Confirmed speakers at this time include the following:
Hon. Bruce Baird AM
Chairman | Tourism & Transport Forum
Bruce Baird’s professional career has spanned the Australian Trade Commission service and the NSW and Federal Parliaments. He was a Federal member for Cook for nine years and during that time he was Chairman of both the Trade Committee and the House Standing Committee on Economics. He previously held roles as NSW Minister for Transport, Tourism, Roads and Minister for Sydney’s Olympic Bid. Prior to this he was Australia’s Assistant Trade Commissioner in Germany and Trade Commissioner in New York. Prior Board positions include Chair of the National Rail Corporation, Chair of the Tourism and Transport Forum, Chair of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and Board Member of Sydney Theatre Company.
Bruce is currently Chair of BE Sydney, Trustee of Sydney Opera House, Chair of Advisory Board of Screen Producers Australia, Chair of Kamay Project, Heart Research Institute Board and Member of International Advisory Board of Cubic Transportation Systems.
Matthew Cameron-Smith
Chief Executive Officer | Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia
Matthew Cameron-Smith commenced as CEO of Voyages in August 2020. Matthew has an extensive and highly successful background in national and international tourism, joining Voyages from The Travel Corporation, where he spent almost 10 years leading the Trafalgar Guided Holidays brand as well as his most recent position as Global CEO of AAT Kings.
Matthew’s years with Travel Corp have provided him with a deep knowledge and appreciation of the Ayers Rock Resort experience and Indigenous culture. His prior experience has included roles with Trafalgar Tours, Tourism Australia – promoting the country in the UK and Europe markets and global roles with Rydges Hotels & Resorts.
Matthew is a director of Ultimate Winery Experiences of Australia, the Anangu Communities Foundation and a board member of the Torrens University of Australia Hospitality Industry Advisory Board comprising both Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School and William Blue College of Hospitality Management. He is also a member of the THRIVE 2030 Implementation Advisory Group, a national strategy for Australia’s visitor economy recovery and return to sustainable growth, 2022 – 2030. Matthew was previously a director of the Council of Australian Tour Operators.
Matthew holds an Associate Diploma in Human Resource Development and a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Management.
Michael Cassel AM
Producer & Chief Executive Officer | Michael Cassel Group
Michael Cassel AM is an internationally recognised producer, forming the Michael Cassel Group in 2012.
Current Australian credits include, as producer, Hamilton, & Juliet and Mary Poppins and, as Executive Producer, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and The Phantom of the Opera.
Michael will produce the forthcoming international tour of Hamilton, launching in Auckland in May 2023.
Previous productions include the Australian and international tour of Les Misérables, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, the 10th Anniversary Tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the Australian premiere of Cyndi Lauper’s Kinky Boots, the Australian and Asian tour of Singin’ in the Rain and the Melbourne transfer of Sydney Theatre Company’s acclaimed production The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Michael produced the first international tour of Disney’s The Lion King which toured for almost five years, playing cities including Abu Dhabi, Manila, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Bangkok.
Concerts and events include The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium broadcast on the ABC and BBC, the opening celebration of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup with a live television broadcast audience of 1.6 billion people, Julia Gillard’s Not Now Not Ever and tours including Celeste Barber, Lea Salonga, Tina Arena, Rita Wilson and Darren Criss.
Broadway and West End credits include Almost Famous and, as co-producer: Into The Woods, MJ: The Musical, Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt, Pretty Woman: The Musical and The Cher Show. Michael is co-producer of the US Tour of Into The Woods which launches at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Michael is focused on developing and investing in new content encompassing a growing slate of world-class IP and original shows destined for Broadway, West End and international stages. Michael initiated a commercial ‘First Look Agreement’ for all future works produced by Sydney Theatre Company, providing the opportunity for shows to be transferred or remounted as commercial productions in new markets, with the intention of touring across Australia and internationally.
