Tourism Australia’s Andrew McEvoy to lead Fairfax Media’s events push
Andrew McEvoy
The highly regarded boss of Tourism Australia Andrew McEvoy is to leave the organisation to head up Fairfax Media’s events division.
McEvoy’s move will see him given a brief to grow Fairfax Media’s events portfolio which includes the likes of the City2Surf run in Sydney and the AFR’s Women of Influence programme.
During McEvoy’s time at the helm, the organisation brought Oprah Winfrey to Australia, launched the new “There’s nothing like Australia” positioning and transitioned its global advertising account from DDB to Clemenger BBDO.
McEvoy – who is also a previous CEO of the South Australian Tourism Commission will join Fairfax at the start of the year.
Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood crossed paths with McEvoy in the tourism industry. Before joining the Fairfax board, Hywood had been CEO of Tourism Victoria.
Hywood said in a statement: “We are delighted Andrew is joining Fairfax. I have worked closely with Andrew in the past and am a great admirer of his leadership and innovative capability. His knowledge of the tourism, events and conference industries is second to none.”
“Andrew’s brief is to rapidly develop what is already a core strength of Fairfax Media. Events are a growth sector in the Australian economy and Andrew’s appointment will drive new revenue and greatly enhance Fairfax’s performance in the sector.
“Fairfax is already a leading organiser of mass participation and corporate events, leveraging our broad audience reach and capabilities. Our events include the SMH City2Surf and Night Noodle Markets, the AFR’s Women of Influence, and a range of business media forums and conferences, and regional events and field days.”
McEvoy said: “I’m excited by the opportunity to join Fairfax as it seeks to grow revenue in areas that capitalise on core strengths such as events and content creation.”
McEvoy began his working life as a journalist with News Limited.
Tourism Australia chairman Geoff Dixon said in a statement that McEvoy had been an outstanding CEO and a search for a replacement would commence immediately. Dixon said: “Andrew has been an outstanding CEO for Tourism Australia, greatly strengthening the organisation both strategically and operationally, and putting in place a strong and committed management team.”
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Tim Burrowes
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Andrew has been great for Tourism. He has served us well. Congratulations on the new appointment.
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One of the very best – he has certainly made his mark! Congratulations to Fairfax and Andrew.
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What a very odd decision. Fairfax is making really weird calls these days and very expensive ones.
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Great move, top bloke. Congratulations.
Macca is a class act and he has formed a stunning partnership with TA Chair, Geoff Dixon. His departure is a big loss for the agency and they will need to work hard to replace him as he heads off to help Greg Hywood turn Fairfax around – (another bloke with a journalism and tourism background.) cb
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“SMH City2Surf”? I think you will find that’s The Sun-Herald City2Surf Greg. Wozers.
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It seems odd to me that Fairfax can justify a big salary for this sort of gig. Events are very hard to make profitable and the market is very well supplied with knowledgeable players. The starting revenue is reportedly $25m which us peanuts for what is a low margin business.
There must be more to this?
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@Numbers man
Events are not meant to be profitable, it’s about exposure. Every Fairfax outlet champions some kind of fun-run in its home city, then plugs the crap out of it.
Keep an eye out for the number of Fairfax ‘news stories’ leading up to one. Some poor cadet will get tasked with coming up with dozens of yarns to promote the promotion in the news pages.
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Tourism’s loss is Media’s gain. Either way, Australia wins. Fairfax have chosen the best man for the job. Whether the job will be his best or a test, time alone will tell. Wish Andrew well.
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@Ex Ex
I think you’d better check out Hywood’s strategy statements. He reckons this is one of his main plugs for the revenue holes. (Not saying I’m buying that, rather that I cannot understand how McEvoy fits or how they can afford him.)
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