Johnny Allen was director of the Australian Centre for Event Management (ACEM) at the University of Technology, Sydney. He was event manager for the Darling Harbour Authority from 1989 until 1996, and has an extensive career in event planning. Prior to his position at the ACEM, he was the special event manager for Tourism New South Wales. Johnny has now retired but remains involved with event management and event education. William Oa Toole has been creating and managing events for over 30 years. He has developed courses in event project management for a number of universities, including his alma mater, the University of Sydney. He trains event managers in countries around the world, such as Malaysia, Bahrain, the USA, China and the European Union countries. His company, EPMS, has worked with organisations as diverse as the Australia Taxation Office and the Al Ain Economic Development Department (UAE) to develop their event management systems. Currently, he is the senior adviser to the International Event Management Body of Knowledge project based in the USA, the United Kingdom and South Africa. Rob Harris is a senior lecturer and director of continuing professional education at the school of Leisure, Sport and Tourism at the University of Technology, Sydney. He has been involved in event management, training and research for the past nine years, and has developed undergraduate, postgraduate and TAFE programs in the area. He is also a founding director of the New South Wales Festivals and Events Association and a member of the editorial board of the academic journal, Event Management. Ian McDonnell is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Businessa s School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism at the University of Technology, Sydney, where he teaches management and marketing of leisure and tourism services.
