It’s been a busy couple of weeks with new appointments for BESydney Board, Think Business Events, and Bastion Experience.

Atlassian’s Amy Glancey joins BESydney Board

BESydney has welcomed a new independent director, Amy Glancey, to the strategic event bidding organisation’s Board. Her first meeting will take place 22 February and her appointment is for a three-year term.

“Throughout the comprehensive search process, Amy was a standout, bringing a fresh perspective as well as a unique skill-set and connectivity to the tech sector globally, which is a priority growth area for our business,” BESydney Chair The Hon. Bruce Baird AM said.

As chief of staff at Atlassian since 2018, Glancey is the executive responsible for leading the agenda of the co-founders/co-CEOs, and Office of the CEO.

Joining Atlassian in 2016 as the director of communications for APAC, Glancey expanded her remit to director of communications for global markets covering APAC & EMEA footprints. Prior to Atlassian, she spent four years at Groupon where she led the communications team across 14 markets in APAC. She has also held various roles across the US, UK, and APAC in both the private and public sector.

“I’m excited to join a team whose role it is to spotlight this amazing city,” Glancey said.

“Sydney is a world-class leader in innovation, creativity and ripe with opportunity and I’m looking forward to helping support new, bright ideas that can drive commercial and cultural impact for the city.”

Think Business Events new addition spearheads conference team development

Following a successful year of events in 2022, Melbourne-based PCO company Think Business Events (TBE) continues to add to its growing team, appointing Bec McIntosh as its new head of conference team development.

Bringing 30 years of industry experience to her role, McIntosh will spearhead the company’s new training and procedural department, documenting and developing best practice methods across all event processes, and work on career progression initiatives with the conference team.

McIntosh has varied and comprehensive experience working in the events industry in Melbourne and Australia having worked across exhibitions, sponsorship, and conference manager roles for a number of PCOs, the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) and the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) to name a few.

“Having the opportunity to combine my passion for staff development, along with being able to use the knowledge I’ve gained over the years, to support Kim and Denise achieve their vision for the business was the determining factor in my decision to join TBE,” McIntosh said.

Bastion Experience expands to QLD, welcomes new MD

Bastion Experience has entered into the Queensland market with Queensland Rugby League, appointing Maroon chief executive Rohan Sawyer to the newly created role of Queensland managing director.

Sawyer will lead the Bastion Experience team on the ground while providing clients with access to the full suite of integrated communications services under Bastion’s ‘Think Wide’ model which brings together best-in-class offerings and experts across the spectrum of communications disciplines.

Sawyer has spent the last five years as chief executive officer and chief operating officer at Queensland Rugby League. Prior to this, he has held roles such as strategy and co-managing partner at Events, Sports, and Entertainment (ESE), and as head of commercial and marketing for both the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and the Australian Turf Club. His finance industry expertise includes investment strategy roles with Goldman Sachs and UBS, while, more recently, he sat on the advisory panel for the Brisbane based crypto exchange, Coinstash.

Bastion chief executive officer Jack Watts said Sawyer was the ideal candidate to lead Bastion Experience’s drive into a market set for significant long-term growth.

“We believe our long held reputation and work in sport and lifestyle will be critical to our growth in Queensland and I don’t believe there is any better executive in sport than Rohan Sawyer, and we’re thrilled to have him on board to lead our commercial, sponsorship and experiential services in Queensland.”

Sawyer said he was thrilled to join a market leader and innovator in the industry, with a proven track record of delivering on brands and rights holders’ needs to drive commercial growth.

“I look forward to contributing my expertise and working with the talented team to deliver significant benefits to brands and their customers. Queensland is fast becoming the centre of Australian sport and major events, with the road to Olympics, Brisbane 2032 an exciting opportunity for all brands in the State.”

Bastion Experience’s expansion follows the launch of Bastion Amplify (Bastion’s PR, influencer marketing, content, and social media brand), into the Queensland market with the strategic acquisition of Gold Coast-based full service PR firm Promedia in November 2022.