After an extraordinary 30-year career at ASM Global, Geoff Donaghy will step down from his full-time role as CEO of ICC Sydney and group director – Convention Centres, ASM Global (APAC) this month.
ICC Sydney’s team has honoured Donaghy’s legacy by creating the ‘Geoff Donaghy Leadership Award’ category in the internal Extraordinaires Awards programme.
Donaghy started his career as a school teacher who then moved to the tourism sector through airline and then hotel industry roles, before being appointed general manager of the Tourism Tropical North Queensland (tourism and convention) bureau in 1989.
He joined today’s ASM Global in 1994 to open the Cairns Convention Centre, before moving to Brisbane to lead the opening of Suncorp Stadum as CEO in June 2023.
Under his direction,Donaghy curated the team that would eventually open International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) in December 2016.
Under his stewardship, ICC Sydney’s team delivered over 3,665 events that attracted 6.4 million visitors who contributed A$3.9 billion (US$2.6 million) in economic benefit to the local economy to date. Across his time at the helm of ICC Sydney, he and his team have received 95 industry awards, achieved an average delegate satisfaction rating of 97.4 per cent and 98.2 per cent client satisfaction rating.
ICC Sydney was the first convention centre to release a Reconciliation Action Plan and a Disability Inclusion Action Plan, reach Silver Tier status in Pride in Diversity’s Australian Workplace Equality Index, among other leading campaigns such as its Feeding your Performance philosophy and client Legacy Program.
