Tourism Australia announces new Managing Director

Tourism Australia has announced the appointment of John O'Sullivan as its new Managing Director, following the departure of Andrew McEvoy to take up a new position at Fairfax.

O'Sullivan (pictured) joins Tourism Australia from Fox Sports where he is currently employed as Chief Operating Officer. Previously he held executive positions with Events Queensland (Chief Executive from 2010 to 2012), and Football Federation Australia (Chief Commercial Officer from 2004 to 2010) as well as the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 1994 World Masters Games. He is also a current member of the Tourism Transport Forum Advisory Board.

Tourism Australia Chairman Geoff Dixon welcomed the appointments, explaining that O'Sullivan was an experienced and highly respected business leader, with significant tourism and events experience as well as a proven record of having managed large and complex organisations.

Dixon stated "we're delighted to have found someone of the calibre and vision of John, who comes to Tourism Australia with a strong reputation for leading and developing high performing organisations.

"John has an obvious passion for our country and, combined with his deep industry knowledge, experience and skills, is ideally suited to lead an already strong team."

Federal Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb added "Andrew McEvoy has done a fantastic job for Australian tourism and can feel very proud of the outstanding contribution he has made in his four years leading the team at Tourism Australia. On his watch, he has helped establish a clear strategic direction for the industry.

"Australian tourism is growing, is well respected and more unified than it has been in a long time. It's a good time to hand over the baton and, in John, I feel confident the Tourism Australia Board has found the right person to take things forward," he said.

A delighted O'Sullivan stated that he felt extremely privileged to have been given the opportunity to head up a Tourism Australia team which was deservedly viewed as one of the world's most effective national tourism organisations.

O'Sullivan stated "having the opportunity to take on this position at such an exciting and pivotal time for the Industry is a great honour. I am looking forward to working with the team at Tourism Australia and across industry stakeholders, continuing to build on the momentum created to drive opportunity and growth towards 2020. Tourism is rightly starting to be acknowledged as a key driver of our country's future growth and prosperity and I look forward to being part of that exciting journey."

The appointment has also been welcomed by industry groups, with Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) Chief Executive Ken Morrison saying that O'Sullivan is an ideal choice.

Morrison stated "John O'Sullivan has a great background in tourism and major events in both the public and private sectors and is well-known and respected in the tourism industry.

"He brings more than two decades of experience to the role and will be able to ensure that Tourism Australia's success in promoting Australia as a must-see destination around the world continues.

"The industry welcomes John's appointment and looks forward to him building on Andrew McEvoy's legacy, which has not only seen Tourism Australia recognised globally with a raft of international awards and has also seen growth in international arrivals to Australia over the past few years despite challenging global conditions."

O'Sullivan is currently a member of TTF's National Advisory Board, a position from which he will step down next week.

Tourism Australia Executive General Manager International, Frances-Anne Keeler will fulfil the role of acting Managing Director until O'Sullivan takes up his role in late March 2014.

For more information go to www.tourism.australia.com

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