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Kate Lamont (Chairman)
Kate Lamont is an operating partner in the Lamont family business, which operates wine production and sales with restaurants in the Swan Valley, Margaret River, Perth and Cottesloe. Ms Lamont has more than two decades of experience in the food and wine industry. Kate joined the Board of Tourism Australia in July 2009 and was appointed Deputy Chair in 2010. Ms Lamont is a director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia and Committee for Perth.
Ms Lamont's term at Tourism Western Australia commenced May 2004 and she became Chairman from September 2006. |
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Howard Cearns
Howard Cearns is the founder and Chairman of brainCELLS Creative Marketing, specialising in brand development and management. He is a founder of Little Creatures Brewing Pty Ltd, which has since listed on the ASX as Little World Beverages where he sits as a Director and consults as a member of the creative development team. Additional, he has interests in the Margaret River wine region as a Director of Swings & Roundabouts Wines. Further tourism experience was gained with two years at Budget Rent a Car, and considerable event and sponsorship strategy exposure with Lion Nathan as Marketing Director of the Swan Brewery.
Mr Cearns’ term commenced July 2006. |
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Alistair (Al) Donald
Al Donald is an experienced corporate lawyer specialising in negotiated acquisitions, joint ventures and private capital fundraising. He is a former head of Freehills' national Mergers & Acquisitions group and is a member of Freehills' national Board. In Australia Mr Donald has worked exclusively for Freehills in both the Sydney and Perth offices, and has been a partner since 1991. He worked in New York from 1985 to 1988 with leading United States and international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, specialising in acquisitions and financing work. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1986. Mr Donald is an honours graduate of the University of Western Australia.
Mr Donald's term commenced February 2009. |
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Jane McKeon
Jane McKeon is currently Group Executive Government Relations for the Virgin Australia Group of Airlines, responsible for government affairs, international relations and industry representation. Ms McKeon has a strong aviation background, having previously worked for Ansett International and Qantas Airways, and extensive experience with the policy and political frameworks of government. Born in Perth, she has an economics background and broader tourism industry involvement as a former director of the Australian Tourism Export Council and current director of the Tourism and Transport Forum advisory board.
Ms McKeon's term commenced January 2011. |
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Neville Poelina
Neville Poelina continues to play a major role in the development of Indigenous tourism in WA. Mr Poelina is a Nyikina man from the Kimberley and current WA Indigenous Tourism Operators Committee (WAITOC) Chairman. He has traditional ties throughout the Kimberley, and Aboriginal culture and society in his life. Mr Poelina has been involved in tourism since he was six, when he started selling bait and fishing tips to visitors to Broome. He has operated his own tour business, Uptuyu Aboriginal Adventures, in the Kimberley since 2002. Mr Poelina is passionate about Aboriginal tourism and sees it as an integral part of Western Australian tourism as a whole. He believes Aboriginal tourism offers two important benefits. Firstly by preserving country and culture and allowing people to live on country sustainably; and secondly, it ensures visitors get an accurate understanding of Australia’s oldest culture and come away with a deeper knowledge and connection to it.
Mr Poelina's term commenced January 2011 |
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Trish Ridsdale
Trish Ridsdale is the Chairman of Travellers Choice, a leading Australian retail travel company and also holds directorships in wine, medical research funding and consulting services companies. She is Managing Director of Board Business, a Perth based consultancy firm that specialises in improving company performance through strategy development, better management of risk, corporate governance assessment and coaching of directors and executives. Since 1997, Ms Ridsdale has been a director educator for the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Fellow of that organisation.
Ms Ridsdale's term commenced July 2007. |
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John Welborn
John Welborn is a Perth based mining executive with a wide range of interests and pursuits originating from a background in corporate finance, professional sport and entrepreneurship. Mr Welborn is the Managing Director and CEO of Equatorial Resources Limited, a listed exploration mining company focused on the development of iron ore projects in the Republic of Congo. Mr Welborn has previously served as the Chairman of FutureNow, the Creative and Leisure Industries Training Council and in this role was a passionate supporter of workforce development in the tourism industry. A former investment banker, John is also well-known for his achievements on the rugby field – he is Western Australia’s first born and bred Wallaby having played six tests for Australia between 1996 and 1999. He was a founding player with the Western Force in their inaugural season in 2006 and served as a Director of RugbyWA from 2006 to 2010.
Mr Welborn’s term commenced in March 2010. |
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Stephen Wicks
Stephen Wicks is the General Manager, Western Australia for Corporate Travel Management, Australia's leading Travel Management Company. Mr Wicks brings more than 14 years high-level experience in WA regional, Eastern States and international hotel operations and development to the Board. While WA-born, he has held senior management roles in leading five star hotels in Sydney, Brisbane, Surfers Paradise, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Mr Wicks’ experience includes involvement in the design, tender and management contract negotiations for hotel projects in Perth, Mandurah and Port Hedland. He was part of the Mirvac team that established Quay West Resort Bunker Bay in the State’s South-West as one of the premium five star resort hotels in regional Australia. In addition to his current role Mr Wicks also instructs in the MBA (exec) program for the Australian Graduate School of Management. Mr Wicks is an adjunct professor with the University of Queensland’s School of Tourism and a member of the Tourism Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia and holds an MBA (Exec) from UNSW.
Mr Wicks’ term commenced May 2010. |