeing PR for the former Mirvac hotels as they [...]

Octanorm Australia has today made a significant chance to its leadership team, announcing the return of Bill Bell to the role of Business Manager. Mr Bell recently rejoined the leading exhibition industry supplier and takes over the reins as Business Manager from Stephen Dorrofield following his appointment as Victorian State Manager for Octanorm Australia’s parent [...]

Accor has announced several changes to its executive management as it prepares for the biggest change in its Pacific network since launching in Australia more than 20 years ago. Garth Simmons, former Regional General Manager NSW and ACT is moving to New Zealand for a new posting as Vice President, New Zealand and Fiji, replacing [...]

Moving ahead with its organisational re-structure, Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has today announced Kristian Nicholls will join the team in the role of General Manager Business Development. Given the newly formed Business Development team is comprised of both research and business development, Kristian’s extensive management and sales experience in the business event and hotel sectors [...]

Exhibition & Trade Fairs (ETF), organisers of the Australian Business Events Expo and Sydney’s Event Showcase trade shows, have announced the appointment of Rowan Marchingo to the position of Show Director for both of the flagship events in 2012, and Marion Leddy as National Sales & Marketing Manager for ETF. Jodie Richmond, CEO of ETF, [...]

Sydney Entertainment Centre General Manager Steve Romer has been awarded one of the event industry’s highest honours, having been named Australia’s Venue Management Professional of the Year by the Venue Management Association. Mr Romer was presented with the 2012 award at the VMA’s annual congress gala dinner at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold [...]

This month, Chifley Wollongong celebrates the opening of the first ‘Chifley T Bar’, a traditional high tea concept with a modern Australian twist. As the name suggests the  ‘T Bar’ serves a wide variety of Dilmah’s Exceptional range of fresh loose leaf teas and herbal fruit infusions, accompanied by Chef’s selection of seasonal fancies including [...]

Australia’s leading convention bureau, Business Events Sydney (BESydney), has announced new strategies and a corporate restructure to enhance future business event opportunities for Sydney and New South Wales (NSW). Focusing on long-term growth, BESydney’s strategy will maximise Sydney’s business event success during the development period and the opening of the new Sydney International Convention, Exhibition [...]

South African Tourism is pleased to welcome Deborah Binder to their team, taking over the role as Marketing and Communications Manager for Australasia. Originally from the Canary Islands in Spain, Deborah brings a wealth of travel marketing and destination knowledge having worked in New York, Boston, Madrid and Windhoek. Initially beginning her career in advertising, [...]

An InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) employee has celebrated 40 years of service with the company, having worked across IHG’s Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands during his tenure. 69-year-old Joachim “Joe” Bittner, breakfast chef at Crowne Plaza Melbourne, recently celebrated his gold anniversary with IHG and received special letters of appreciation from Jan Smits, CEO, [...]

Octanorm Australia today welcomed a familiar face back to the fold, announcing the return of Bill Bell to its team as National Sales Manager. In his new role, Mr Bell will cultivate sales across Australia through greater emphasis on business development and investigating potential new business areas for Octanorm products and services. Mr Bell brings [...]

The Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau’s (MCVB) Beverley Williamson has been named Business Development Person of the Year, as well as the coveted Meetings or Events Professional of the Year, at this year’s prestigious Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) National Awards. Announced on Tuesday night at the 25th MEA Annual Conference Awards in Sydney, Ms [...]

Holiday Inn Melbourne on Flinders has appointed Garry Beadel as the new hotel manager. Effective today, Garry will oversee the hotel’s operations, leveraging his experience in brand customer services and quality control. Prior to joining the Holiday Inn Melbourne on Flinders team, Garry was the executive assistant manager and rooms division manager of Crowne Plaza [...]

The Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB) today announced that Andrew Hiebl will take on the role of Executive Director from 30 April.  Andrew Hiebl and Karen Bolinger (MCVB CEO)will take on the role of Executive Director from 30 April. Andrew’s extensive business event industry experience equips him well for this executive role, which focuses on fuelling [...]

The Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) began in 1994 to bring the business events industry and community together as a whole and communicate with one voice. The purpose was to foster the development of the industry as a united entity and raise profile of business events to government and business community. This has remained [...]

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), a global leader specialized in business travel and meetings and events management, today announced that Matthew Carracher has been appointed to the role of Vice President, Traveller & Transaction Services (TTS) and Product Marketing, CWT Asia Pacific. Mr. Carracher, who is a member of the Asia Pacific Leadership Team, will be [...]

Adelaide Convention Centre has appointed a new Director of Marketing and Sales, Simon Burgess.  Simon, who has 18 years’ experience in tourism marketing and sales, will join the Adelaide team in mid-May. Mr Burgess is currently Assistant Vice President of Global Sales with Dusit International, an independent hotel chain comprising of 20 properties. ACC Chief [...]

Meet Beverley (Bev) Williamson – winner, Business Development Person of the Year at this year’s Victoria Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) Awards. Ms Williamson is a major player in the Victorian business events industry. Working with her team, she secured 36 major international conferences for the state of Victoria in the 2010/2011 financial year, with [...]

Crowne Plaza has appointed a new area general manager, NSW and ACT Regional, Steven Greenwood. Effective today, the newly created position will see Steven manage the operations of four of IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group) regional NSW and ACT properties including Crowne Plaza Canberra, Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, Crowne Plaza Newcastle and Crowne Plaza Terrigal. Steven [...]

Digital Business Development Manager - Tim Chapman Effective immediately, this newly created role is a reflection of the growth of Staging Connections into the digital arena. Technology is rapidly changing event experiences, allowing new levels of audience interaction and collaborative new ways to present key messages. Tony Chamberlain, Managing Director of Staging Connections noted that Mr Chapman’s [...]

The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Michael T Kenny to the role of Chief Executive of the RAS. Michael T Kenny is the former Chief Executive of the Sydney Turf Club, where he held the position for ten years. Mr Kenny has a strong background in [...]

 Blair Roxborough appointed IHG area general manager, Victoria IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has appointed a new general area manager for Victoria, Blair Roxborough. Effective today, Blair will oversee the operations of four hotels within the state including InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, Crowne Plaza Melbourne, Holiday Inn Melbourne on Flinders, and Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport. Blair [...]

Experiential Agency SOTA Creative welcomes Karen Fawcett McEwan as Group Account Director. Karen has more than 20 years experience in the Corporate Communications’ Industry.  As an Executive Producer with Wavelength Corporate Communication Karen delivered effective, innovative communication experiences for stakeholders of numerous clients including McDonald’s Australia Ltd., Optus Cable & Wireless, The Disney Channel, Subaru [...]

Judi Godbold, Regional Manager of DG global in Perth, has now moved to Singapore to head up DG global’s new Singapore office. Judi has overseen the huge success of the Perth team for over 3 years, and will now launch DG into Singapore and the Asian market. DG Global has been creating amazing events in Asia for many [...]

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has welcomed its new Marketing Manager Persia Hill. Persia joins the MCEC team from the National Trust of Australia in Victoria where she developed and led marketing strategies for the Trust and its 20 properties, including MCEC’s neighbour the tall ship Polly Woodside. After a working holiday in [...]

George P. Johnson is excited to announce Grant Higgins has rejoined the leading worldwide engagement marketing company from Monday 6 February. Higgins on working with GPJ: “Engaging and wowing live audiences is the DNA at GPJ – everyone here lives it, breathes it and loves it, so it’s great to be among my own kind. [...]

Business Events Sydney’s (BESydney) Chairman, Col Hughes, has announced that Lyn Lewis-Smith has been officially appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Australia’s leading convention bureau. The announcement has been greeted as a sign of stability and growth within BESydney. Lyn has achieved strong results during her time as Chief Operating Officer, and most recently as [...]

Diversified Business Communications announced that Graeme Selby has stepped down as Chairman of Diversified Exhibitions Australia after 36 years in the exhibition industry. He was Managing Director of Australian Exhibition Services (AES) from 1982 until 2005 when he became Chairman, and focused on spearheading business development opportunities in Australia, India, Hong Kong, and China. Selby is based [...]