Brendan McClements became Chief Executive Officer of Visit Victoria in December 2019.

 His appointment followed local and international leadership positions held with commercial organisations and government entities across a range of sectors, including sport, major events, financial services and food and beverage.   

 Before joining Visit Victoria, Brendan was the Global Head of Events for TLA Worldwide (2016-2019) and the CEO of the Victorian Government’s Victorian Major Events Company (VMEC) for nine years from 2007. During Brendan’s VMEC tenure, Victoria acquired the 2015 Cricket World Cup, 2015 International Champions Cup (football) and Melbourne Winter Masterpieces Exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria, with each of these major events and attractions reinforcing Victoria’s acclaim as a global events and arts capital. Brendan also initiated and oversaw the creation of Victoria’s renowned White Night event.  

 Prior to this, he was General Manager of Corporate Affairs at the International Cricket Council (London and Dubai) from 2002 to 2006, and at Cricket Australia (CA) as Head of Public Affairs (1999 – 2002). Brendan was also the Australian Marketing Manager at Norwich Union (now Aviva), and with Carlton & United Breweries. He began his career at Basketball Australia.

Brendan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Communication and Media Studies) from RMIT University.

Julia Swanson was appointed CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) in 2019. 

Since joining MCB in 2010, Julia has led the business development, bidding, convention servicing, research and Government relations teams on the successful acquisition and delivery of some of the world’s largest and most prestigious business events. She has personally led the bids for some of the most highly acclaimed global medical conferences including the International AIDS Conference 2014, World Congress of Cardiology 2014 and the World Congress of Nephrology 2019.  

In 2020 Julia was appointed to the Leadership Team of The Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB), a demonstration of her leadership and expertise in the business events industry in Australia. She is also currently on the board of the BestCities Global Alliance.  

Prior to joining MCB, Julia was the Area Director of Sales and Marketing VIC/SA/WA with IHG (InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels) overseeing the Sales and Marketing performance of 8 hotels as well as new hotel openings across the region. 

Julia holds a Bachelor of Business (Catering and Hotel Management) and a Masters of Business (Hospitality and Tourism Marketing). Her sales experience includes 13 years’ experience in a number of international hotel chains.

Kelly Dickson is the Director, Major Events at Visit Victoria. 

In this role, Kelly leads the Major Events division in attracting a strong pipeline of events to Melbourne and regional Victoria, and maximising the benefit of the state’s diverse, year-round calendar. 

Kelly is a deeply experienced major event professional. Most recently, she was Director, Commercial and Growth at Auckland Unlimited – the body responsible for Auckland City Council’s extensive investment in a portfolio of activities covering economic development, events, attractions, stadiums and facilities, and tourism. 

Prior to this, Kelly provided strategic advisory services to the sport, art and entertainment industries in Australia and internationally through the company she founded, Kelly and Company Advisory. 

She had a 10-year tenure in senior leadership roles with the Victorian Major Events Company including as Chief Executive. 

Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) from RMIT University.

Shae Keenan was appointed Chief Marketing Officer of Visit Victoria in 2021. 

 Shae has an extensive marketing career spanning two decades at Visit Victoria and Tourism Victoria. She brings a deep understanding of the travel and tourism industries, government, marketing trends and the Victorian tourism landscape. 

 Shae has held senior leadership positions at Visit Victoria including as acting CMO (2020-21) and Head of Marketing Communication and Customer Experience (2018-20). She initiated the development and delivery of the ‘Click for Vic’ and ‘Stay close, go further’ campaigns, encouraging Victorian to buy locally and travel within the state in response to challenges brought about by the 2019/20 summer bushfires in regional Victoria and the coronavirus pandemic. 

 As Group Manager Regional Marketing (2009-18), Shae developed Tourism Victoria’s comprehensive and integrated regional marketing strategy including implementation of major brand campaigns and cooperative marketing programs. Prior to this, she was Regional Marketing Manager (2006-09).  

 Shae holds a Bachelor of Business Marketing from Monash University and is a member of the Australian Marketing Institute.

Holly Little is Director of Corporate Relations at Visit Victoria. 

In this role, she leads the development and delivery of Visit Victoria’s stakeholder engagement and strategic communication strategy. 

Holly is a corporate communication specialist with a background in journalism. She was a television reporter and producer with Southern Cross Austereo (2010-2012) and Ten News (2012-13). 

In 2014, Holly entered government, initially with the Country Fire Authority, where she led a range of complex communication strategies for bushfires and other emergency management responses.  

In 2015, Holly moved into the Office of the Premier as Media Adviser and in 2018 became a Policy Adviser in the Office of the Attorney-General.  

Holly holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) from RMIT University. 

Su Ann Teoh is the General Counsel and Director of Corporate Operations at Visit Victoria. In this role, Su Ann is responsible for the legal, finance and people & culture functions. 

Su Ann started her legal career as a corporate lawyer working at major law firms in Melbourne and Singapore.  After moving in-house, Su Ann has had an extensive career as an in-house lawyer working across a variety of private and public industry sectors including working for global multinationals in the food industry and heavy manufacturing industry and in public health in Victoria. 

Su Ann holds a Bachelor of Law (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia.

Anthony is the Director of Strategy & Planning at Visit Victoria.

Anthony has an extensive career in public and private sectors, across tourism, sport and the gambling sectors. With a focus on delivery, he has worked on policy and transformation projects, as well as providing in depth advice on government engagement.

Prior to joining Visit Victoria, Anthony led the Government Relations and Infrastructure team at Cricket Victoria (2017-19), where he delivered record investment into cricket infrastructure and championed investment into women’s cricket and facilities. He also held the role as Senior Advisor to the Victorian Attorney General and Minister for Racing (2015-17).

Anthony also played a key role in the development and implementation of the new licensing and policy framework for the Victorian wagering licence at the Department of Justice and Regulation (2005-12) and led a team implementing a new licensing monitoring structure at the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (2012-14).

 Anthony holds a Bachelor of Business (International Business) from Charles Sturt University.

Chris Rundle is the Director of Digital, Data & Insights at Visit Victoria.

In this role, Chris leads the organisation’s strategies for digital, data and insights, customer relationship management (CRM) and technology platforms.

Chris is a customer-focused digital marketing and technology leader with more than 20 years’ experience in travel and tourism, banking and retail industries. He has extensive experience leading teams in major digital transformation projects and change management initiatives in agile-working environments. 

Prior to joining Visit Victoria in 2019, Chris spent seven years with ANZ Banking Group working in customer loyalty, credit cards, personal loans and on major digital, data and technology-focused projects.

His other senior roles have been with the Coles Group working on the relaunch of the Flybuys customer rewards program from 2009-12, and at Choice Hotels International in Australia, New Zealand and Europe/UK.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Business (Honours) from Monash University.

Julian Major is the Head of Research & Insights at Visit Victoria.

In this role, Julian leads the organisation’s comprehensive research program, including consumer research, visitation measurement and research data subscriptions. This research program provides key business intelligence and market research across Visit Victoria’s Destination Marketing and Major Events teams, supporting business strategy and consumer understanding throughout the organisation.

Julian is a research and insights leader with experience across academic and commercial research. Previously, he worked for the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, the world’s largest centre for research into marketing, and GfK, a global market research firm.

Julian has experience working across a range of sectors and major brands, including Medibank, SEEK, Colgate, Tourism Australia and Federal Government clients. Julian is passionate about marketing effectiveness and has presented at academic conferences and written for B&T magazine.

Julian holds a Masters of Business (Research) and a Bachelor of Marketing and Communication from the University of South Australia.