Revealed at Business Events Sydney’s recent 12th Global Ambassador dinner – attended by NSW Premier Chris Minns, who delivered a speech outlining his vision for Sydney – the ambassadors were selected for their purposeful work, outstanding leadership and commitment to Sydney.
The eight new Business Events Sydney (BESydney) ambassadors are:
- Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO, Laureate Fellow at Jumbunna Institute at University of Technology Sydney.
- Kylie Hargreaves, chair, Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity.
- Professor Jason Kovacic, director and CEO, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.
- Sarah Liu, founder and managing director, TDC Global.
- 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.
“Tourism is one of our biggest exports, driving more jobs for NSW locals,” said Premier Minns onstage during his speech.
“Visitors spent more than $50 billion in NSW last year. That’s a record injection into our state’s economy.
“Hosting global meetings is an important way to attract tourists, who might come for a conference and then stay to relax in our beautiful state.
“I welcome and thank these ambassadors, from a range of industries, who will help bring events to Sydney.
The Premier’s sentiments were shared by Professor Mary O’Kane, chair of BESydney’s board.
“Our ambassadors are key to us securing major business events and top scientific conferences,” she said.
“As such, they play a pivotal role in powering the state’s knowledge economy.”
BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said the ambassadors play a huge role in her organisation’s success.
“The Ambassadors and those attending the dinner are our network that underpin BESydney’s success,” she said.
“They are the giants’ shoulders we stand upon – their success is what we take to the world.
“We continue to see the greater impact business events contribute, including knowledge sharing, foreign direct investment, talent attraction and global social impact.
“We thank our ambassadors – the changemakers of Sydney and NSW – for their incredible work and achievements driving global change for the better.
“Our people, places and purpose are the things that make Sydney what it is today. They are also the things that uniquely position us to help shape what comes tomorrow for local and global communities.
“We believe Sydney has the intellectual capital the world needs to meet global challenges.
“Our purpose is to bring the world to Sydney to find solutions and effect a ripple of change around the globe.”
More than 380 people attended the dinner, hosted at ICC Sydney.
“Business events are a critical part of the visitor economy, and Sydney is the capital of business events in Australia,” said NSW Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham.
“The scale of the forward pipeline out to 2030 illustrates this perfectly: 115 business events delivering more than $562 million in direct expenditure and attracting 140,000 global delegates to Sydney and NSW.
“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.”
Pictured above (from left): NSW Premier Chris Minns; Professor Jon Whittle; Professor Jennifer Westacott AO; Scientia Professor Toby Walsh; Mani Thiru; Professor Jason Kovacic; Sarah Liu; Distinguished Professor Larissa -Behrendt AO; Kylie Hargreaves; and Lyn Lewis-Smith.