In addition to his theatrical interests, Michael exclusively represents former Australian Prime Minister, The Hon. Julia Gillard AC, journalist and broadcaster Liz Hayes, former Olympian and global sporting administrator, Lord Sebastian Coe CH, KBE, Strictly You by Sonia Kruger, television host and personality Larry Emdur, journalist and television news anchor Karina Carvalho, Better Homes and Gardens presenters Charlie Albone and Juliet Love, clinical nutritionist and bestselling author Sarah Di Lorenzo and media personality Sami Lukis.
During his ten-year tenure with Disney Theatrical Group, working with the company in both Australia and New York, he oversaw the company’s Broadway stage productions in international markets including The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, AIDA, The Little Mermaid and High School Musical, as well as supporting Disney on Ice and Disney Live! licensed to Feld Entertainment.
Michael began his professional career working with Australia’s legendary producer and celebrity manager, Harry M. Miller.
Michael was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) for significant service to theatre production and is the recipient of a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) from the University of Wollongong.
Michael lives in Sydney with his wife Camille and their children Eveleigh and Vaughn.
Cameron Costello
Interim Chair | Queensland First Nations Tourism Council & Deputy Chair | Queensland Tourism Industry Council
Mr Cameron Costello is a Quandamooka traditional owner from the Moreton Bay region and is passionate about the opportunity that his people will be First Nation hosts of some of the Brisbane 2032 venues.
Cameron has dedicated his professional life to advocating for the rights of First Nations Peoples, and encouraging a robust, equitable and environmentally sustainable society. Cameron brings a rich 25-year legacy of programs and projects across culture, arts, sport, tourism and the environment, strong connections across community and corporate sector in South East Queensland as well as across the broader state.
Following his recent role as CEO of the Quandamooka Peoples Native Title Body, in 2020, he received both the Griffith Business School’s Outstanding First Peoples Alumnus Award and the University of Queensland Indigenous Community Impact Award.
As a qualified lawyer, he has worked previously in the legal sector, is a current member of the UQ Law Advisory Board and was recently appointed to the Queensland Government’s First Nations Consultative Committee to establish a Voice model to the Queensland Parliament.
Cameron was recently appointed to the Queensland Government’s Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympics Legacy Committee and his vision is for Queensland to be a global First Nations economic, social, cultural and environmental leader through ensuring lasting benefits for Queensland as the result of a successfully planned Brisbane 2032.
Cameron is currently the Deputy Chair of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council and the Interim Chair of the Queensland First Nations Tourism Council. He runs his own consultancy practice and has worked across private and public sectors in Queensland focusing on enabling organisations to improve their Indigenous engagement strategies as well as broader environmental and sustainability matters.
Cameron is passionate about inspiring others, using entrepreneurial skills to enrich the lives of the next generation, empowering them to become advocates and carers of Country, keeping culture strong and working together toward a bright tomorrow.
Sarah Derry
Chief Executive Officer | Accor Pacific
Sarah Derry is the CEO of Accor Pacific- Premium, Midscale & Economy. She joined Accor in April 2017 to lead Talent and Culture, before her appointment to CEO in February 2022.
Sarah has over 30 years’ experience in hospitality, working for international hotel companies and excelling in her early career in operations. Sarah has an entrepreneurial background, having owned and operated her own successful business for over 10 years before joining Accor.
As Senior Vice President of Talent and Culture, Sarah was responsible for transforming Accor’s people and culture strategies, successfully integrating Accor’s HEARTIST values and culture into operations and guest service across Australia and New Zealand.
Sarah has completed post-graduate studies in Human Resource Management, Training, Executive Coaching and Organisational Development.
Sarah is an active Director in companies in Australia and New Zealand. Sarah is committed to causes and organisations that make a difference to the broader community and tries to find innovative ways to drive positive change in the world, especially in education, wellbeing and social impact.
Sarah is an advisor to Two Good Co who support women in crisis through catering, employment and training pathways. Sarah is also an advisor to founder of BETTER Timor who are committed to empowering East Timor through Education. Sarah is a respected speaker and expert in the areas of strategic business management, organisational behaviour, leadership development, culture transformation and executive coaching.
Sarah is a respected speaker and expert in the areas of strategic business management, organisational behaviour, leadership development, culture transformation and executive coaching.
