Troy Graham moves up at GPJ Australia and New Zealand
Troy Graham has been promoted to group creative director at the local arm of GPJ. Graham has been with the agency since January 2022 and was previously with Imagination for a decade.
Having worked on broad brand awareness campaigns as well as digital and more targeted campaigns, Graham is also a published author and award-winning script writer.
“I love working with this amazing team and feel truly privileged to be a part of this passionate business,” he said.
“I’m excited to create even more powerful experiences with such a talented group of creative people.
“It’s crucial that audiences are entertained – no matter the experience.
“We love to include the big and small ‘wow moments’ throughout experiences that bring surprise and delight because they are always impactful and fun. But, tying it all together with a meaningful theme and a narrative that runs through every element – that’s what makes an experience truly memorable,” Graham said.
ABEA announces first board switch
ICC Sydney’s Samantha Glass has been appointed to the Australian Business Events Association board, replacing Cairns Convention Centre’s general manager Janet Hamilton.
Glass is director of corporate affairs, communication and sustainability at the Sydney venue.
“As we continue to build a robust and dynamic board, we welcome Samantha’s wealth of experience and leadership acumen,” said chair of the ABEA board, Peter King.
“We are excited to be able to draw on her passion for sustainable development and brand leadership.”
Also chair of the sustainability special interest group for the association, Glass’s appointment to the board helps maintain gender parity at the highest level of the organisation.
“We are actively considering appointments to cover areas such as emerging leaders, suppliers and small business representation,” said King of the remaining vacant places on the board. There are still two spots left to fill.
TFE Hotels announces a range of general manager appointments
TFE Hotels has announced nine senior appointments across its Australian properties.
Perhaps the most significant are the appointments of Nigel Maxey and Christian Price to Vibe Hotel Melbourne Docklands and Destination Pentridge respectively.
After six years with TFE Hotels, Maxey will helm the Vibe Melbourne Docklands, which is entering the TFE Hotels portfolio after the sale and rebranding of the property, which is currently the Four Points by Sheraton Melbourne Docklands. The hotel will come under TFE Hotels’ management next month.
Meanwhile Price is taking over from Jesse Kornoff, who opened the Pentridge precinct for TFE. The precinct includes The Interlude, a high end boutique accommodation offering ideal for the incentive market, the Adina Apartment Hotel Melbourne Pentridge, the hatted North & Common restaurant, underground wine bar Olivine and Chapter Place events, which offers several new spaces inside the former prison’s footprint for event organisers.
Price moves over from fellow TFE Hotels property, Quincy Hotel Melbourne, which he opened during Melbourne’s lockdown years of the pandemic.
Another of the new appointments is Andrew Edwards who takes over Price’s former role at Quincy, after a year as GM of Adina Southbank.
Other appointments across the TFE Hotels portfolio include Lucy Ockleston as cluster hotel general manager for Adina Apartment Hotel Darwin Waterfront / Vibe Hotel Darwin Waterfront and Travelodge Resort Darwin, Diana Quinones-Silva as GM of Hotel Kurrajong Canberra, Ben Saxton as GM of Adina Canberra, Emma Sutherland as GM of Vibe Hotel Sydney Darling Harbour, Sid Bhatia as GM of Vibe Hotel Gold Coast and Jolanta Prusek as GM of Adina Apartment Hotel Surry Hills.
All of these new GMs are internal appointments, with all already working across TFE Hotels properties for several years.
