icc sydney team

GEOFF DONAGHY

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

In addition to his role at ICC Sydney, Geoff is Director of Convention Centres AEG Ogden and the Immediate Past-President of the Brussels based International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) and is their representative on peak global body, the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC).

Geoff’s extensive experience in the business events industry was born from his airline and hotel industry experience. He headed the Cairns region’s successful tourism and convention bureau for five years before managing the 1996 opening of the Cairns Convention Centre, which was acknowledged as the “World’s Best Congress Centre” in AIPC’s 2004 and 2014 APEX Awards.

Geoff served five years as Chairman of the Business Events Council of Australia, where he steered greater government recognition for the industry. Geoff has been awarded the Australia Centenary Medal by the Federal Government, the Australian industry’s Outstanding Contribution Award, and the Joint Meeting Industry Council's Global Power and Profile Award.

Geoff’s rich industry experience and reach across the globe underpins his steady leadership of the ICC Sydney team and a world class venue featuring best practice services and client focused people.

ADAM MATHER-BROWN

GENERAL MANAGER

With a career in the convention and exhibitions industry spanning 28 years, Adam’s enthusiasm shines through his every interaction. Specialising in pre-opening and opening phases, Adam now calls Sydney home after opening some of the world’s top convention centres.

With exceptional attention to detail in delivering the best international practice and standards, Adam is known for his ability to think outside of the box with absolute consideration of the local environment.

For Adam, ICC Sydney was a natural next step in an esteemed career that has seen his involvement in the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Durban International Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, and most recently, the Qatar National Convention Centre.

Adam was compelled to make the move to Sydney and play a part in delivering a new precinct that will change the face of the city for generations to come.

BEVERLEY PARKER

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

A renowned event professional, Beverley brings a wealth of industry experience to ICC Sydney developed through global exposure to the corporate, conference, incentive, leisure, inbound and exhibition sectors. Beverley lives and breathes Sydney and enjoys all the city has to offer socially and culturally and is a passionate and vigorous advocate of Sydney’s business events industry.

Having worked with some of the country’s most well regarded industry brands, Beverley has an innate ability to establish and nurture strong relationships, working collaboratively towards successful outcomes time and time again.

Beverley is an inspiring leader, with the proven ability to forge and sustain high performance teams, mentoring her staff and taking pride in their success and career development.

Beverley has previously held roles including Director of Sales and Marketing with the former Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Executive Director of Sales and Marketing for the Dockside Group as well as senior executive roles with Four Seasons Hotels and Accor Asia Pacific. Beverley is a Board Member of the Australian Racing Drivers' Club and previously held a position on the Business Events Sydney Board.

SAMANTHA GLASS

DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATION

A founding member of ICC Sydney’s leadership team, Sam developed the communications and marketing strategies that have resulted in establishing one of the business events industry’s strongest brands. 

Story-telling, building emotional connection and strong stakeholder engagement have been core to ICC Sydney’s successful brand development throughout its pre-opening, launch and operational phases.

Sam steered the venue to major communication accolades including Best Business to Business Campaign at the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) National Golden Target Awards, PR Asia B2B Campaign of the Year and contributed to ICC Sydney’s 25 awards in its first year of operation.

Prior to joining ICC Sydney, Sam’s communication and corporate affairs track recorded, both domestically and internationally, included working with The GPT Group, Weber Shandwick and Warner Brothers. 

A passionate brand ambassador, Sam is delighted to be a part of ICC Sydney’s world class team in delivering extraordinary experiences for clients and patrons. 
 

LYNELL PECK

DIRECTOR OF CULINARY SERVICES

An industry veteran with more than 30 years in hospitality and event management at leading five star venues, Lynell joined ICC Sydney following a stellar four years as Executive General Manager for Hospitality, Events and Operations at the Australian Turf Club. Lynell spent 17 years of her career with Australian Turf Club Ltd across a variety of food and beverage roles. Earlier in her career, Lynell held senior food and beverage management roles with a range of 5 star hotels; the Park Lane Hotel (now Sheraton on the Park) and previous to this she worked for ten years with the Regent International Hotel Group in Australia, America and New Zealand.

 

Lynell’s passion together with her extensive experience sees her leading a team of more than 500 people to deliver a world class culinary experience at ICC Sydney. Lynell’s expertise provides memorable and creative culinary experiences for ICC Sydney’s clients, featuring the very best in locally sourced, fresh and seasonal produce as well as her commitment to ICC Sydney’s Feeding Your Performance philosophy. Lynell is the driving force to set new culinary standards across the board, the premium benchmark will be experienced across staff training and product sourcing, presentation and imagination. One of her first goals at ICC Sydney has been to grow a dedicated team that focus on earnest collaboration with clients, suppliers and farmers.