Amelia Evans
Chief Executive Officer | Queensland Airports Limited
Amelia Evans was appointed Queensland Airports Limited (QAL) CEO in July 2022 after joining as CFO in 2016. As CEO, Amelia is responsible for setting the group’s strategy, and leads an experienced executive team to deliver safe and exceptional airport experiences and infrastructure projects, expanding QAL’s connectivity, promoting an inclusive culture and delivering sustainable outcomes for all stakeholders.
Amelia is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of strategy, finance and operational experience in Australia and global destinations such as the UK, Pacific Islands, USA and Caribbean. Her experience extends across multiple sectors and organisations including Ernst & Young, Qantas, British Telecom and Private Retail and Property companies.
Amelia is currently a Council member and Pro-Chancellor for Griffith University, Director of Destination Gold Coast and an Advisory member for UNIQ You, with previous board roles including National Trust Queensland and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
Marguerite Fitzgerald
President | Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia
Marguerite Fitzgerald leads Australia’s largest cruise organisation after beginning her new role on January 10, 2022, as President of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia, which, as the world’s only cruise line with its operational team in Australia, is renowned as the home-grown cruise line having operated from Australia for nearly 90 years.
Marguerite was previously at Boston Consulting Group in Melbourne, before moving to Miami for 11 years, where she led BCG’s global lodging and leisure practice, as well as its global strategy business.
She brings an overall two decades of strategy and operational experience in leisure travel across airlines, cruise lines, theme parks, hotels and resorts. In this position, Marguerite worked closely with Carnival Corporation and its signature brands, and her knowledge and expertise of the cruise industry encompasses key facets including commercial, hotel and marine operations.
Prior to joining BCG, Marguerite served for several years in the Australian power industry. She has an MBA from the leading INSEAD international business school and a BA/BE with first class honours in linguistics and electrical engineering.
During her career, Marguerite has conducted market assessments and developed market entry and growth strategies for cruise lines, including developing the Australian market entry strategy for a global cruise line, undertaken studies of port operations in multiple countries and reorganised maritime operations of a US-based cruise line, to improve reliability and crew productivity.
Marguerite’s combination of experience is now being applied in leading Carnival Australia with its seven world leading cruise lines that normally have ships based in Australia year-round, home ported here on a seasonal basis or visiting Australian ports on extended international voyages.
Greg Fordham OAM
Managing Director | Airbiz
Greg is founder and Managing Director of Airbiz. He is an internationally sought futurist and thought leader in airport development concepts and trends. Greg is an advisor and facilitator of conceptual planning and strategies for ’Airports of the Future’ and ’Fast Travel’ initiatives, as well as a frequent speaker at international conferences.
He has developed a truly global team, with resources and projects spread throughout the Asia/Pacific region, Europe, and North America.
He is a current Board member of ACI Asia-Pacific and former Chairman of the ACI World Business Partners Advisory Board. Greg also sits on the Advisory Board for the aviation courses at Swinburne University.
He has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 100 Most Influential Engineers and in 2020 received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the aviation industry.
Leanne Geraghty
Chief Customer and Sales Officer | Air New Zealand
Leanne has had a career in Aviation and Tourism spanning almost 30 years. She joined Air New Zealand in 2004 and was appointed the Chief Customer and Sales Officer in October 2020. In this role she oversees the global sales, brand, marketing, commercial, customer experience, customer care and offshore airports functions.
During her time with Air New Zealand, Leanne has held a number of senior commercial, operational and sales positions in both Australia and New Zealand. Before joining the Executive team, Leanne was the Group General Manager Airports, and was responsible for more than 1,800 employees and operations across 50 airports internationally.
Leanne holds a Bachelor of Economics and Finance from the University of New South Wales and is also a graduate of the Company Directors course from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has studied Marketing at the Australian Institute of Marketing and most recently studied International Business management at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland where she completed an Advanced Management Program.
She has served as the President of the Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand, the Chair of the Board of Airlines Representatives Australia and on the Aviation Panel of the Tourism and Transport Forum Australia.
