BEV BOARD
The Business Events Victoria board is made up of industry representatives from across the state. This provides the organisation with a great network of contacts that the team can access to ensure your event is a success.
The board look forward to welcoming your next event in regional Victoria, where people and ideas meet naturally.
Damien Cerantonio
Great Ocean Road Resort, Great Ocean Road
Chairperson
Damien Cerantonio is the owner of Great Ocean Road Resort and is also the co-founder of Great Ocean Road Private Luxury Tours. Damien is very passionate about the tourism industry and growing both domestic and international visitation numbers to the regions.
Currently, Damien oversees the day to day operations of Great Ocean Road Resort including 35 accommodation rooms, conference facilities, restaurant, day spa centre, trampoline park and health club.
He resides in Anglesea and is passionate about the spectacular Great Ocean Road region and enjoys keeping fit by playing local football and running and enjoys playing a round of golf.
Anthony Nicolaci
Greater Shepparton City Council, The Murray
Deputy Chairperson
Anthony is the Manager of Economic Development with the Greater Shepparton City Council where he leads a team which includes the Tourism and Major Events portfolio, and oversees a diverse visitor economy program that includes destination marketing, visitor servicing, visitor experience, tourism development and projects, cbd revitalisation, international relations, business and industry attraction, event venues, event acquisitions, major events and business events.
During his tenure at Greater Shepparton City Council he has driven the strategic direction of the region helping transform the visitor economy program which now has an enviable major events calendar with a plethora of state, national and international events and an ever increasing visitor footprint with over of 1 million visitors annually generating $170 million into the economy and helping to position Greater Shepparton as a leading regional destination.
Anthony’s employment with Greater Shepparton City Council spans for over a decade featuring various roles including tourism, marketing, major events, business events, sport and recreation. Prior to this he had event roles at Racing Victoria and Essendon Football Club.
He has a double degree in arts and business with majors in events and marketing and has a real passion for events in regional Victoria.
Angela Cleland
Mornington Peninsula Tourism, Mornington Peninsula
Treasurer
Angela Cleland is the Chief Executive Officer of Mornington Peninsula Regional Tourism and a Board Member of Go Beyond Melbourne with over 17 years of tourism and event experience. Angela has also held previous Executive Board roles, including Treasurer for Riding for the Disabled Victoria and other community and local sporting clubs. Angela’s prior leadership experience includes General Manager Mornington – Melbourne Racing Club, Financial Controller Mornington – Racing Victoria and multiple roles with KPMG. Over her career, Angela has played a crucial role in growing major and business commercial events and business mergers/acquisitions. A Chartered Accountant, Angela is the current Treasurer for the Board and has a Double Degree in Commerce and Computing (Information Systems), Post Graduate Advanced Applied Finance and an Executive MBA in Brand. Angela is keen to see the Business Events sector grow in regional Victoria and be recognised for its importance in the fabric of regional communities.
Faye Hendricksen
Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges
General Committee
Faye has extensive experience within the Victorian tourism industry in both domestic and international markets, and is passionate about business events.
At Rochford Wines, Faye delivers outstanding events to the corporate sector, including team building, development of incentive products and conferencing that delivers positive results for the entire Yarra Valley region.
Faye’s goal is to continually better her industry knowledge in order to achieve viable and sustainable results
David Elder
Destination Gippsland, Gippsland
General Committee
David has over 15 years senior leadership experience in tourism, hospitality roles, 10 years in Local Government and 5 years in marketing executive roles.   This experience includes private, not for profit, government, and NGOs and whilst most roles have been in Regional Victoria, there’s also international and city experience. I have a Bachelor of Business degree with majors in Tourism Management and Human Resource Management.
A common thread throughout my career has been the delivery, development, and attraction of events. My current role is as Project Manager, Events Gippsland working on the implementation of the Gippsland Regional Events Strategy. The Strategy see’s all 6 Local Government Areas across Gippsland coming together with a single voice for the attraction and development of a balanced calendar of events. My employer, Destination Gippsland, is the Regional Tourism Board for the Gippsland region.
Mark O'Shaughnessy
Sovereign Hill, The Goldfields
General Committee
Mark has more than 20 years of experience across hospitality, events and banking, including senior leadership in the finance sector. He applies commercial and data driven thinking to the visitor economy. Mark’s expertise spans strategy, B2B sales, group and corporate events, partner development, and CRM implementation. His strengths include sales leadership, planning, pricing, stakeholder management, product development, project management, and reporting and analytics. Mark has a deep understanding of business events across client engagement, sales, coordination and delivery. He is based in Ballarat. He is committed to growing Victoria’s regional business events market.
Rohan Gow
Northern Grampians Shire Council, Grampians
General Committee
Rohan is a Grampians–Halls Gap resident and currently serves as Recovery Lead and Economic Development Lead with the Northern Grampians Shire Council. He has extensive senior executive experience with leading Australian and New Zealand brands, including Rip Curl, The Nuance Group, Fletcher Jones, and Target. Rohan also has experience as a property and project consultant, giving him a strong understanding of economic drivers that shape regional development and the visitor economy. His insight into the intersection of tourism, events, and lifestyle retail gives him a unique perspective on how regional economies can grow through business events. We’re delighted to have Rohan representing the Grampians region on the Business Events Victoria Board.
Tamie Ryan
Meet Geelong and The Bellarine, Geelong & The Bellarine
General Committee
Rohan is a Grampians–Halls Gap resident and currently serves as Recovery Lead and Economic Development Lead with the Northern Grampians Shire Council. He has extensive senior executive experience with leading Australian and New Zealand brands, including Rip Curl, The Nuance Group, Fletcher Jones, and Target. Rohan also has experience as a property and project consultant, giving him a strong understanding of economic drivers that shape regional development and the visitor economy. His insight into the intersection of tourism, events, and lifestyle retail gives him a unique perspective on how regional economies can grow through business events. We’re delighted to have Rohan representing the Grampians region on the Business Events Victoria Board.