The TravMedia Summit

Chris Jeffares is a high-energy speaker who brings a unique perspective to the collision of content, brands and audiences. He is a Director at creative advisory business, INDIE.C, and sits on the Collective for leading AI agency, Time Under Tension. With a 20-year career in Marketing & Media, starting in PR, he has worked across Australia and Asia Pacific, helping over 150 brands bring their story to audiences and customers, most recently, as Managing Partner at SAFARI, a specialist tourism, adventure and lifestyle content production company. They were launched to embrace the global movement of ‘experience culture’ and worked for Visit Victoria, Destination NSW, Anaconda, Mountain Designs, Great Ocean Road Tourism, Wanaka, Ford, NZ Warriors and Accolade Wines (Global). Delivering content projects that spanned the globe from all parts of Australia to Tokyo, Oregon, India, China, Italy, Niseko, Queenstown and even Las Vegas.

Chris is a digital-native and was CEO of creative:media agency Cummins&Partners where he led them to twenty Agency of the Year awards, a #1 AsiaPac independent creative agency ranking and was nominated as Agency Leader of the Year and Champion of Change on multiple occasions. He also worked extensively with dynamic global and local brands, including Tourism WA, Jeep, Ford, AFL, Tennis Australia (AO), ICC T20 World Cup, Crown Resorts and Asahi. Previously, he led Wunderman (WPP) in AsiaPac roles across Digital & CRM and launched the very first social media platforms for Australian icon, Vegemite. The first tweet was endless corporate T&Cs.

Doug has worked for the Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in various roles over the past 20 years. From Domestic and International Marketing and Promotions to Rural Tourism Development, Doug has worked to build and promote the interrelationship between tourism and cultural heritage in the state he loves. He presently serves as Assistant Secretary of Tourism for and represents CRT on numerous boards and commissions including the Mississippi River Country, The Louisiana Board of International Commerce, Travel South USA, Louisiana Tax Free Shopping Commission and the United States Travel Association.

James Kavanagh (JK) is an integral member of the Flight Centre Travel Group's (FCTG) esteemed global executive leadership team, serving as the Global CEO of Leisure Travel and the Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand. He oversees a thriving leisure operation that has been meticulously reshaped and transformed to thrive in the post-pandemic travel industry. Key brands under JK's leadership include Flight Centre, Travel Associates, Ignite (My Holidays, My Cruises), Cruiseabout, Travel Money, Student Universe, Envoyage and Scott Dunn.

FCTG is one of the world’s largest travel retailers and corporate travel managers. Headquartered in Brisbane, it employs about 15,000 people globally and has company-owned leisure and/or corporate travel business in 25 countries, spanning Australia/New Zealand (ANZ), the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. The company opened its first leisure travel shop in Sydney in 1982 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1995.

Jo was appointed CEO of Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) in 2020 after three years in the business as Chief Customer Officer. With a career spanning over 20 years in financial services in New Zealand and the UK, Jo brings to Southern Cross a diverse range of skills, including strategic leadership and product marketing. Prior to joining SCTI in 2017, Jo was Head of Sales and Marketing at The Warehouse Group Financial Services. In earlier roles, Jo led acquisition marketing with GE Capital (NZ) and managed direct-to-consumer insurance portfolios with Tesco Bank (UK).

Born and raised in the UK, Jo holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Art History from the University of Nottingham, a Post Graduate Diploma in Enterprise Management from Durham University Business School and a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).Jo is on the board of the Greyhounds Adoptions Programme Trust (Greyhounds as Pets), a charitable trust working to find homes for retired racing greyhounds and support new owners. Outside of work, Jo is a mum to four school-aged boys who share their family home in Auckland with four cats and a career changed guide dog.

Generative AI has been hailed as the most disruptive innovation since the birth of the web. There are opportunities galore for content creators and brand marketers, but there are threats, too – not least in copyright. In his engaging keynote, Graham will explain how we can work with generative AI – exploiting all it has to offer – rather than be replaced by it.

Graham is a leading strategist and writer on the impacts of generative AI on human-made media. In a career spanning 40 years, Graham has been a journalist, editor, consultant, producer and entrepreneur with a keen interest in the future of media. He was a member of the team that launched Teletext Limited in the UK, becoming editor-in-chief of the world's biggest and most commercially successful information service of its kind. He was a founding director of Associated New Media, which went on to launch Mail Online and founder of media intelligence provider Lovelacemedia, sold to the Press Association in 2004 when he became PA’s head of marketing and strategy.

Graham worked as a journalist at the BBC, Visnews, BSB News, ITN, Channel 4 and PA, and is a Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program graduate. In addition to studying and writing about the impacts of generative AI in his widely acclaimed Substack newsletter Charting Gen AI, Graham advises media firms on their strategies and produces their corporate events.

In 2003, Todd helped lead an effort to establish dedicated and stable funding for Travel Oregon through a statewide transient lodging tax. This funding has been crucial in Travel Oregon’s ability to grow the state’s tourism economy through innovative destination management, growing international markets and award-winning advertising campaigns. Today, tourism, and the small businesses, corporations and organisations that make up the tourism economy are a primary driver of Oregon’s total economy. In response to industry needs and emerging opportunities, Todd worked with industry representatives and state legislators in 2016 to establish a dedicated funding source for the seven regional destination management organisations and a competitive grant program. Todd believes that reinvesting in local communities, whether through marketing programs, technical assistance and training, regional investments, or grants, is critical to supporting and growing Oregon’s tourism economy for generations to come.

