Kim Williams has had a long involvement in the arts, entertainment and media industries here and overseas and has held various executive leadership positions since the late 1970s including as Chief Executive at each of News Corp Australia, FOXTEL, Fox Studios Australia, the Australian Film Commission, Southern Star Entertainment and Music Viva Australia and also as a senior executive at the ABC.

Kim was the Chief Executive of FOXTEL for the decade up until November 2011. At FOXTEL he pioneered many of the major digital broadcast innovations in Australia and received the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian subscription television association ASTRA for his diverse contributions.

Kim has also held numerous Board positions (and Chairmanships) in commercial and public life over more than three decades including as Chairman of the Australian Film Finance Corporation (which he founded in 1988); Chairman of each of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Musica Viva Australia; and the Sydney Opera House Trust from 2005 until 2013.

He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2006 for his services to the arts and public policy formulation in the film and television industries. In October 2009 he was awarded a Doctorate of Letters (Honoris Causa) by Macquarie University for his contribution to the arts and entertainment industry in Australia and internationally. He is a previous recipient of the Richard Pratt Business Arts Leadership Award from the Australian Business Arts Foundation and the Australian Writers Guild’s Dorothy Crawford Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession.  His first book ‘Rules of Engagement’ was published by Melbourne University Press in 2014.

Previous roles have included serving as a Chair of the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership, Chair of Copyright Agency and the Richard Gill School; Co-chair of the State Library of NSW Foundation; and as a board member of Myer Family Investments; Executive Channel International; Wine Australia; the University of Western Sydney Foundation; the Myer Foundation; a Trustee of Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company (which he has chaired since 2018); and as a Commissioner of the Australian Football League.

He was appointed in January 2024 by the Honourable Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, as the twentieth Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, with effect from 7 March for a five year term. 

Douglas is the CEO and Artistic Director of Adelaide Festival Centre. Since joining in 2006, he has initiated a major ‘program-led’ revival which has increased audiences and positioned the Centre as a hub for Asian-Australian cultural engagement.

He has international experience in media, tourism and the arts, including as Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Deputy Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Director of Corporate Affairs of STAR TV, Head of Concert Music for ABC and Head of Music and Arts for Radio Television Hong Kong. He was also founding Vice-Chairman of the Asian Arts Festival Association and a Board Member of the Asian Cultural Council (Rockefeller Foundation).

Douglas’ current Board positions include Chair of Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres, Deputy Chancellor of Flinders University, and Member of the Adelaide UNESCO City of Music Board, Australia-Singapore Arts Group, Global Cultural Districts Network Board, and National Foundation for Australia-China Relations Advisory Board.

In 2016, Douglas was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the arts and the community.

Alice stewards all direct investments by Creative Australia, including strategic multi-year and project investments.

Prior to joining Creative Australia, across 18 years Alice was the Executive Producer & Co-CEO of Back to Back Theatre in the regional centre of Geelong. One of Australia’s most loved and critically acclaimed companies, and one of the most important cultural exporters, Back to Back Theatre company has at its heart an ensemble of six actors with intellectual disabilities who, in collaboration with others, create and perform all their works. The company also works extensively in community, education and screen and is a leading advocate nationally and internationally for exemplary disability arts practice.

Alice was a founding member and, from its inception through the next nine years, Deputy Chair of Theatre Network Australia, the Australian peak body for the small-to-medium theatre sector and independent performance artists. She has served on the Trust of the Geelong Performing Arts Centre and on the Victorian Government’s inaugural Creative State Advisory Board. She has contributed to numerous policy processes to support the development of robust practices for arts and disability across Australia.

Dr. Suseela Balakrishnan is a passionate education advocate and accomplished leader with extensive experience managing and leading institutes of higher education in Asia and the Middle East. Dr.Balakrishnan is currently an education consultant specializing in transforming higher education institutions by improving business functions and developing student-centered strategies that lead to student success, academic excellence and organization growth and sustainability. Prior to this she was the Chief Executive Officer of the International College of Creative Arts Technology, Malaysia and before that, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Journey at Muscat University, Oman.

Her other notable roles include, Head of Design, and Monitoring & Evaluation with LeapEd Services Ltd Pte (owned by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the sovereign wealth fund of the Government of Malaysia), an organization that is spearheading nationwide education transformation in collaboration with the Malaysian Ministry of Education. Within this role, she was responsible for large scale impact studies, design of education transformation blueprints in line with global education needs. Dr. Balakrishnan also served as Chief Executive Officer for INTI International College Kuala Lumpur (previously part of US based Laureate Education Group).

A recipient of the prestigious ‘U.K Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship’, Dr. Balakrishnan received her doctorate in Education from the University of Leeds, UK. She is also a certified Monitoring & Evaluation expert.