Natalie Godward
Cruise Development Manager | Port Authority of New South Wales
Natalie is well-known as a leader in the development and growth of regional cruise destinations and has a strong resonance with communities and the collaboration required to allow shared goals to reach a sustainable outcome.
A passionate advocate for marine tourism, Natalie’s passion is in aligning stakeholders, cruise lines, ground handlers and the tourism sector to develop plans and products for a wide range of cruise destinations and visitor experiences.
Natalie is currently the Cruise Development Manager for Port Authority of NSW, looking after Eden and other regional NSW ports. Natalie previously held a founding position on a NSW regional tourism board tasked with supporting the region’s tourism development and works with local tourism bodies to develop experiences and build the value proposition of various destinations.
In her spare time Natalie is also a mother of two teenage daughters, an active volunteer firefighter and President of Merimbula Rural Fire Brigade, involved in volunteer tourism and events groups, has owned a small business, worked in corporate roles and travelled the world, although not nearly enough if you ask her.
Phillipa Harrison
Managing Director | Tourism Australia
Ms Phillipa Harrison is the Managing Director of Tourism Australia, the Australian Government agency responsible for marketing Australia’s tourism experiences to the world.
In this role, Ms Harrison is responsible for driving Tourism Australia’s strategies to create sustainable demand for Australia’s tourism experiences internationally, and working with the tourism industry to support the sector’s recovery from the impacts of the events of 2020.
Prior to recent crises affecting tourism, Tourism Australia’s efforts were focused on supporting the sector towards achieving its Tourism 2020 strategy goals of growing overnight visitor spend to more than $115 billion annually. A goal which was achieved two years ahead of target, with overnight spend by international and domestic visitors reaching $117 billion in 2018.
Ms Harrison first joined Tourism Australia in February 2017 as Executive General Manager International, to lead the organisation’s international operations for Asia, the Americas, Europe and New Zealand as well as Global Distribution and Partnerships.
This role saw Ms Harrison have responsibility for Tourism Australia’s network of international offices spanning 12 countries as well as managing airline relationships and distribution channels, that are vital for attracting international visitors to Australia.
Prior to joining Tourism Australia, Ms Harrison spent six years working for Hamilton Island Enterprises and before that held a variety of globally-focused senior sales, marketing and product roles across ecommerce, retail and wholesale tourism platforms, based in both London and Sydney.
Ms Harrison holds a Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communication and Psychology) from Macquarie University and an MBA from AGSM at the University of NSW.
David Mansfield
Managing Director | The Ascott Limited - Australia
Boasting more than 35 years of experience in hospitality and asset management, David joined Quest as the Chief Operations Officer in July 2019 before being promoted to Managing Director of The Ascott Limited for Australia in February 2021.
David is responsible for overseeing Ascott’s managed operations throughout Australia, in addition to ongoing global leadership of business format franchise brand, Quest Apartment Hotels, which has over 170+ hotels throughout Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the United Kingdom.
Previously, David worked in senior corporate and strategic management positions in various locations across Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.
Prior to working at Ascott, he held senior leadership roles with InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt International, where he gained extensive experience working in both hotel and resort operations.
These roles provided David with a broad range of experiences, and today his expertise spans operational capability and excellence, asset management, wealth creation, strategic alignment, concept development and cultural change.
David graduated from the University of Newcastle, Australia, with an MBA and is certified in Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management from Cornell University and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
He is currently the Vice President of the Accommodation Association (Australia) and an Advisory Board member for the Tourism and Transport Forum (Australia).
Awards
- Australasian Hotelier of the Year, HM awards – Hotel and Accommodation Excellence 2022
- Datoship awarded by the HRH Sultan of the State of Pahang, Malaysia, 2010
- Multiple Hyatt property awards for performance, service, and industrial accolades
Industry Associations and Boards
- Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) – Victoria
- Accommodation Association – Australia
- Tourism and Transport Forum – Australia
Kim McKay AO
Director & Chief Executive Officer | The Australian Museum
Kim McKay’s career has focussed on public advocacy and community engagement programs around the natural environment and science both in Australia and internationally.
