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Board Profile

Peter King

President

Chief Executive

Royal Agricultural Society

Mr Peter King commenced in the role of Chief Executive for the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) on 19 November.

An experienced Chief Executive, Mr King has a strong background in branded product sales and marketing, across a diverse group of sectors in Asia and the Pacific.

Between 1984 and 1997, Mr King worked in a number of senior sales and marketing roles in the sporting goods industry at Puma Australia, both in Melbourne and Sydney. He then took up an appointment to run the Coleman business for this US multi-national company, in the Outdoor recreation market. Mr King was the CEO of Asia Pacific for nine years, with offices in four cities around the region.

Growing up in Melbourne, Peter King graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1984 with a Bachelor of Business (Economics).

Mr King also represented Victoria in the Sheffield Shield cricket competition in the mid 80's and played professionally in the UK.

Cath Johnston

Vice-President

Executive Manager of Precinct Operations - Sydney Olympic Park. 

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Cath has been with the Commonwealth Bank for many years, and has extensive experience in International Banking and Change Management including the role of Engagement & Events Manager in the Nova project team that supported 4000 people for moves to Sydney Olympic Park. 

 

Cath also  made significant contributions to the successful establishment of the  innovative campus at Sydney Olympic Park and project managed the launch of the Lifestyle website.

 

In her current role, Cath is responsible for all Building and Facilities Management as well as the Client Services for the 4000+ people at Sydney Olympic Park.

Kathryn Carmody

Honourary Secretary

Director Sales and Marketing – WatervieW in Bicentennial Park, Sydney Olympic Park

Kathryn Carmody has close to 30 years sales and marketing experience within the hospitality industry and has held senior positions in the USA, Sydney, Gold Coast and Regional NSW. 

Kathryn started her career in Public Relations with Dunk Island Resort in the ’80’s, where she was recruited to assist in the opening of the Qantas Jetabout office in Los Angeles. While in the USA Kathryn went on to hold senior sales & marketing roles at the five star hotels, Stouffer, Los Angeles, and The Portman, San Francisco (a Peninsula Group Affiliate) representing these companies in diverse domestic corporate and international markets.

Returning home to Australia in 1990 to head up the regional offices for Royal Pines Resort Kathryn went on to develop high performance meeting, conference and event sales teams that consistently met and exceeded sales budgets.

Since 2007 she has held the position of Director of Sales and Marketing, at WatervieW in Bicentennial Park, Sydney Olympic Park.  WatervieW is now positioned as one of the leading premier business and special events venues in the region, with a loyal customer base comprising some of the country’s top companies.

Victor Georos

Honourary Treasurer- (Gold Member Representative)

Industrial & Business Parks Portfolio Manager
GPT Management Limited

General Property Trust is a major investor & developer in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct with over $100 million invested in prime office & business park assets, with significant future development potential.

Victor has over 20 years experience in the property investment industry and is responsible for the investment performance of GPT’s industrial & business park assets and is directly involved in the acquisition and development of GPT’s Sydney Olympic Park assets.

Qualifications

• Victor holds a Bachelor of Business (Land Economics) degree and a Diploma of Applied Finance (SIA)

Greg Allan

Board Member- (Gold Member Representative)

State Manager - NSW 

Coca-Cola Amatil (Pty Ltd)
 
Greg commenced in his role as State Manager for Coca-Cola Amatil NSW in September 2006. Greg’s current role is responsible for the leadership and motivation of a large sales team as they execute the business and marketing plans for CCA across the State.
 
Prior to this role, Greg led Coca-Cola Amatil’s National Convenience & Leisure Account team which manages many global and national customers in Australia.
 
In sixteen years at CCA Greg has had the opportunity to work in many varied National and State roles in Grocery, Convenience and Petroleum and Immediate Consumption Channels as well as Finance and Strategic Planning.
 
Originally from Melbourne, Greg has a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Degree from Monash University.

Kelvin Black

Board Member ( Silver Member Representative)

Manager, Pre-Construction

Watpac Construction (NSW)

 

Watpac’s Construction division was established in 1983, and has long been considered the cornerstone of the Company’s success. Now operating right along the eastern seaboard  and into South Australia, and making in-roads further afield, the division has earned a reputation for building projects of the highest standards that meet and exceed benchmarks in safety, quality, and environmental management.

Kelvin has a partnered and proactive approach to projects both in understanding the client’s needs prior to project commencement, and in applying a structured and disciplined approach to achieving client expectations during construction and during the post construction period.

 

Kelvin’s abilities, and those of his design, cost planning and estimating team is a major contributor to the Watpac Construction objective of providing a tailored service to match any client's needs.

 

His 34 years experience as a building professional together with his tertiary qualifications in Construction, and a Master of Business Administration, complement his natural leadership skills.