Todd currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Corporation for Travel Promotion (Brand USA), appointed by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and is their immediate past Chair. He is also a member of the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD) and the Western States Tourism Policy Council (WSTPC).

He is a past Chair of both U.S. Travel Association and the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (USTTAB), a role he assumed in January 2012 after first being appointed to the board in 2010. He also served on the National Advisory Committee on Travel and Tourism Infrastructure (NACTTI). In recognition of his contributions, Todd was named State Tourism Director of the Year by the NCSTD in 2006 and was inducted into U.S. Travel’s Hall of Leaders in 2018.

With over 30 years of experience in the tourism and travel, sport and entertainment and media industries, John is a seasoned leader dedicated to driving growth and innovation. Since taking over as CEO of Experience Co (ASX:EXP) in mid-2019, he has successfully led the business through COVID-19, conducted and implemented a strategic review, and seen the business reposition itself as a leader in the Adventure Tourism sector. Prior to his time at Experience Co, as Managing Director of Tourism Australia, he oversaw a period of record growth in international visitation and expenditure to Australia, contributing significantly to the tourism sector.

John's expertise encompasses a broad range of leadership capabilities, particularly in sales and marketing, event management and digital technology. His strategic vision and ability to implement high-impact initiatives have consistently enabled the organisations he has been part of to move forward. In addition to his role at Experience Co, John serves as the Chair of Tourism Tropical North Queensland, one of Australia's largest and most diverse Regional Tourism Organisations. He holds an Executive MBA and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Dondra is Azamara Cruises’ newly appointed Chief Executive Officer. A 40-year veteran of the travel industry, Dondra recently left her position as Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support, and Services for the Americas at Celebrity Cruises. In this role, she oversaw nearly 700 employees, including Marketing Sales Directors and Managers, Strategic Marketing Managers, Charter Sales, Inside Sales Representatives, and National and Corporate Account Managers in the field, as well as the support staff at corporate headquarters in Miami. Dondra also led National Accounts, Trade Support and Service (including Reservations, Group Sales, and Customer Service), the line's Consumer Outreach division, Onboard Cruise Sales, and internal Sales Support. During her 20 years with Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Cruises, Dondra was widely credited for raising awareness of the importance of travel advisors. She created multiple travel advisor-facing programs designed to help build their business, including “The Celebrity Commitment.” Under Dondra’s leadership, Celebrity was awarded “Best Premium Cruise Line” by leading industry trade publication Travel Weekly for 13 consecutive years. She also played a key role on the executive team that launched what is today Azamara Cruises.

Prior to her tenure at Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, Dondra spent 20 years in various sales and marketing leadership roles with American Airlines. She is also a well-respected member of the community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Jack and Jill Late-Stage Cancer Foundation, the Family Bonds Foundation in conjunction with CoNexion Travel, and The Baptist Cancer Institute of Miami Gala Board. Dondra provided executive guidance for the Royal Caribbean Group (RCG) Diversity Council and led the RCG Employee Resources Group, mentoring young professionals entering the workforce. She has also previously served in leadership roles as a board member for The American Cancer Society and as Gala Chair for RCG Give Day, United Way, and His House. A Texas native, Dondra has two grown sons and currently spends time in both Florida and Colorado with her husband, Kevin.

Nick founded TravMedia in 1999 after ten years as travel editor of Courier Newspapers, Australia. His knowledge and contributions to the travel industry are extensive. Nick is a proud supporter of the SATW and sponsors the ONE Travel Conference Travel Writer Award for outstanding work in promoting US travel. He is an active member of the ASTW, a judge for the Gourmet Travel Annual Awards, and supports the British Guild of Travel Writers Awards and the ASTW Awards.

Nick created IMM 13 years ago, and The Summit 8 years ago. The platform also powers the online event marketplaces for IPW, Destination Canada’s Corroboree and ATE.

Kate has held several senior media positions, including editor of The Sun-Herald, Sunday Life editor, Sydney Morning Herald/Age features editor, head of Food and Drink, and commercial content director at Fairfax and Nine. She’s travelled to all seven continents and even spent a year campervanning Australia with her kids. Explore is the travel section for ACM, Australia’s largest independent publisher and with almost a century of media and travel experience between them, the Explore team is well qualified to talk about all things travel.

Trudi is Traveller’s content director, with responsibility for all editorial across the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Originally from England, Trudi began her magazine career in London, and also worked as a sub-editor on Fleet Street. She has edited Sunday Life, delicious. magazine and Vogue Entertaining + Travel as well as establishing two successful online businesses. She has lived in France and Italy, and will travel long distances for good food, wine and coffee.

Melissa inspires locals and travellers to explore the best of the country, including places to visit, things to do and spots to eat. Before joining Time Out as the Branded Content writer for Sydney in 2023, she freelanced as a food writer for SBS Food and The Urban List, among others. She also had a short stint in hospitality PR, has experience in the social media and digital marketing world, and even started a food waste social enterprise at 21.

When Melissa is not playing with words, you’ll find her running laps around Centennial Park, volunteering at the OzHarvest Refettorio, telling you how cute her dog is and eating her way through Sydney. She has a soft spot for pastries and pickles, is passionate about paying it forward, and is likely planning her next holiday right now.

Declan is a Client Partner for Travel at TikTok, working with major travel brands and tourism bodies in Australia to help them grow their business using TikTok. He has spent many years in the travel industry, most recently leading the consumer marketing team for Tourism New Zealand in both Australia and the Americas, and is passionate about leveraging this experience to help travel brands be a part of the travel revolution happening on TikTok.