Executive moves at TEG, Adelaide Festival, AMA & more
The music industry never sleeps.
While many of us have been bunkered down in isolation, stuck at our desks or lucky enough to sneak away for a cross border holiday over the silly season, organisations big and small have been making moves in preparation for the year ahead.
These were the executive changes announced over that period:
TEG
As Sydney-based TEG expands into the US, it added high-profile executive Randy Phillips to its board.
Phillips was CEO at AEG Live and music event producer LiveStyle, Inc. He managed or co-managed Lionel Richie, Usher and Toni Braxton, and produced films featuring Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry.
His role at TEG is advisory and operational, and he will work alongside TEG Los Angeles-based executive Amos Pizzey. The latter founded the leading branding and sponsorship agency Talenthouse.
Phillips led TEG’s role on behalf of DONDA Touring in producing the Kanye ‘Ye’ West December 9 benefit show in LA with Drake to raise awareness for prison and sentencing reform.
Adelaide Festival
Kath M. Mainland takes over as chief executive of the Adelaide Festival from April.
She was most recently executive director and co-CEO of Melbourne’s RISING, formerly the Melbourne International Arts Festival, and chair of Regional Arts Victoria.
Being CEO of the world’s largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; and administrative director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, led to her being made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to culture in Scotland in 2014.
Ten Days On The Island
Director, writer and producer Sally Richardson was appointed executive producer of Tasmanian festival Ten Days On The Island.
She will work on the 2023 festival alongside artistic director Lindy Hume AM, who said Richardson brought “a wealth of experience, ideas, empathy and deep understanding of collaboration and community” to the role.
Australian Music Association
Long time Australian Music Association (AMA) executive officer Rob Walker has stepped down to focus on playing bass.
A member of an early incarnation of Australian Crawl, Walker plays in Hunters and Collectors member Jack Howard’s The Ambassadors of Love and The Long Lost Brothers.
The association presented him with a special limited edition model Cole Clark guitar.
AMA’s new president Anthony Ursino (Macron Music) takes over from Michael Shade (Yamaha Music Australia).
QPAC
Jono Perry returns to Brisbane from Sydney, where he was GM of Theatre Royal, to take over as executive director of curatorial at QPAC (The Queensland Performing Arts Centre).
Perry worked for 23 years curating, producing and managing large-scale arts programs for festivals, arts companies and theatres.
Barossa Contemporary
Lightning director and independent producer Craig Harrison is the new executive producer of Barossa Contemporary, a food, wine, art and live performance festival in South Australia’s Barossa Valley.
Harrison’s three-decade involvement in the arts included being a programmer at Adelaide Festival Centre and Country Arts SA and stints at Arts SA and circus troupe Gravity & Other Myths.
Music For Canberra
Shane Dobbin returned from a long stint in the arts in the Middle East to take on the role of CEO for community group Music for Canberra.
Chamber of Arts and Culture WA
Kim Jameson begins as executive director at the Chamber of Arts and Culture WA on January 31.
The Chamber is a not-for-profit voice for WA’s sector to debate and action major issues.
Jameson’s background in arts and culture, local government and education included being community lead at the City of Canning and executive director at Art On The Move.