In her current role as Director and CEO of the Australian Museum, Kim is responsible for the management of the nation’s first museum, including a collection of over 22 million natural science specimens and cultural objects.
Since being appointed to the Director’s role in April 2014 (the first woman in the AM’s 190+ year history), Kim has initiated a broad transformation program including overseeing Project Discover, the AM’s $57.5m recent award-winning renovation of public spaces.
With a background in marketing and communications, Kim has worked in the USA in senior roles in non-fiction television for Discovery Channel and National Geographic and co-founded the iconic Clean Up Australia and Clean Up the World campaigns in the 1990’s working in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The co-author of five True Green books published in Australia and internationally by Nat Geo, Kim has received many awards for her environmental and citizen science work.
She graduated from UTS with a BA Communications in 1980 and currently serves on the UTS Council and Chairs the NSW Government’s Museum and History Art Form Board. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Wollongong in 2022 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to science, including her work on environmental and conservation issues. Kim was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2008 for distinguished service to the environment and the community.
Mark McWhinnie
Chief Executive Officer | Crown Sydney
Following 27 years opening and operating hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific, Mark spent 13 years in Macao with Sands China Ltd, an owner, developer and operator of large scale integrated resorts. Following his return to Australia, Mark was appointed to his current role in October, 2022. Mark is married, has 2 sons and 4 dogs. He is passionate about open water swimming and sustainability.
Patricia O’Callaghan
Chief Executive Officer | Tourism and Events Queensland
Patricia O’Callaghan is an experienced Chief Executive Officer who has held significant senior executive positions over the past 15 years and has a passion for growing companies, communities and bettering the lives of people.
Trish joined Tourism and Events Queensland as CEO in January 2023, after heading up Destination Gold Coast from February 2021 – December 2022 and following nine years with Townsville Enterprise, first as General Manager for Tourism and Events before being promoted to CEO, a position she held for five years.
With extensive experience in strategy development, advocacy, corporate communications, Government, stakeholder and media relations and marketing, Patricia has a proven record of working with communities to convert strategy into tangible outcomes.
Patricia has previously been accepted into the Australian American Young Leadership Dialogue, was named 2018 BOSS Young Executive by the Australian Financial Review and the recipient of the 2014 Australian Institute of Management – Young Manager of the Year Award for Queensland.
Margy Osmond
Chief Executive Officer | Tourism & Transport Forum
Margy Osmond is the Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism & Transport Forum, assuming the role on 1 October 2014. Margy has extensive experience in policy development and advocacy, politics, membership organisations, management, media and public relations. She is a passionate advocate for the tourism and transport sectors and their importance to Australia’s visitor economy.
Before joining TTF, Margy was the inaugural CEO of ANRA which was established in 2006 as a lobby and research organisation to be the voice of the large national retailers in Australia. Prior to this, Margy was the CEO of the State and Sydney Chambers of Commerce in NSW for five years.
Margy has a wide range of Board experience having been Chair of the NSW TAFE Commission Board and Chair of the Australian Sports Foundation, Deputy Chair of Tourism NSW, and served on the boards of the Australian Sports Commission, Bell Shakespeare, the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust, NSW Major Events, the NSW Police Minister’s Advisory Board and NSW State Transit Authority. Margy also chaired the bid and official Organising Committee for the largest non-elite sporting event in the world, the International World Masters Games, held in Sydney in 2009 and is currently the Deputy co-chair of Sydney WorldPride.
Maud Page
Deputy Director and Director of Collections | Art Gallery of NSW
Maud Page joined the Art Gallery of NSW in 2017 as Deputy Director and Director of Collections. She oversees the development and direction of the Gallery’s collections and is responsible for the management and operation of the Gallery’s acquisition program, conservation and display of the collection, curatorial content, development of exhibitions, registration and the Gallery’s State Archive and Library. Maud led the curatorial direction of the Gallery’s Sydney Modern Project expansion, which opened in December, 2022.
