Big interview
Convention king of Queensland
BOB O’KEEFE AM, GENERAL MANAGER OF BRISBANE CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE (BCEC),
TELLS CMW ABOUT HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER
ow did you first come
into the meetings
industry?
After graduating in
economics from the University of Sydney
and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant,
I was working with an investment
company which specialised in purchasing
under-performing businesses and
transforming them to be sold at a higher
price.
Several years on, after making an offer
to buy another business, that business
made a counter offer and the company I
worked for was sold. I sought something
different and the recently opened Sydney
Convention & Exhibition Centre was
looking for a Finance Director.
It was a great time to join and to meet
the key players in the industry.
My advice to people starting out in this
industry is to find yourself a good mentor.
Also take the opportunity to learn as
much as you can from everyone you work
with. Having sound financial knowledge
is important as it lets you ask the right
questions.
What was an early career challenge?
Moving to Brisbane and opening the
Centre. We were a team of only five, all
having moved from Sydney at the same
time. We were dealing with builders,
architects and government owners who
had hundreds of staff and, as the project
was a design and construction, everything
had to be signed off by us before it could
be built.
We kept focused and made sure that we
worked hard to get all the important
inclusions into the project.
Who was an early mentor and what
important lessons would you pass on
to today’s young industry
professionals?
I have been fortunate to have had a
number of mentors. One was the MD of
the very first company I worked for and
one of the things he taught me was to
strategically leave a pause in conversation
and let other people fill in the gaps.
Moving to Brisbane, initially the
Chairman of South Bank Corporation,
Ron Paul was a great mentor. He was a
very tough but fair businessman and a
particularly strong negotiator.
Harvey Lister and Rod Pilbeam from
ASM Global, Manager of the BCEC, who
I have been fortunate to work with for the
last 25 years. Always ahead of the game
on strategy and innovation, Harvey and
Rod are happy to put their trust in a
management team and are always
available to offer support.
16 /
CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
You are one of Australia’s longest
serving convention centre GMs. It is a
centre that has won the world’s best
convention centre in the AIPC APEX
Awards 2016–2018 – how would you
define your management style?
I am very lucky to work in an industry I
love. I recall in the early days a consultant
who was working with us said ‘life is very
lonely at the top’ and I thought at that
stage that it was not going to be much
fun. Nothing could be further from the
truth.
I found that by employing the right
people and putting my faith in them, we
were able to create a great team and
culture.
What major changes have you seen in
the international venue market in
recent years?
We focus heavily on attracting
/
ISSUE 104
“Cities
and venues
without
a strong
sustainability
baseline will
start to be
left out of
the short and
long lists”
international association conferences, and
we can definitely see the changes in how
these organisations adapt and change in
line with the global economic outlook. As
they work harder to be more relevant to
their members and to thrive, we have seen
a shift in how they want to work and do
business with us – more and more they
are looking for a partnership approach.
We are also seeing a big shift back to
where the environment and sustainability
are key factors in how associations choose
their venues and cities. We will see this
becoming more pointed in the next few
years. Cities and venues without a strong
sustainability baseline will start to be left
out of the short and long lists.
At a building level I think many venues
are thinking more about what it ‘feels’ like
to experience our buildings. Soft design
elements, lighting effects, texture and
natural products have such a direct effect
on how a room or space feels for our
customers and I believe we will continue
to pay attention to that in a much stronger
way.
What venue trends do you see coming
to the fore in 2020 and beyond?
Trends will come and go, particularly in
technology, innovation, food and
sustainability, and I believe Australia will
continue to develop and even lead these
changes. There is no doubt that the speed
in which technology changes impacts the
way we communicate with our clients and
this is one of the areas we see continuing
to move with some pace.
You must be very proud to have
recently received the Member of the
Order of Australia (AM) in the year’s
Australia Day Awards for outstanding
services to tourism and business in