Board of Directors

John is the Chief Executive Officer for Experience Gold Coast - a recently established new entity focused on driving tourism, events, arts and culture, and education outcomes for the City of Gold Coast. John has had an extensive executive and non-executive career across Hospitality, sport, tourism, executive search, business consulting, and in the retail property sector spanning over 25 years. He has held senior roles with global hotel chain Accor as COO, executive search firm Odgers Berndtson, and Westfield (Scentre Group) at Group Executive level. He has worked for other iconic Australian brands including David Jones and Westpac, and earlier in his career worked in investment banking in the UK.

John has held a number of other non-executive roles. Formerly based in Sydney, he is the immediate past Chairman of the NSW Government’s lead tourism agency Destination NSW, and was also the youngest ever Chairman of Cricket NSW, a role he held from early 2013 to June 2018. He also served on the Bradman Foundation as Deputy Chairman from 2019 to 2022.

John completed the esteemed Stanford Executive Program (SEP) at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, in Silicon Valley, California, USA. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders, a Fellow of the Customer Service Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Michael Dobbie-Bridges is a distinguished Paralympian and a trailblazer in adaptive sports, representing Australia in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and six World Cups in wheelchair tennis. He is the current Head Coach and 3-time All Australian for Queensland in AFL Wheelchair and was named the 2024 AFL Disability Inclusion Ambassador of the Year for his leadership in growing the game across Queensland. 

Currently, Michael is a Director at Create Advisory, where he works with clients to make our communities and services more accessible through strategy design and implementation, managing complex stakeholders and engaging communities through co-design.  His extensive professional background includes holding senior positions in both the public and private sectors, showcasing his versatility and leadership.

Michael has served as Chairperson of Sporting Wheelies & Disabled Association and as a Board Director at Disability Employment Australia. 

Mary-Ann is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of FleetCrew, a market-leading 4WD hire business which services Australia’s eastern states in a broad range of industries including mining, construction, renewables and government. She has extensive executive experience within the 4WD commercial fleet rental market as well as being a pioneer in this field. Mary-Ann’s leadership style is results-driven with the strategic and operational experience to turn a vision into a commercially successful operation. In her previous corporate positions she has played a pivotal role in the acquisition and merger of companies, tasked with the corporatization and rebranding of the merged entities. She is strong advocate for women in business providing coaching and mentoring to small business owners.

Mary-Ann is active in the community and was recognised with an Australia Day Certificate of Achievement in 2023 for the commitment she has shown to a number of organisations and charities, including the Carers Foundation, Man Up, A Brave Life, All Abilities Australia and Down Syndrome Queensland. She is a Board Member of the NOW Business Network and regularly volunteers her time sponsoring, organising and hosting charitable events.

Stephen is the Managing Director of BMS Group, a global broker that provides specialist insurance, reinsurance and capital markets advisory services. Prior to his corporate career, Stephen had 15 years in professional rugby. Stephen is the only Australian hooker to have played 100 Tests and is one of the only two players in Australian Rugby history to have earned the rare distinction of 100 Test and 150 Super Rugby appearances. He is Australia’s most capped Super Rugby player of all time and is third behind James Slipper and George Gregan for Test appearances in Australia. Stephen played a total of 129 Tests for the Wallabies including 24 as Captain. Key highlights including winning the 2011 Tri-Nations Trophy and Captain of the Wallabies at the 2015 Rugby World Cup where they unfortunately lost to the All Blacks in the Final.

Stephen was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2019 in recognition of his “significant service to rugby union, and to charitable organisations”. In recent years, Stephen was a board member of Lifeline Canberra, Invictus Australia, and Ronald McDonald House SEQ. He currently acts as a Trustee of the board of Brisbane Grammar School. He holds an undergraduate qualification in Biomedical Science for the University of Queensland.

Brendan is an experienced Board, Investment and Remuneration Committee Member with over 14 years as Director and Deputy Chair, as well as 25 years in Senior Executive roles from General Manager to Chief Executive Officer. Brendan holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA), is a Graduate from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and has undertaken various courses in Strategic Management from Wharton Business School and Leading and Building an Innovative Culture from Harvard Business School. His contemporary and innovative leadership capability is integrated with strong governance, strategy and business growth success, while his professional experience has provided an understanding of owning and investing into both private and listed company structures. 

Former Mayor of Noosa Shire, Clare Stewart, is a former barrister at law, published author, former nationally accredited mediator, keynote speaker, wife and mother. She graduated from the University of Qld with a Bachelor of Business (Management) (1997), attended Bond University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 2000 and soon after took up a position with KPMG. Following a catastrophic accident, she continued her professional formation and was admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2001 and was called to the Private Bar in Qld as a Barrister at Law in 2008.  In 2013 her autobiography (Standing On My Own Two Feet) written in her maiden name was published, documenting a life-changing event that left her with lifetime disability. She also holds a graduate diploma in legal practice and a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Sydney. In 2017 Clare developed the online women’s network platform ‘dear molly’ which inspires, informs and connects women across the globe. Clare is a Board Director of the Not- for-Profit charity Youngcare. During her term as Mayor she was a Director of South-East Qld Council of Mayors and in July 2022 was appointed by her fellow Mayors to the Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She resides in Noosa Shire with her husband and three children. Clare was elected Mayor of Noosa Council in the 2020 Local Government elections. She is first woman to hold the position. In December 2024 Clare was appointed as the incoming CEO of Youngcare. Her tenure starts in February 2025.

Debra Rains is owner/manager of Gallivanter Travel, a regional travel agency group with stores in Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton.

With over 37 years in business, Debbie has managed to evolve and change her travel business to stay relevant. 

Being a firm believer in giving back to her community, Debbie has been involved in many not for profit boards and committees and is currently

a Foundation Member of the Townsville Business Women's Circle and Food Relief NQ board member. Previous roles include past president of the Townsville Chamber of Commerce, Townsville Grammar School trustee, Board Member Dance North, President Townsville Business Women's Network, Member Reconstruction Advisory Board Townsville post-flood recovery, PNG and Singapore Economic Development Committee and Townsville Port Authority.