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Todd Babiak is CEO of Brand Tasmania. He made the switch from place branding and economic development consulting, with Story Engine and Places are People, where he had worked with clients in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. Why did he move to Tasmania, to join his former client as CEO? He had never implemented a strategy before, and he was inspired to understand why people didn’t always take action on his “brilliant advice.”
Now he gets it.
See tasmanian.com.au and toddbabiak.com.
Clare is the founder and director of City Nation Place, the global forum for place branding and place marketing. City Nation Place creates connections and shares best practice between country brands, regional brands, and city brands around the world through articles, interviews, surveys, white papers, a membership group, and conferences.
Clare’s interest in the complex area of place branding was sparked whilst working on a series of Nation Branding Masterclass events, led by Simon Anholt, one of the first thought-leaders to speak about and promote the concept of place branding. Having listened to Simon address audiences in Accra, Delhi, Dubai, London and Singapore on how policy, governance, and symbolic actions need to combine with branding and marketing to create a competitive identity and drive economic growth, she continued to follow the growth in this sector. Clare launched the first City Nation Place Global conference in London in 2015: CityNationPlace.com has been steadily building followers and in 2017, she launched the first City Nation Place Americas conference, in 2018 City Nation Place Asia Pacific took place in Singapore, and 2019 saw the first City Nation Place UK, specifically for towns, cities and regions across the UK, and the launch of the first City Nation Place LatAm & Caribbean event. Clare manages the small team at City Nation Place alongside providing event consultancy and management for a number of clients in the publishing and trade association sector, including running the World Media Awards for the World Media Group and event consultancy for the UK Association for Online Publishers.
Meaghan Ferrigno is Destination Canada’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer (CDAO), a role which positions Destination Canada as an Insight Driven Organization, curating industry data to optimize both supply- and demand-side decisions.
She leads Destination Canada’s data strategy to help maximize the competitiveness and resilience of the Canadian tourism sector, making good information and analysis broadly available to tourism partners, businesses, local communities and government.
From her past roles, Meaghan brings an exceptional range of expertise in data-enabled competitive strategies and business agility. She is a certified CPA, CMA who holds an MBA in Management Technology from SFU’s Beedie School of Business as well as PMP and agile designations.
One of her most important and current priorities at Destination Canada is to build and launch the Canadian Tourism Data Collective, in partnership with Statistics Canada, other major data providers, and many industry businesses. This national platform harnesses the power of tourism data, to generate a source of long-term collaborative advantage, drive innovation for Canada's hosting economy, empowering decision-makers across public and private sectors.
Meaghan joined as the Crown corporation’s CDAO in August of 2021.
Annabelle defines her careers purpose as leveraging tourism as a force for good. Her diverse tourism experience spans 25 years in wholesale, retail, trade, marketing, and destination development, providing her with a well-rounded industry perspective, gained in different contexts around the world and Australia. During her work for a Destination Marketing Organization in Sydney, Annabelle had a key realization that success in tourism centred on growth and promotion, with little emphasis on managing it sustainably. This insight fuelled her passion for sustainable tourism, which deepened during an 18-month stay on a remote island in the Solomon Islands from 2018. There, she led the development of a tourism master plan for the Central Province Government, while completing a Masters in Sustainable Tourism Management. This pivotal experience reinforced her commitment to fostering tourism that benefits both the environment and local community. Before relocating to Western Australia, Annabelle spearheaded the award-winning rebrand of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, “Eyre the Wild Side,” which earned gold at the 2023 South Australian Tourism Awards. Since moving to Esperance in early 2024, she has continued to champion sustainable tourism, leading initiatives like the “Esperance. In Your Element” brand and the creation of the “Esperance Promise” to support the thoughtful management of the region’s tourism sector.
Originally from Adelaide, Australia and now living in Fiji, Brent is a multi-award-winning marketer and leader, and joined Tourism Fiji as CEO in mid-2021 after 6 years at the South Australian Tourism Commission. Brent led the incredible effort to reopen Fiji to the world in December 2021, achieving double the visitor arrivals target in 2022. Brent leads a team based in Nadi, Fiji as well as offices across the world, in pursuit of the goal of $3B in tourism revenue by December 2024 – equating to 38% of Fiji’s economy.
