Jacinta Reddan announced as new Advance Cairns CEO, to begin role in October 2022
A new CEO with global connections will take the helm of a Cairns advocacy group and has hinted how she hopes to leverage that network. Check out what her focus will be.
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ECONOMIC development organisation and advocacy body Advance Cairns has revealed accomplished corporate leader Jacinta Reddan as its new CEO.
The former CEO of Australian Chamber of Commerce and head of Asia-Pacific communications and marketing at two global corporations begins the role on October 4, bringing a plethora of industry and leadership experience to one of Cairns most influential roles.
Ms Reddan acknowledged the broad portfolio of interests her new organisation has, as well as the variety of challenges the region faces, and said listening to key stakeholders would be her immediate focus.
“Advance Cairns is an ambitious organisation and is ambitious for the region. That made this role particularly interesting to me,” she said.
“I look forward to working with all the stakeholders so that together we build a strong vision for the region.”
While Ms Reddan, who currently lives in Hong Kong, was careful not to articulate a specific agenda, she hinted at leveraging her extensive international network to attract more international visitation to FNQ and said she looked forward to working with organisations such as TTNQ.
“I hope that I can draw upon my networks, tourism background and advocacy work,” she said.
“I’d like to see how I can tap into my Asia-Pacific network, particularly as the world reconnects coming out of Covid and as airlines are looking to re-establish routes that have been put on hold.
“Tourists are returning … business is back, how can we capture that?”
Advance Cairns executive chairman Nick Trompf said the organisation had attracted the most qualified CEO in its history.
“Jacinta will be a great asset to have on our team and for the region,” he said.
“Attracting talent such as Jacinta is a really good case study of the opportunity that lies ahead of us now.
“Post Covid, people realise they can live and work in one of the greatest places in Australia … a place with tremendous lifestyle and tremendous career opportunity.”
Advance Cairns recently made a submission to the federal budget process that advocated for investment in key industries such as tourism and health. Mr Trompf said the organisation is now in the early stages of reviewing its advocacy priorities.
“I expect you will see quite a number of new advocacy priorities in the infrastructure and policy space come onto our agenda,” Mr Trompf said.
“They’ll take into account potentially some social considerations … but importantly too some sustainability issues.
“That’s something our organisation probably hasn’t been as focused on as it could have been over the years. We’ve been very successful in the world of steel and concrete, but I think this region needs and demands more than just that from an organisation like ours.”
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Originally published as Jacinta Reddan announced as new Advance Cairns CEO, to begin role in October 2022