New Team to grow Wellington's events

A new team aims to cementing the New Zealand capital as a key global destination for conferences, local and international shows and events.

The new leadership team of Positively Wellington Venues, headed up by Chief Executive Glenys Coughlan, combines the heavy hitting background of commercial, performance, sales, marketing and operations experience needed to drive the combined growth of Wellington's six key venues – formerly run as the Wellington Convention Centre and the St James Theatre Trust.

Coughlan, a board member of Tourism New Zealand and a Director of Positively Wellington Tourism, says the opportunity to go to market and handpick the leadership team was both inspiring and challenging.

Coughlan states "we've got a wealth of experience within the existing business but this was a chance to lift our game – to put together the ultimate combination.

"As most managers know, it's not just about assessing the contributions individuals can make, it's about thinking through the chemistry you can create within a team."

Alongside Coughlan, the senior management team consists of Programming and Performance Director, Helen Glengarry; Director, Conventions and Events, Jo Darby; Director, Facilities and Operations Management, Craig Woolliams; Chief Financial Officer Kelvin Wong; Director, Sales and Marketing Services, Tracey Newland; and People and Performance Manager Aileen Donnan.

Coughlan, who has overseen the amalgamation to date, says a key driver in integrating the businesses was to better leverage Wellington's venue offerings – from operating efficiencies, to working more effectively with partners and developing a compelling events programme for Wellington and for New Zealand.

She adds that "we have some ambitious goals and we're confident this team is the right mix of skills and experience to achieve them."

The PWV management team

Programming and Performance Director – Helen Glengarry brings marketing and business development experience to the team along with ten years in venue management at Vbase where she specialised in growing their exhibitions and live performance market. Vbase was the venue management company responsible for Christchurch's four premier venues.

Director, Conventions and Events – Jo Darby brings almost 15 years experience in delivering exceptional and high profile events to a range of public and private sector organisations – including the Air New Zealand Wine Awards Dinner, Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards and the Qantas Film and Television Awards. Jo was also part of the events team at the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand.

Director, Facilities and Operations Management – with more than 30 years in hospitality, tourism and facility management roles, Craig Woolliams joins the team from, most recently, Business Manager of Transfield Services – the company previously charged with managing the non core business of the New Zealand Army's Waiouru Army training facility.

Chief Financial Officer – Kelvin Wong brings with him more than 20 years experience in a variety of senior finance positions –including former Chief Financial Officer of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, Financial Accounting Manager at the New Zealand Fire Service and Treasury Accounting Manager with ANZ Bank.

Director, Sales and Marketing Services – with more than 15 years experience in marketing, sales and communications (including 10 years at Kiwibank) Tracey Newland has delivered many successful sales and marketing campaigns and helped to develop key strategic business partnerships that bring new products to market.

People and Performance Manager – an experienced HR professional, Aileen Donnan joins the company after previous roles as HR Business Solutions Advisor at Te Papa and an HR Advisor at the Commerce Commission. Prior to moving to New Zealand in 2005, Aileen spent several years in parliamentary support roles in Westminster and Scotland.

For more information go to www.pwv.co.nz