About us

The Honourable Robert Borbidge AO was the 35th Premier of Queensland and served in the State Parliament as member for Surfers Paradise from 1980 until 2001.

During this time he held numerous senior positions in the Ministry, as Leader of the Opposition and Premier. Since leaving Parliament he has held numerous Board positions in both private and publicly listed companies.

He is currently Chair of the Board of Advice for the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University and holds an Honorary Doctorate of the University. He is Chair of LifeFlight Australia Foundation, a member of the Board of StarFlight Australia and StarFlight Victoria. He served as Chair of the Legacy Committee for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, was previously Chair of Study Gold Coast and a senior counsel for Government advisory services group GovStrat.

He also served on the Independent Distribution Committee for the public appeal for victims of the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy. In 2021 he was appointed as an Australian Government representative on the Brisbane Airport Post Implementation Review Advisory Group.

Louise Bezzina is the Artistic Director of Brisbane Festival, Brisbane’s international arts festival and Queensland’s largest annual arts and cultural event.

An innovative and visionary arts leader, Louise is renowned for her significant contribution to the Queensland arts industry over the past 20 years.

In 2020, Louise defied all the odds and delivered one of the only live performing arts events to take place globally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 Brisbane Festival program was curated under the banner of Boldly Brisbane where Louise created the much-loved Street Serenades program travelling to 190 suburbs of Brisbane.

Louise founded Bleach* Festival on the Gold Coast in 2011 which she Directed until 2019.
Under her strategic and artistic vision, Bleach* became a maker of contemporary Australian art and a major annual event. Louise was part of the creative lead team for Commonwealth Games Cultural Program, Festival 2018.

Louise was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University for her significant contribution to the arts in Queensland in 2023.

Adam’s skills and experience have been gained from working with public listed and unlisted companies, multinational companies, small and large proprietary companies, managed investment schemes, not for profit entities and local government.

Adam has also gained a wide range of international exposure and spent several years in London with the Royal Bank of Scotland plc in the role of Group Treasury Financial Controller. Adam also spent time in the US with KPMG and was involved in the audit of several US clients.

In respect of his broader experience, Adam has completed a significant number of process efficiency reviews over the finance and back office function for a number of diverse organisations. Adam has also been involved in projects which have addressed Management Reporting, Stakeholder Management, Risk, Governance, Strategy, Due Diligence, and compliance with regulatory requirements. His role has required team leadership, project management skills and enhanced communication skills within all levels of an organisation in addition to detailed financial analysis skills and broad commercial acumen.

In addition to Adam’s role at KPMG he has significant experience in board roles working with not for profit organisations including:
• Experience Gold Coast – Director
• The Southport School – School Council member, Chair of Finance committee, Audit and Risk committee member
• Destination Gold Coast – Director, Chair of Audit, Finance and Risk committee, Chair of Remuneration committee
• Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards – Chair of committee
• Bond University – Committee member, Audit Safety and Risk Committee
• Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation Limited – Member (exDirector 2010 – 2021)

Jackie Cross is Director of Queensland’s biggest outdoor event & festival company Cross Promotions International.

With a background in media & marketing, Jackie sits at the creative head of the Gold Coast based company, that she owns with husband Billy Cross. With entertainment running through their veins, and brands that span 2 continents, Cross’s real passion lies in SE Queensland.

With a reputation that was built on their cultivation of the nightlife landscape of South East Queensland, Cross Promotions stood at the helm of a nightclub empire, with 9 trading clubs in Surfers Paradise. By 2001, the Cross team had managed to reshape the Surfers Paradise nightclub scene with a collection of venues that attracted celebrities and locals alike.

A natural progression ultimately saw an opportunity to establish an outdoor festival market in Queensland. The move into outdoor events saw the Gold Coast play host to one of Australia’s first & biggest outdoor events SummaFieldDayze – a 35,000 strong music festival held on the Broadwater. It was this festival that catapulted the Cross team into luring more events to SE Queensland.

In March 2018, Cross forged a partnership with The Star Entertainment Group, opening the prestigious Nineteen at The Star. A world class rooftop restaurant and lounge bar venue, and hero feature of The Star Gold Coasts redevelopment.

In addition, Jackie Cross owns and runs the most high-profile Australian entertainment act in Las Vegas, Australia’s Thunder from Down Under. This Australian entertainment export has enjoyed 25 years on the Las Vegas strip, and in 2019 MGM Resorts extended their residency in an unprecedented 10-year contract.

Cross currently runs the largest bar operations consultancy in Queensland, specializing in outdoor events and festivals. The current portfolio includes Brisbane RiverStage, The Falls Festival (Byron Bay), Schoolies & Sandtunes. In addition, Cross Promotions consults to V8 Supercars and worked on City of Gold Coasts X-Cat Grand Prix.

Jackie Cross is a member of the National Breast Cancer Foundations Speakers Bureau, and mother to two sons Joshua & Nicholas.

Rebecca Frizelle, OAM, is a dynamic leader, recognised for her extensive contributions to business, sports, education, and philanthropy.

Over her 31-year tenure at Frizelle Sunshine Automotive, she catalysed significant growth before resigning prior to its IPO. A trailblazer in sports, Rebecca made history as the NRL’s first female Chairperson.

Her broad business experience and community engagement has culminated in board roles with the Gold Coast Titans, Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games and Paralympics Australia.

