AVRIL HARRIS, the executive who has overseen event strategy for Gold Coast’s destination marketing organisation, is taking up a newly created senior leadership role at the Queensland city’s main business events venue.
Harris, formerly executive director of events at Experience Gold Coast, has been appointed Director of Event Delivery at Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC), where she will lead and integrate the venue’s event, operations and technology functions. The new role has been created to drive innovation and operational excellence as the centre prepares for future growth.
The appointment marks a shift from destination-wide event development to venue operations for one of the city’s most experienced events professionals. During her time at Experience Gold Coast, Harris led event strategy and stakeholder engagement across the city, building extensive experience in the visitor economy, industry partnerships and the broader events sector. She brings more than 20 years of industry experience to the role.
GCCEC general manager, Nick Jeffrey, says the appointment forms part of the venue’s efforts to strengthen its leadership team and operational capability.
“The scale and complexity of our operation require leadership that can connect people, systems and infrastructure around a shared standard of delivery. Avril will play a central role in strengthening how our operational teams work together, building accountability across the centre and ensuring we are well positioned to meet the evolving needs of our clients,” he said.
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In her new role, Harris will oversee the integration of the centre’s event delivery, operations and technology teams as GCCEC seeks to maintain service standards while responding to changing client expectations and industry requirements.
Commenting on her new role, Avril says she is looking forward to building on GCCEC’s strong operational foundations, bringing its teams and functions closer together and ensuring the venue remains equipped to deliver exceptional events as client expectations and industry demands continue to grow.