- With Ernst & Young LLP for more than 12 years
- With STB for more than 10 years
- Chartered Accountant by profession
- Certified Train the Trainer
- Responsible to initiate and develop Sabah Rural and Community Based Tourism since 2014
Lyn Lewis-Smith is CEO of BESydney and leads a global team of professionals spanning Europe, North America and Asia who are charged with securing global meetings of strategic, economic and social benefit to Sydney, Australia. The organisation works across sectors which include infrastructure, technology, professional services, advanced manufacturing, education and health. Lyn has led transformation globally, passionately advocating for Australian business, scientific and cultural achievements on the world stage and received the Destination International’s Humanitarian Award for her co-authored and published research with UTS: Determining Business Events Legacies beyond the Tourism spend.
An experienced non-executive director, Lyn is a Fellow of the UTS, Adjunct Professor and Co-Chairs the University of Technology Sydney Business School Advisory Board, Director of Destinations International, Committee for Sydney and the Women’s Resilience Centre.
Recognised as a ‘Queensland Great’ in 2013, Anthony is a well-respected and self-confessed sport loving local who is known for the passion and entrepreneurial spirit that he brings to all professional endeavours.
An inspiring leader with a proven track record in delivering strategic business outcomes and strong partnerships, Anthony is responsible for leading BEDA to drive sustainable economic growth for the City.
As Brisbane’s champion, BEDA works with stakeholders to enhance the City’s reputation globally, drive visitation and attract investment and talent, whilst looking ahead at emerging opportunities for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Previously CEO of Youngcare, Anthony pioneered the transformation of the national not-for-profit organisation into an innovative and entrepreneurial company that provides meaningful solutions and choices for young people with high physical care needs.
Amanda is an accomplished strategist and designer who transforms cities, precincts, and organizations through an innovative 'inside-out' approach. Her work seamlessly integrates strategy, design, and change management to create lasting impact across public and commercial sectors. By drawing on her multidisciplinary expertise, she develops solutions that strengthen organizations internally while enhancing their external presence and influence. This unique methodology has consistently delivered measurable results, whether revitalizing urban districts, reimagining corporate spaces, or fostering positive organizational change. Her deep understanding of both human-centered design and strategic planning enables her to create solutions that resonate at every level - from internal operations to citywide initiatives.
Eamon’s career has spanned the social, economic and urban needs of Sydney.
He started his career working side-by-side with people experiencing long-term homelessness in Penrith and Blacktown to understand their challenges, and undertook the first Homelessness Street Count in the Western Parkland City.
Prior to joining the Committee as CEO, Eamon was the Chief Strategy Officer of the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade, sitting on the Executive of the Department and leading strategic projects across the Investment, Industry and Trade, Arts and Culture, Sport, Tourism and Hospitality and Racing sectors.
Before this, Eamon was Deputy CEO and Policy Director at the Committee for Sydney, Director of Policy for Youth Action NSW, the peak body for young people and the services that support them across NSW, and worked in social services including UnitingCare and Marist Youth Care.
As the Committee’s Policy Director, Eamon delivered more than 40 reports, including work on Density Done Well, Benchmarking Sydney’s Performance, the Sandstone Mega-Region and Safety After Dark.
Eamon is also engaged in broader Sydney society as a member of the Monkey Baa Theatre Company board, and previously served as a Board Director of the NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS), Sydney Community Foundation, and Sydney Alliance.
Callum Wood is an accomplished marketing professional who leads BEDA’s Marketing team and champions the Brisbane destination brand globally.
With a focus on driving economic growth, Callum leads a diverse team of marketing and place activation professionals to develop and execute impactful marketing strategies across diverse sectors and audiences.
From tourism, business and major events, to business growth, trade, and investment, Callum manages the Brisbane destination brand holistically, both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining BEDA, Callum held several destination and event marketing roles across Melbourne and regional Victoria, including City Marketing Manager for the City of Melbourne. Callum has completed an MBA with a focus on marketing and brand management. He is also admitted as an Australian Lawyer.