Benny Lim is the Associate Professor of Practice in Cultural Management and Director of the Master of Arts in Cultural Management Programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Beyond academia, he is also an active arts practitioner. Over the last 23 years, he has conceptualized and produced numerous theatre productions and art festivals, often focusing on issues affecting marginalized communities. Benny also holds several governance and advisory roles. He is the Board Chair of Along the Edge Limited, a non-profit arts organization in Hong Kong. He is also a member of the Programme Sub-committee of The TENG Company in Singapore and a member of the Advisory Board of the University Arts Centre, CUHK Shenzhen. In 2023, he was appointed by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council as an Arts Advisor (Arts Administration) and Examiner (Drama) for a tenure of three years.

Adam Knee is Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Media & Creative Industries at Singapore’s Lasalle College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore. He was previously Head of the School of International Communications and Professor of Film and Media Studies at University of Nottingham Ningbo China, and has held appointments at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and Ohio University (USA). He has also been a Fulbright grantee (in Thailand) and a Research Fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden, the Netherlands. His scholarship has focused in particular on Southeast Asian and US popular film.

Zainab Syed is the Director of International at Creative Australia, leading the organizations’ international engagement strategy for the arts.

Originally from Pakistan, Zainab has lived, studied and worked across Romania, Yemen, England, Wales, US and Australia. Her practice sits at the intersection of social justice and live performance. After graduating from Brown University, USA, she toured across the world as a performance poet working with incarcerated women, trauma victims and refugees in prisons and detention centres.

From 2014-2017 Zainab worked as a researcher with the Centre for Muslim States and Societies in Perth, WA and New York University, USA. Between 2017-2023 Zainab worked at Performing Lines WA in Perth and Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney as a Senior Producer spearheading ambitious works of scale with artists across dance and theatre. Her work has focused on facilitating intercultural collaborations, developing inclusive frameworks for creating new work and pathways for culturally diverse artists; as well touring Australian works regionally, nationally and internationally alongside advocacy work enabling systemic change within small to medium and mainstage institutions in Australia.

Zainab has served on the board of the Blue Room Theatre board and Theatre Network Australia board. She is also a founder of Pakistan Poetry Slam, co-founder of HME-WRK: a diverse arts collective, a Humanitarian Observer with the Australian Red Cross Immigration Detention Program and a 2020 Churchill Fellow.

Brisbane-born Joon-Yee Kwok is the new Artistic and Executive Producer of OzAsia Festival, taking over from Annette Shun Wah.  Joon-Yee is a second generation Chinese Australian who grew up in the 1980s, attended a multicultural school and once had the dream of pursuing acting as a professional career.

Emma Fey is currently Acting Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia. Emma joined AGSA in 2022 as Assistant Director, Operations following her successful tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Guildhouse between 2017-2022. 

As CEO of Guildhouse, Emma led a period of effective advocacy, successfully increasing engagement with the artistic community and audiences, growing cultural, corporate and government partnerships, and diversifying revenue through philanthropy and social enterprise. 

In her role at AGSA, Emma has responsibility for AGSA’s organisational, operational, commercial, digital and governance functions. Emma also plays an important and strategic role in the development of policy and initiatives that support the Gallery's objectives and operations.

Emma has a demonstrated track record in relationship development, cultivating and deepening partnerships to deliver high value outcomes, driving innovative audience and market development, managing complex stakeholder relationships and leading teams. A values-led leader, Emma has a reputation for building strong internal and external relationships that enable new ways of thinking and working, delivering sustained outcomes for the community. 

Emma holds a Graduate Diploma in Art History from the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Management (Marketing) from the University of South Australia.

Megan Lloyd is a corporate affairs, issues management and communications specialist with extensive experience in advising and managing the interests of organisations across a range of sectors including the arts, energy and renewables, automotive manufacturing, engineering, defence, government, not-for-profit and the media.

After a lengthy media career including a decade as a newspaper editor at News Corporation, Megan transitioned into corporate and external affairs in 2013 and has since built a reputation as a trusted advisor  in corporate communications, issues and crisis management, media relations, stakeholder and community engagement and content creation for digital platforms.

Jim McGowan is an educator and practitioner in the fields of sound design, interactive media, and software development with over 20 years of professional experience.  He is the Acting Dean of Theatre and Entertainment Arts at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Founder and software developer of Malkinware, an academic software company in the UK.

In recognition of his achievements in teaching and learning in the arts, Jim was awarded a Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy in 2008. He was a founder of Profile Group, a UK-wide group of arts educators promoting best practices in tertiary theatrical education; and a founding member of the JISC VLE group, a higher education organisation that promotes the use of technology-enhanced and blended learning across universities in Scotland.

Jim holds an MA in Music and Theatre Studies from the University of Glasgow, a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Arts Education from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and an MSc in Sound and Music for Interactive Games from Leeds Metropolitan University.

He is exploring the use of interactive game technologies in enhancing the flexibility and artistic opportunities in live performances and in developing performance development tools that make use of augmented and virtual realities.

Jim has contributed to arts accessibility projects around the world. He hopes to continue to use technology to enhance the artistic experiences of creators, performers, and audiences.