Previously, Maud was Deputy Director Collection and Exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane. Throughout this time, she played a key leadership role in formulating the museum’s strategic direction and was instrumental in the realisation and curation of major exhibitions and projects, including the Asia Pacific Triennials of Contemporary Art. In her former role as Senior curator of Pacific art, she developed the most comprehensive collection of contemporary Pacific art in the region. As an independent curator, she curated the 3rd Biennale of Photography in Paris, and several major exhibitions in New Zealand. Prior to her art galleries roles, she was a lecturer in Museum Studies at the University of Sydney and also delivered this program at the Hong Kong University.
Michael Rodrigues
24 Hour Economy Commissioner | Investment NSW
Mike believes in the inspirational power of cities and spends a good amount of time encouraging anyone in his orbit to get out of the house, to know their city and to have more fun. While working as a lawyer in the Middle East, he spotted an opportunity to launch global lifestyle brand Time Out in Sydney in 2007 to achieve these aims.
In 15 years at the helm of Time Out Australia he has grew the brand across print, digital, event and social channels, which now reaches 1,000,000 Australians monthly. He co-founded the Time Out Bar Awards and the Time Out Food Awards. Time Out’s contribution to our cities was recently recognised in 2020 when Time Out was awarded the Mumbrella Publish Awards Publishing Company of the Year, and Mike himself was awarded Publish Leader of the Year.
Since 2017 and prompted by the challenges facing Sydney’s night time economy, Mike has focussed his efforts on aligning and empowering industry to actively engage in the political process in order to effect change. This saw him take a leading role in launching an independent bars association for Sydney in May 2018, followed by the launch of a Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) in November 2018 of which he was the inaugural Chair. The NTIA was at the forefront of the development of the NSW Government strategy for a 24-Hour Economy, and in February Mike was announced as the State of NSW’s first 24 Hour Economy Commissioner, a role that commenced formally on 29 March 2021.
Mike is also co-host of leading hospitality podcast Back of House, a board member of UNSW Art & Design’s advisory council and a board member of Torrens University Hospitality advisory council.
Fun Fact: Mike worked as a trainee civil engineer for Leighton Contractors on the Homebush Bay Rail Link in the lead up to the 2000 Games.
Paul Rybicki
Chief Executive Officer | DSpark and DataSpark
Paul Rybicki is CEO of DataSpark/DSpark, a data and analytics company that builds data products specializing in mobility for various industries, as well as building products and services for telcos around the world.
Paul’s leadership has enabled the company to build capabilities for telco’s to monetise their big data with new revenue streams as well as ctreated software prdocyst for telco’s to optmise their spend.
Prior to heading up DSpark/DataSpark, Paul managed the OTT and content products across Optus, most notably launching Australia’s first OTT sports service with Optus Sport. Prior to that Paul was Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Optus.
Katrina Sedgwick OAM
Director & Chief Executive Officer | Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co.)
Katrina Sedgwick OAM is the inaugural Director & CEO of Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co). Spearheading the $1.7 billion transformation of the Melbourne Arts Precinct.
Prior to MAP Co, Katrina was Director & CEO of ACMI, a role she held from 2015 to April 2022, Head of Arts for ABC TV, founding Director/CEO of the biennial Adelaide Film Festival, producer for the Adelaide Festival of Arts (1996, 1998 and 2000) and the artistic director of Come Out ‘99 and Adelaide Fringe 2002.
Dale Stephens
Board Chair | NZ Māori Tourism
Iwi: Te Rarawa
Dale Stephens is the Kaitohu Rangapū Māori – Director Māori Partnership at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise where he works closely with Māori businesses, government agencies and community groups across the motu to advance Māori internationally. He has been Chair of NZ Māori Tourism’s Board for the past eight years and been a board member since 2013.
After a career in the police (to the rank of Inspector) Dale worked in the corporate sector in HR and Investment. He has consulted to a range of government agencies including MFAT, Te Puni Kōkiri, MPI and Fisheries. He has held three private sector CEO positions both in New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific as well as holding a number of directorships in te ao Māori and in private business.