 

The exceptional service and commitment displayed by Lynell and her teams throughout her career has been recognised by numerous industry awards and accolades including; Restaurant and Catering’s 2014 ‘Function / Convention Centre Caterer of the Year Award', 2013 ‘Meetings & Events Industry Award’ for the ‘NSW 500+ delegates’ category and best In-House Security Team at the Australian Security Industry Association Limited 2014 National Awards for Excellence.

 

MATHEW PAINE

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

A highly awarded senior practitioner with more than 14 years in human resource management, Mathew’s career has covered private and not for profit sectors and he has held roles in Australia, Japan and England. Mathew joins ICC Sydney’s leadership team after four years as the Director of Human Resources with Sofitel Luxury Hotels and Resorts and leadership roles at YWCA NSW, Mindworx UK and Hilton Worldwide.

Mathew is a strategic thinker with the ability to practically implement human resources initiatives and deliver results in complex and fast paced environments with a personal touch. Mathew holds a Masters Degree in Labour Law and Relations and Masters Degree in Strategic Human Resource Management.

MALU BARRIOS

DIRECTOR OF EVENT SERVICES

Malu Barrios has spent over 20 years at Director Level in the events industry; developing and implementing venue management strategies across a variety of venues throughout Australia.

Malu is a seasoned AEG Ogden executive, having successfully launched three of the global venue management group’s facilities prior to her role of Director of Event Services at ICC Sydney. Malu held the position General Manager of the Darwin Convention Centre, Events Director of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, and most recently General Manager of Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island, where she will continue her support of the exhibition industry to ensure seamless transition of events from the interim facility to ICC Sydney in December 2016.

Malu has also held the role of General Manager of the Sydney Showground at Sydney Olympic Park for five years where she led the way in corporate structure changes and culture development programs.

Malu Barrios is well recognised for her influence and advocacy of business events. She chaired the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Australia Chapter for three years, was on the Board of the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) for five years and is currently a member of Tourism Australia’s Business Events Industry Advisory Panel.

BRIAN NASH

DIRECTOR OF AUDIO VISUAL

Brian joins the ICC Sydney Team with a wealth of industry knowledge and is a highly experienced operator who has worked on numerous touring productions, festivals and venues including Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

Brian is responsible for implementing effective and efficient audio-visual (AV) systems and processes; ensuring installation, testing, commissioning and operational readiness of all systems and equipment and ensuring a seamless transition between the testing and operating phases.

Brian and his team are focused on delivering the latest technologies and innovations from across the audio visual sector at ICC Sydney.  Seamless, flexible and upgradable systems and processes will ensure client expectations are met from opening day.

Brian has great passion for the industry and having spent the majority of his life on, near or around a stage, is looking forward to working with his team to create, develop and deliver events of all types and sizes at ICC Sydney.

ERICA BLYTHE

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

A qualified CPA, Erica has consistently delivered strong financial results throughout her career with some of Sydney’s most prominent hotels, including Sofitel Sydney and Novotel Darling Harbour.

Erica joins ICC Sydney following her position as Regional Financial Controller for Accor NSW/ACT where she led the finance function for more than 40 hotels.

Passionate about innovation and financial education, Erica is a highly accomplished leader who brings with her more than 10 years of finance and administration experience. 
Proud mother of two young boys who keep her centred and also help her keep it real. Erica champions the Parents/Carers Diversity stream at ICC Sydney. 

Her impressive background and skillset has seen her rise to a celebrated spokesperson within the accounting industry. In 2014, she was featured in the Leadership Track CPA online series and in May 2015 she was featured in INTHEBLACK CPA magazine.

EVAN WOOD

DIRECTOR OF ICT SERVICES

Evan brings to ICC Sydney a wealth of knowledge on all aspects of event technology, including event connectivity, temporary technology deployments and bespoke integration requirements, having successfully deployed event infrastructure for nearly every large technology event in Australia. 

Evan has an especially strong background in event wireless technology and uses that knowledge to ensure that the capabilities in each venue space match the requirement of each and every event. This coupled with a thorough understanding of the pressures of network uptime in the live event space, has enabled the ICT Services Department to build a bulletproof network at ICC Sydney.  

With years of experience in senior management within both the Convention and Exhibition Centre and Public Attraction space, Evan will ensure that your technology experience at ICC Sydney is world class.