Board of Directors

Andrew Hill

President

Andrew is the Chief Operating Officer – Food, Beverage & Entertainment at Crown Perth with an overall responsibility for over 3,000 employees. Appointed COO in 2008, he previously held the position of Executive General Manager, Catering & Entertainment at Crown Perth (formerly Burswood Entertainment Complex) since his arrival from Crown Casino Melbourne in 2005, where he held the position of Director of Catering.

Andrew has been a board member of the Tourism Council of Western Australia for the last twelve years enjoying the strategic challenges of board involvement in the development of the industry in Western Australia. Andrew also sits on the Tourism Committee for the Perth Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was previously President of the Accommodation Division for the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) W.A, with formal induction into the AHA Hall of fame in 2015 for his dedication and commitment to the tourism sector.

Nathan Frost

Vice President

Nathan is the Area General Manager of Operations for Accor. Nathan currently is responsible for the management of 13 properties in the region from Bunker Bay to Kununurra. A graduate of the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School in 1998 and AccorHotels National Management Trainee-ship in 2002, Nathan has held senior management roles with AccorHotels in both Australia and New Zealand with experience in managing economy, mid-scale and luxury hotels. Nathan was appointed to his current position in May 2017. Nathan is passionate about driving destination visitation and is intrigued by the ever-changing landscape with regard to technology in hotels.  

Kristy Bailey

Kristy has more than 20 years’ experience in strategic marketing, communications and PR within the tourism industry and continues this industry involvement as Director of both Swan River Seaplanes and One Eighty Marketing. She holds a range of qualifications including a Diploma in Tourism and a Masters in Marketing and additionally holds membership with several professional organisations including the Australian Marketing Institute where she is a recognised Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM). Throughout her career she has represented businesses from all aspects of the tourism industry including retail and wholesale travel companies, conference and incentive houses, cruise operators, tour operators and luxury resorts.

Alec Coles

Alec Coles is CEO of the Western Australian Museum which has branches in Perth, Fremantle, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Albany, and Carnarvon, and also works in communities throughout WA. He was, previously, Director of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, in North East England and before that, the CEO of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust. He has led the development of the WA Museum Boola Bardip; a $400 million project, completed in November 2020. Coles is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia.

He has held many non-executive positions and is the current Chair of the Partners’ Council of the Western Australian Biodiversity Sciences Institute. He is also the Chair of the Finance and Resources Committee of the International Council of Museums and a former Chair of ICOM Australia. Coles was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2010. In 2021, he was named Western Australian of the Year in the Arts and Culture category.

Kate Holsgrove

Kate Holsgrove has been the Chief Commercial Officer at Perth Airport since February 2019 where she leads the Retail, Ground Transport, Customer Experience, Marketing & Digital teams. An experienced retail and property professional with more than 15 years’ experience in senior leadership and multi-site roles, Kate was previously Regional Manager WA for Scentre Group (owner & manager of Westfield shopping centres) having returned to WA in 2015 after holding various Regional Manager roles in both Sydney and Canberra. Kate holds a Masters in Business Administration, is a licensed Real Estate agent, and company director.

Andrew Lane

Andrew commenced his formal tourism career in WA at the Perth Convention Bureau in the mid 90's securing MICE business from South East Asia. From there he spent several years at Tourism Australia in Sydney in a range of senior management roles, including a stint in their US office working with key industry wholesalers and distribution partners. After leaving Tourism Australia, Andrew helped establish an online booking platform (V3), heading up their East Coast operations.

The platform was involved heavily in trying to expand the online environment to a broader tourism base, including smaller accommodation providers as well as tours, attractions & events. After seven years with V3, Andrew decided to move back to WA and took a brief time out of the tourism industry, establishing a commercial building business that focussed on building key tourism assets, including The Como Hotel, Elizabeth Quay and Crown Towers. Now as General Manager of SeaLink (WA) Andrew is responsible for repositioning Captain Cook Cruises as a key tourism asset for the State, as well as establishing a new service to Rottnest Island (Sealink Rottnest).

Carol McCracken

Carol has worked in roles ranging from large international organisations that included being a Duty Airport Manager for Qantas Airways at London Heathrow Airport to working in smaller family businesses including National Manager, Business Development for Cable Beach Club and Head of Marketing & Communications for Willie Creek Pearls. Having spent her working life in the tourism industry, Carol has gained knowledge and expertise in strategic direction, tactical marketing, sales, business development, and business events.

Mike McKenna

Mike McKenna joined VenuesLive at Optus Stadium in November 2016 as Chief Executive Officer following more than eleven years on the Executive Team at Cricket Australia. 

In his time at Cricket Australia, Mike was responsible for marketing, venue operations, commercial revenue, event management and promotion of all forms of cricket. Mike was responsible for the development of the men's and women's Big Bash League.

Prior to joining Cricket Australia, Mike was General Manager Commercial Operations with Essendon Football Club, National Marketing Manager for professional services firm Arthur Andersen, and held a variety of sales and marketing roles with Black and Decker and Carter Holt Harvey.

As Chief Executive Officer of Optus Stadium, Mike leads a team of professionals who are responsible for operating the venue on behalf of the Government of Western Australia, attracting and delivering world-class sport and entertainment experiences for a local, national and international audience. 

Vivienne McEvoy

Vivienne McEvoy has been involved in tourism since her arrival in Kununurra in 2009, where she gained a great deal of knowledge and understanding from the then Slingair/Heliwork (now Aviair) as the Reservations Manager and Operations Manager between 2009 and 2014. She has been the General Manager at Kununurra Visitor Centre on two occasions, between 2015 and 2018, and returning in 2021 (current), and is very passionate about the region and experiences on offer and visitor servicing.

Ms McEvoy is currently the Vice Chair of Visitor Centres WA, representing the voices of the visitor centres in Australia’s North West and sits on a number of committees in the region that support Kununurra. She represents the Kununurra Visitor Centre on the East Kimberley Marketing Group and recently joined the Board of Directors of Ord Valley Events, organisers of the Ord Valley Muster.

Robert Taylor

Robert is Nhanda, Yamaji heritage. He has been in the Hospitality Industry for over 30 years. In this time, he has owned, run and managed businesses in the hospitality, tourism, mining, and construction industries.

Robert became CEO of WAITOC in 2015. In this time, with the support of the board and his team he has successfully delivered the Aboriginal Tourism Development Program growing 39 new Aboriginal businesses across WA.

He has increased funding to enhance member business outcomes by over 300% and drives to create opportunities for Aboriginal people at a State, National and International level. Under his direction, WAITOC have successfully secured the World Indigenous Tourism Summit for Perth and continues to create new partnerships with prospective stakeholders to improve cultural understanding, respect and positive social outcomes for the Australian Aboriginal People.