QPAC CEO John Kotzas to step down after 15 years

After 35 years at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and a decade-and-a-half in the top job, John Kotzas is ready to hand over the reins of the state icon. Find out why.

QPAC CEO John Kotzas. Picture: Steve Pohlner

He’s brought some of the best ballets in the world to Brisbane, doubled audience attendance by attracting visitors from across the country and helped sell more than $1 billion worth of tickets, now QPAC boss John Kotzas is ready to take his final bow.

The CEO of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre has announced he is officially stepping down from the role he’s held for 15 years, and away from the organisation he’s been a part of for three-and-a-half decades.

“I’ve done the big things that I wanted to do here and it’s just time I think,” the 68-year-old said.

QPAC CEO John Kotzas will step down from the top job. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Mr Kotzas, who helped launch the internationally renowned Out of the Box Festival and Brisbane Festival, said he wanted to spend more time with family, in particular his 14-year-old and 16-year-old children, taking them fishing and even indulging in some cooking lessons.

“My wife is really busy – she’s got her own business – so maybe I’ll stay at home and support the family a bit more,” he said.

He would also be open to perhaps board positions or a role combining both his love of education – his first career – and the arts, though in a much more minor capacity than his current seven-day-a-week gig.

Mr Kotzas navigated QPAC through two floods (in 2011 and 2022) and a pandemic to achieve an annual attendance of more than 1.2 million patrons, and was even appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to the arts. But he considered his greatest achievement to be helping put QPAC on the map as an arts and cultural tourism mecca for Brisbane.

“It is about shifting people’s perception of our city and our state and I’ve really enjoyed that,” he said.

Mr Kotzas will continue in the role until December next year, when QPAC’s new 1500-seat theatre is due to open, making it the largest performing arts centre in the southern hemisphere. Applications for his successor are now open, with the Board of Trustees to decide who will fill the position.

While Mr Kotzas won’t have a say in who takes on the role next, nor does he have any favourite candidates, he offered this piece of advice for his replacement: “Be bold and be generous. Image that Brisbane and Queensland is the centre of the world”.