Outside of work, Dale and his wife Tarina (Te Atiawa) have six teenage and young-adult children keeping them immensely busy and happy.
Dale’s academic background includes; Diploma in Policing Management, Bachelor of Business Studies, Master of Public Policy, Graduate Diploma in te reo Māori and Master of Laws.
Robert Taylor
Chief Executive Officer | WAITOC
Robert, a Nhanda man from the Yamaji Nation in Western Australia, has served for the past eight years as Chief Executive Officer for WAITOC (Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council).
Robert has taken the organisation from a marketing and advocacy Aboriginal tourism organisation and introduced business development as a further arm of the organisation, with the goal to build future business leaders and create a strong and vibrant Aboriginal tourism sector for Western Australia.
His drive to ensure the nation and visitors understands the economic and social values of Aboriginal tourism has been rewarded through securing funding at a local state and federal government level for Aboriginal tourism.
Rob offers over 36 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. He has owned and managed businesses in the hospitality, tourism, mining, sport and recreation and construction industries. Having an entrepreneurial spirit, he has proved his capability of diversification utilising his skills and knowledge to cross over industries to develop diverse income streams.
Robert became the Chief Executive Officer of WAITOC in 2015. During this time, he has successfully delivered the Aboriginal Tourism Development Program and growing 39 new Aboriginal businesses across Western Australia. These businesses have created 104 full-time equivalent jobs for urban, regional and remote communities. He has increased funding to enhance member business outcomes by over 300% and has the drive to create opportunities for Aboriginal people at a state, national and international level.
Robert has successfully worked with both national and state governments, not for profits and philanthropists; highlighting the importance of Aboriginal tourism and its value to Australia and Aboriginal communities. He has been a leading voice to the government, successfully advocating for $40 million dollars invested into Aboriginal Tourism nationwide from this work.
He has worked with the State Government of Western Australia to help develop JINA: Western Australian Aboriginal Tourism Action Plan 2021-2025, a $20 million dollar investment into Aboriginal Tourism for the state.
Robert continues to create new partnerships to improve cultural understanding, respect, and create positive social outcomes for Australian Aboriginal People and a strong diversified sustainable organisation model.
Robert can differentiate between key opportunities and create embedded processes to ensure outcomes are reached on time and within budget.
George Tsoukalas
Managing Director | Heinemann Australia
George Tsoukalas joined Heinemann Australia in 2019 as Head of Operations, and was subsequently appointed to Head of Category Management and Marketing in March 2021. He was promoted to the role of Managing Director in December 2021.
George’s career started in the beauty industry where he held several leadership roles across Sales and Marketing with L’Oreal, LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics and Elizabeth Arden. From the beauty industry, George moved to Scentre Group (owner and operator of Westfield Shopping Centres) for a period of seven years. At Scentre Group, George was the Head of Sales for Brands to Retail. As part of the Leasing and Retail Solutions team, he worked with brands and retailers to deliver ‘out of the box’ retail initiatives.
As an evangelist for all things retail and travel retail with considerable experience in the luxury, beauty and shopping centre sectors, George has extensive experience in delivering multi-channel solutions for brands to maximise their retail and wholesale growth. He is committed to delivering the ultimate customer experience with a focus on delivering financial and people growth.
Carolyn Turnbull
Managing Director | Tourism WA
Carolyn Turnbull is the Managing Director at Tourism WA and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the agency including the promotion of WA as an incredible tourism destination, working with industry and government to improve access, accommodation and tourism experiences and delivering a world-class events calendar. Carolyn has more than 20 years of international leadership experience in the tourism, hospitality and aviation industries, and spearheaded the development of the western gateway as Chief Aviation Development Officer at Perth Airport. Carolyn is a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration Advanced Management Program and holds an Executive MBA in Hospitality Management through Nanyang Business School, Singapore. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Acknowledgement of Country
Tourism & Transport Forum stands on the land of the Gadigal clan of the Eora Nation. TTF respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and meet, paying our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
In the spirit of reconciliation, the Tourism & Transport Forum acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community.