As Griffith University’s Deputy Chancellor and a board member of LifeFlight Australia, Rebecca continues to demonstrate her commitment to education, events, business, and tourism. Rebecca, honoured with an Order of Australia remains a steadfast advocate for the Gold Coast and Queensland.

In February 2022, Tim commenced as the CEO of City of Gold Coast where he has communicated a clear mandate to transform the City Administration into a high performing, customer focused organisation which delivers value for money services to the community. Tim has a track record of successful organisational change, delivering a transformational change agenda as Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas). Tim renewed the Department’s business model, improving organisational culture to maximise value to the Tasmanian community in this role. Tim’s contemporary approach to managing performance through the introduction of a new high-performance framework at NRE Tas has received positive acclaim in the Australian Journal of Public Administration.

Tim has a demonstrated ability to achieve results, delivering numerous key government initiatives for NRE Tas. These include the opening of national parks and reserves for tourism, the creation of a strategic salmon industry plan and overseeing the implementation of Tasmania’s border entry conditions in response to the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

An excellent negotiator, one of Tim’s proudest achievements was his initiative to amend the Tasmanian Aboriginal Heritage Act, which was passed in both houses of Parliament unopposed with the support of all Tasmanian First Nations groups and non-Indigenous stakeholders.

In his role as Secretary of NRE Tas, Tim held several statutory positions including the Director-General of Lands and the Director of National Parks and Wildlife. Tim also chaired the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture Advisory Board and represented the State of Tasmania on several boards and committees, including Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd and the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies. Tim was also the state representative on several national bodies including the Agricultural Senior Officials Working Group and the Agricultural Ministers’ and Environment Ministers’ Forums.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Information Systems (University of Tasmania) and has completed an Executive Program in Leadership from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Tim is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Tom Tate was elected Mayor of the Gold Coast, Australia’s 6th largest city, in April 2012 and re-elected for a second term in March 2016 and a third term in March 2020.
Mayor Tate is a civil engineer by trade, having graduated from the University of NSW in the early 1980s. He started his career in the construction industry and later moved into the tourism and hospitality industry.

With a strong business background, Mayor Tate has spent his time in office ensuring everyone knows that the Gold Coast is ‘open for business’. This has seen certainty return to the city, which in turn has boosted confidence and created significant investment across the Gold Coast.

Mayor Tate is leading a city that is embracing change and dreaming big. While building on the legacy of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Mayor Tate is looking towards the future and opportunities that will come from the Brisbane 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games where the Gold Coast will host 11 sports and a satellite Games village. Continuing to focus on the key areas of transport and digital infrastructure; health, education, and knowledge; sports and events; culture and business investment, Mayor Tate is committed to ensuring a future for the Gold Coast that includes a stronger economy, more jobs and protecting the city’s enviable lifestyle.

Mayor Tate is dedicated to reducing the cost of living pressures facing residents, reforming Council, cutting waste, and broadening the Gold Coast’s economic base beyond its cornerstones of tourism and construction.

Mayor Tate has been married to his wife, Ruth for 43 years and together they have four children and two grandchildren. The multicultural Mayor was born in Asia and is fluent in three languages.

Danielle McFall-Weiss is an arts executive with over 20 years’ industry experience, who relocated to the Gold Coast from New York City in 2019.

As a professional ballet and contemporary dancer, Danielle toured extensively internationally, before retiring from performance in 2014.

As an arts executive and agent, Danielle has managed and represented world-class dance companies, toured productions around the world, working closely with hundreds of presenting organisations and venues, and built an extensive network on both the creative and business sides of the performing arts.

More recently, she served on the board of HOTA and is currently a board director of Queensland Ballet.

Clark Kirby is the Chief Executive Officer of Village Roadshow Group. Clark was previously CEO of Village Roadshow Theme Parks and Village Roadshow Studios before his appointment to Group CEO in January 2020, expanding his portfolio to include the Village Cinema circuit and Roadshow Film and Television Distribution and Production.

Prior to joining Village Roadshow, Clark worked for UBS Investment Bank in the Technology and Media M&A team in Melbourne, Sydney and New York.

Clark completed a Master of Applied Finance and Investment at Macquarie University in 2005 and also holds a Bachelor of Information Technology from Bond University.

Clark is an inaugural Director of the newly created Experience Gold Coast.  Prior to this amalgamation, Clark was the Vice Chairman of Destination Gold Coast as well as a founding Board member of Major Events Gold Coast.  Other Board positions include Onesto, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and My Room Children’s Cancer Charity.

Clark lives on the Gold Coast with his wife Sara and their three daughters Estelle, Eloise and Nina.

Kate has more than 20 years’ experience in senior government and leadership positions. Kate served as a Minister in the Queensland Government for more than eight years in a range of portfolios including State Development, Education, Tourism and Major Events and Innovation and Climate Change.

Kate was also the Minister for the Commonwealth Games working closely with key industry partners and all levels of government to successfully deliver Queensland’s largest ever event, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Throughout 2020, Kate was instrumental in working with many national sporting codes to ensure they could continue to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she led the government’s economic response for the tourism and events industries.

Kate has also served as a member of the Cabinet Budget Review Committee developing and implementing Queensland’s state budget and overarching economic strategy for the state.

Throughout her career Kate has also served on several government and non-government boards at both a state and national level. Kate has strong skills in strategy development and partnerships, crisis management, media relations and communication.