Meet the eight new global ambassadors for Sydney and New South Wales. Photo Credit: Business Events Sydney
Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has appointed eight new global
ambassadors in a strategic move to enhance Sydney's position as a
premier destination for international business events.
The announcement was made during BESydney's 12th Global Ambassador
dinner, where the Premier of New South Wales, The Hon Chris Minns MP,
delivered the Australia Oration.
The newly appointed ambassadors, hailing from a diverse range of
industries and expertise, were chosen for their outstanding leadership,
purposeful work, and commitment to Sydney's growth as a global business
events destination:
- Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO, Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute at the University of Technology Sydney
- Kylie Hargreaves, Chair, Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity
- Professor Jason Kovacic, Director & CEO, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
- Sarah Liu, Founder & Managing Director, TDC Global (The Dream Collective)
- Mani Thiru, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Andromeda Robotics
- Scientia Professor Toby Walsh, Professor of Artificial Intelligence,
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of NSW Sydney
- Professor Jennifer Westacott AO, Chancellor, Western Sydney University
- Professor Jon Whittle, Director of Australia’s national scientific research agency, CSIRO’s Data61
BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith emphasised the importance of these ambassadors, stating: “The Ambassadors and those attending the dinner are our network that underpin BESydney’s success, they are the giants’ shoulders we stand upon – their success is what we take to the world.”
Premier Minns highlighted the economic impact of business events,
noting that visitors injected a record A$50 billion (US$32.8 billion) to
NSW’s economy last year, driving more jobs for locals.
The Hon John Graham, Minister for Jobs and Tourism, underscored the
significance of business events to the visitor economy, revealing a
pipeline of 115 business events set to deliver more than A$562 million
in direct expenditure and attract 140,000 global delegates to Sydney and
NSW by 2030.
“The BESydney Ambassadors announced tonight bring the network that
will build on this pipeline and generate more economic activity.
Business events will be an important focus in the Visitor Economy
Strategy 2030 Review to be published later this year”.