Khalid Al Mkhlaafy is an artist, film and video producer, and educator who has worked in three continents. Khalid’s expertise spans a wide range of media production and post-production skills, including editing and colour grading, audio post, live multi-camera operation and live streaming, aerial cinematography, steadicam operation, 360-degree video and virtual reality. 

He holds two Master’s degrees and has worked for clients such as Fuji TV, BBC, United Nations, NHK and Fuji Rock Festival. He has taught media‐related courses at universities and colleges in Japan, USA, UK and more recently Singapore, where he is the programme leader for the BA Film and Diploma in Broadcast Media.

Khalid has worked on a range of international projects, from documentaries and short films, to more traditional video art which has been screened internationally. In 2006, he won the first prize for the local shorts section at the Rhode Island International Film Festival for his film The Daydream, which he wrote and directed.

Jennifer Wong is a writer, comedian, presenter of Chopsticks or Fork? (ABC), and columnist for The Guardian. Her humorous essays and reporting about food, culture, and mental health have been published by ABC Everyday, ABC News, Monocle, SBS Food, and SBS News.

David Washington is the Executive Director of the Don Dunstan Foundation. David has had a long career in journalism as a reporter, editor and senior manager, most recently as Editorial Director of Solstice Media and Editor of InDaily. Beyond journalism, he has worked in a range senior communication roles: for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Sydney Olympics and the University of Adelaide.

Nick Hays is the Executive Director of Australian Dance Theatre, the nation’s oldest contemporary dance company, founded on Kaurna Country in 1965. Nick has worked in Australia’s cultural sector for over 20 years, most recently at The Australian Ballet, Arts Centre Melbourne and Heide Museum. Nick is also currently on the Boards of Arts Industry Council of South Australia, Feast Festival and Writers SA, and been Chair of Melbourne-based theatre company, Rawcus, Deputy Chair of Dancehouse Melbourne and a board member of the Public Galleries Association of Victoria.

Ruth Mackenzie has more than 40 years’ experience in the international arts world.

A former artistic director of Adelaide Festival, Holland Festival in Amsterdam and General Director of Manchester International Festival, Mackenzie was in charge of the official cultural programme for the 2012 London Olympics and Artistic Director for the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. She also worked as Dramaturg for the Vienna Festival and was Director of Scottish Opera and major theatres in Nottingham and Chichester.

She was Special Advisor on Culture and Creative Industries for the UK Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and is an Associate of the World Cultural Cities Forum.

Ruth has also been consultant artistic director for the Mayor of London working on a large-scale cultural program, Let’s Do London, and for Comme des Garçons in Paris to open a new arts centre aimed at audiences under 30 years old. She advised on the curation of  the cultural program for the Louvre Abu Dhabi,  the C40 Conference of World Mayors in Paris and Amsterdam, for the University of Arts London’s new AKO Storytelling Institute and was lead Creative for the Art Fund’s The Wild Escape with the BBC, WWF and RSPB.  

She was Chair of the London Arts Council, sat on the National Arts Council of England, served as a Board Member of Musée D’Orsay, Paris, the Serpentine Gallery, London and UNESCO City of Music Adelaide She was also a judge in 2021 of the World Cultural Cities Leadership Prize, of the Pina Bausch Foundation Fellowship Prize and the Paris Urban Film Festival.

She is currently Program Director, Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy for the Department of Premier & Cabinet, Government of South Australia. 

Tessa Leong (she/her) is the Artistic Director of Contemporary Asian Australian Performance. She is a theatre director, dramaturg and collaborator who has worked extensively across theatre, performance, dance theatre, live art and socially engaged projects. Her love of new work has led to collaborations with artists and companies across Australia, Europe and North America. She was Griffin Theatre Company’s inaugural Associate Artistic Director from 2020 until 2022 and is a founding member of Adelaide-based theatre company isthisyours?.

She most recently worked with Rainbow Chan on The Bridal Lament for the Liveworks and Oz Asia festivals and remounted Merlynn Tong’s Golden Blood for Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company in their 2024 seasons.

Peter Monteath was born in Brisbane and educated in Queensland and in Germany. He has taught previously at The University of Queensland, Griffith University, Deakin University, The University of Western Australia and The University of Adelaide. He has also been Adjunct Professor at The University of St. Louis Missouri and the Technical University of Berlin, where he was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. At Flinders he teaches modern European history. His research interests span modern European and Australian history. He is now Vice-President and Executive Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

Tully Barnett is Associate Professor in Creative Industries at Flinders University and Director of Assemblage Centre for Creative Arts. Her teaching and research focus on cultural policy, cultural value and evaluation. She is co-author of What Matters? Talking Value in Australian Culture (2018). She is a founding member of the Reset Arts and Culture team.

Professor Kristin Natalier is the Dean of Education in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University. She oversees an array of course offerings in the Creative and Performing Arts. She emphasises the importance of building authentic, non-transactional relationships across community, industry and university. These connections provide the foundation for education that synthesises stakeholder interests, students’ creativity and pedagogical innovation. In common with the Flinders creative and performing arts community, she values the arts as political and creative expression and a driver of personal and social change.