John is the Chief Executive of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) at Brisbane’s South Bank. QPAC is a leading presenter in the Asia Pacific and an internationally renowned performing arts destination. He is an arts leader of international standing. John joined QPAC in 1989, undertaking various creative and directing roles both for QPAC and a number of significant national celebrations. In 1996 he was the Managing Director of the inaugural Brisbane Festival. At QPAC he initiated the STAGE X Festival and led establishment of the Out of the Box Festival, one of the few arts events in the world that is focused on children eight years and under.

From 2003 John served as QPAC’s Artistic Director and was instrumental in QPAC’s recent successes as an investor in large scale musicals including The Phantom of the Opera and Chicago. As Chief Executive, John has strengthened QPAC’s international profile and secured the annual, exclusive presentation of some of the world’s greatest performing arts companies.

John is currently Vice President of Live Performance Australia and has held positions with state and national arts companies, serving on numerous state and national boards. In 2012 he was awarded a Doctor of the University by Queensland University of Technology for distinguished service to the arts.