 

Kelvin was involved in the construction of a number of Park buildings – NSWIS and Lotteries office in Parkview Drive, CBA building -10 Dawn Fraser Avenue and 8 Australia Avenue.

 

He has been based in the Park since February 2010 and was previously involved with the development of Norwest Business Park.

Mark Dowse

Board Member (Gold Member Representative)

Manager Government & Industry Affairs

Gift and Homewares Australia (GHA)

 

As Manager Government & Industry Affairs, Mark researches and analyses environments and issues which affect or have the potential to affect the gift and homewares industry.

 

He guides and assists in the development of industry policy in relation to a range of areas affecting the gift and homewares industry from commercial, legislative and social perspectives. He also assists in the recruitment and retention of Members and the development and delivery of services and benefits to Members.

 

With a Bachelor of Laws from Sydney University Mark has been admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW and has three years’ experience as Executive Officer at the Australian Dental Industry Association.

Mark is replacing David Leek on the Board for GHA

Daryl Kerry

Board Member

ANZ Stadium

Chief Executive Officer

Daryl Kerry joined the Stadium in 1998 as Operations Manager nine months before construction of the Stadium was completed. He played a key role in opening the Stadium in March 1999 and was responsible for the day to day management of the Stadium, management of security, coordination of public transport for major events, crowd management and emergency management. 

 

Daryl was also responsible for the coordination of Olympic planning and overlay for the Stadium in the two year period prior to the Sydney 2000 Olympics.   During the Olympic Games Daryl operated the Stadium on behalf of the Organising Committee which included the Opening Ceremony, all Track and Field events, the Men’s Football Gold Medal Play Off Match and Closing Ceremony.

 

In 2000, Daryl took on a broader role with the Stadium and in 2003 was appointed to position of Deputy CEO.  In this role, Daryl not only continued to oversee the operation of the Stadium, he also assumed responsibility for a number of key commercial areas of the Stadium’s business.  In May 2009, Daryl was promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer.

 

Prior to joining the Stadium team, Daryl worked at a number of sporting and entertainment venues in Sydney and held a senior role within the Venue Management division with the Sydney Olympic Games Organising Committee (SOCOG) from 1996 to 1998.  This provided the opportunity for Daryl to attend and work as part of a number of world events such as 1996 Olympics and Paralympics in Atlanta.

 

Alan Marsh

Board Member

Chief Executive Officer

Sydney Olympic Park Authority

Alan Marsh, commenced as the new CEO of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority on 1 February, 2008.

He is the former CEO of the Darling Harbour Authority and Deputy Director General of the Department of Commerce. His other previous positions include delivering the Government's logistical support for the Rugby World Cup and a senior executive role with the Arena Management Group of Companies.

Alan has a mixture of private and public sector experience and a diverse background including event management, precinct management, construction and development.

Garth Simmons

Board Member

Regional General Manager NSW/ACT

Accor Group

Garth joined Accor in 2007 following a decade with Rydges Hotel group as General Manager for a number of their Australian properties.  In his short time with Accor Garth built a strong regional team and delivered excellent results in his initial role as Regional General Manager for the Victorian and Tasmanian hotels. 

His appointment to the NSW and ACT region in 2008 is expected to produce similar results for these highly competitive regions.  In addition, Garth is General Manager of the Novotel, Ibis and Grand Mercure hotels at Darling Harbour – some of the busiest hotels in the Accor Pacific network.  In his role at Regional General Manager NSW & ACT Garth overseas the operations of 22 hotels across multiple brands.

Paul Sargeant

Board Member

General Manager - Allphones Arena

Paul Sergeant recently took over as the new General Manager Allphones Arena.

In 2007 Paul Sergeant was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the events industry.

 

As part of the AEG Ogden Family of Facilities he was previously General Manager of Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane between 2007 and 2009.

Among Mr Sergeant's other previous roles were the Director of both Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium in London, Chief Executive of world renowned Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and most recently, the CEO of a privately owned, professional Rugby Club and its venue in Wales.

Mr Sergeant has been responsible for delivering more than 3,000 major events in a career spanning almost 30 years.

Leonora Todesco

Board Member (Silver Member Representative)

Manager, Customer Service and Training

Jemena

 

Leonora has over 20 years experience in the utility industry and has had extensive exposure and involvement in many facets of business improvement and management.

Leonora commenced her career with AGL as a graduate accountant and since then has held senior positions within Jemena ranging from accounting, retail services, operations and maintenance of infrastructure services.

Leonora’s current role as Manager Customer Service and Training encompasses management of gas related emergency response, the Jemena Control Centre and specific enquiries relating to infrastructure administration, scheduling and despatch to field staff.

Leonora holds a Bachelor of Business Degree in Accounting.