heads_down
10th May 2009, 20:03
Whereas Borghetti has got no one lining up to employ him, there was no shortage of employers who would pay millions for a prune face incompetent. It was bound to happen all greedy, incompetent ex CEO always get paid very well in high profile jobs long after they leave a huge mess from where they used to work.
In this case, your hard earned tax money goes to this idiot.
Qantas high-flyer Dixon lands Tourism Australia role
FORMER Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon is likely to be appointed deputy chairman of Tourism Australia this week in a boardroom upheaval that will also see two other directors replaced, according to well-placed industry sources.
It comes at a crucial time for the industry, struggling with falling visitor numbers -- down 2 per cent to 5.5 million arrivals for the year ending March.
Mr Dixon, who left Qantas last November, is expected to shake up the culture of the peak federal tourism body.
"Geoff Dixon has a fair idea how TA has been run," one source told The Australian yesterday. "He has a bee in his bonnet about how things should be done and knows exactly how to get what he wants."
Mr Dixon will take over from Andrew Burnes, founder of tour company AOT Group, who has been deputy chairman at TA for more than three years.
Other non-executive directors expected to leave include Peter Burnett, owner operator of the Lord of the Isles Tavern in Victoria's Geelong and director of three hotels in South Australia, and Jane Jeffreys, an executive in organisational management and human resources and chair of the Adelaide Convention Centre.
Former Coles chairman Rick Allert will continue as chairman. He joined in September 2007.
Tourism Victoria CEO Greg Hywood is expected to be appointed managing director, replacing Geoff Buckley who leaves in June after three years.
Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson is due to announce the new directors later this week.
"Mr Ferguson is not in a position to confirm any names," a spokesman for the minister said yesterday. However, the minister has made no secret of his view that TA's "So Where the Bloody Hell Are You?" campaign of 2006-08 was a "dismal" failure.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described it in parliament as a "rolled gold disaster" that had failed to deliver any substantial benefits for the tourism industry.
A former tourism chief said: "The only person who gained personally from the campaign was Lara Bingle who is now the fiancee of cricket's pin-up boy Michael Clarke.".
Tourist arrivals stayed flat during the campaign with 5.6 million visitors for the year ending June 2008 -- similar to the previous year.
TA has come under fire for its $40 million advertising campaign by producer Baz Luhrmann based on his movie Australia. At the launch of the campaign last July, Mr Ferguson warned TA that "their job is to get it right ... we cannot afford more mistakes."
Outgoing managing director Mr Buckley said the campaign had been "going quite well", attracting 130 industry partners to undertake "co-operative activity". "Australia the movie has been seen by more than 25 million people around the world and is one of the best selling DVDs," Mr Buckley said.
Others disagree. Chris Brown, head of lobby group Tourism Task Force, said TA had suffered from a couple of badly managed ad campaigns.
"TA is between a rock and a hard place. It is the guardian of a national brand but it has many stakeholders," he said.
Another tourism insider said it was too early to tell whether the campaign would deliver increased visitors to Australia. "Tourism Australia is funded by $140 million a year of taxpayers' money, of which $90 million is spent on marketing, public relations and advertising campaigns. It's time that backsides are kicked and TA gets it right for a change."
Mr Buckley, who earns $350,000 a year, said: "My job is to understand what the Government wants as TA is a public sector body. But we also have to be commercially astute and work with many industry stakeholders, all of whom have an opinion on how Australia is sold to the rest of the world.
"The industry is under enormous challenges. It is very frustrating that people do not realise that Australia is faring much better than many competitors.
"In the three months to March, visitor numbers to Australia fell by 3 per cent. But our competitors such as Britain, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand numbers have fallen by between 10 and 20 per cent.
"It's true that 'So Where the Bloody Hell Are You' was not successful in Asia but it was relatively successful in Western markets."
Mr Buckley denied that its latest "No Leave No Life" campaign aimed at encouraging more workers to go on domestic holidays had failed to deliver industry partners.
In this case, your hard earned tax money goes to this idiot.
Qantas high-flyer Dixon lands Tourism Australia role
FORMER Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon is likely to be appointed deputy chairman of Tourism Australia this week in a boardroom upheaval that will also see two other directors replaced, according to well-placed industry sources.
It comes at a crucial time for the industry, struggling with falling visitor numbers -- down 2 per cent to 5.5 million arrivals for the year ending March.
Mr Dixon, who left Qantas last November, is expected to shake up the culture of the peak federal tourism body.
"Geoff Dixon has a fair idea how TA has been run," one source told The Australian yesterday. "He has a bee in his bonnet about how things should be done and knows exactly how to get what he wants."
Mr Dixon will take over from Andrew Burnes, founder of tour company AOT Group, who has been deputy chairman at TA for more than three years.
Other non-executive directors expected to leave include Peter Burnett, owner operator of the Lord of the Isles Tavern in Victoria's Geelong and director of three hotels in South Australia, and Jane Jeffreys, an executive in organisational management and human resources and chair of the Adelaide Convention Centre.
Former Coles chairman Rick Allert will continue as chairman. He joined in September 2007.
Tourism Victoria CEO Greg Hywood is expected to be appointed managing director, replacing Geoff Buckley who leaves in June after three years.
Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson is due to announce the new directors later this week.
"Mr Ferguson is not in a position to confirm any names," a spokesman for the minister said yesterday. However, the minister has made no secret of his view that TA's "So Where the Bloody Hell Are You?" campaign of 2006-08 was a "dismal" failure.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described it in parliament as a "rolled gold disaster" that had failed to deliver any substantial benefits for the tourism industry.
A former tourism chief said: "The only person who gained personally from the campaign was Lara Bingle who is now the fiancee of cricket's pin-up boy Michael Clarke.".
Tourist arrivals stayed flat during the campaign with 5.6 million visitors for the year ending June 2008 -- similar to the previous year.
TA has come under fire for its $40 million advertising campaign by producer Baz Luhrmann based on his movie Australia. At the launch of the campaign last July, Mr Ferguson warned TA that "their job is to get it right ... we cannot afford more mistakes."
Outgoing managing director Mr Buckley said the campaign had been "going quite well", attracting 130 industry partners to undertake "co-operative activity". "Australia the movie has been seen by more than 25 million people around the world and is one of the best selling DVDs," Mr Buckley said.
Others disagree. Chris Brown, head of lobby group Tourism Task Force, said TA had suffered from a couple of badly managed ad campaigns.
"TA is between a rock and a hard place. It is the guardian of a national brand but it has many stakeholders," he said.
Another tourism insider said it was too early to tell whether the campaign would deliver increased visitors to Australia. "Tourism Australia is funded by $140 million a year of taxpayers' money, of which $90 million is spent on marketing, public relations and advertising campaigns. It's time that backsides are kicked and TA gets it right for a change."
Mr Buckley, who earns $350,000 a year, said: "My job is to understand what the Government wants as TA is a public sector body. But we also have to be commercially astute and work with many industry stakeholders, all of whom have an opinion on how Australia is sold to the rest of the world.
"The industry is under enormous challenges. It is very frustrating that people do not realise that Australia is faring much better than many competitors.
"In the three months to March, visitor numbers to Australia fell by 3 per cent. But our competitors such as Britain, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand numbers have fallen by between 10 and 20 per cent.
"It's true that 'So Where the Bloody Hell Are You' was not successful in Asia but it was relatively successful in Western markets."
Mr Buckley denied that its latest "No Leave No Life" campaign aimed at encouraging more workers to go on domestic holidays had failed to deliver industry partners.