Wayne Middleton, CVE, is current Chair of the VMA’s Venue Management School.  He has been a risk management instructor for over a decade at the School and is the Principal of Australian-based consultancy, Reliance Risk.

He has over 30 years’ experience in operating and consulting to public venue and events and has delivered projects across Australia, New Zealand, North America, South East Asia and the Middle East. 

He holds a Masters’ in Risk Management, a Bachelor of Administration, a Diploma of Security Risk Management, and is an active member of the Venue Management Association (Asia and Pacific).

He be contacted on email wayne.middleton@reliancerisk.com, www.reliancerisk.com

A pioneer in the way sports manage their digital strategy, Alex Mednis holds degrees in Law (Juris Doctor, UNSW) and Computer Science (Bachelor of Science, UNSW).

He is Chief Executive of SportsGrid, an emerging industry leader in the Australian sports club management ecosystem through its flagship product revolutioniseSPORT, a SaaS online membership, competition planning, e-commerce and data analysis platform to national, state and local organisations around Australia, as well as digital strategy consultation and planning and is General Manager, Business Development of the Australian Sports Professionals Association (ASPA).

For information on revolutioniseSPORT click here to view their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

17th May 2019 -  REVOLUTIONISESPORT NAMED FINALIST IN 2019 NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER AWARDS

10th April 2019 - AUSTRALIAN SPORTS PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION GETS OFFICIAL LAUNCH

Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thibault Paquin is Chief Executive of Celebrating Life - a total destination building company specialising in Asian markets Celebrating Life provides end-to-end solutions and advisory services for clients in travel, hospitality, retail, leisure and entertainment, undertaking research, feasibility studies, concepts development, IP selection and cultural and entertainment content management.

Educated in France and the United States, Paquin has over a decade of development experience in hospitality and leisure, beginning his career with Accor in Paris then Asia Pacific in their Sydney, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City offices before setting up Celebrating Life in Hong Kong in 2010.

A travel industry expert, a frequent speaker and columnist, he has worked on numerous tourism projects in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Mauritius.

Click here to connect with him via LinkedIn.

Artist, geoscientist and specialist writer on the leisure industry, Karen Sweaney is Editor and co-founder of Australasian Leisure Management.

Based in Sydney, Australia, her specific areas of interest include the arts, entertainment, the environment, fitness, tourism and wellness.

She has degrees in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney and Geological Oceanography from UNSW.

Born in the English county of Dorset, Nigel Benton is the co-founder and Publisher of Australasian Leisure Management, Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific’s only magazine for professionals in all areas of the leisure industry and the www.ausleisure.com.au website - the go to news resource for industry leaders and professionals.

With a long-term commitment to communicating all that is best about the leisure industry (aquatics, attractions, entertainment, events, fitness, parks, recreation, sport, tourism and venues) his career has been defined by an ability to develop and implement industry communications.

Starting his career working in heritage visitor attractions and then adventure travel in Africa and the Middle East, an interest in writing about his experiences led to his change of career into magazine journalism and publishing.

In addition to publishing, Nigel speaks on marketing communications at a range of industry events.

He was made a Life Member of the World Leisure and Recreation Association in 2006 and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (London).

In 2020, he launched the new Asian Leisure Business website.

As of October 2024, he was inducted into the Australian Fitness Awards Roll of Honour at the 2024 AUSactive National Awards.

Among a range of published works and features, his comments on a Blog (blogspot) from 2007 to 2011, when this website went live in its current form, may be interesting to reflect back on.

His philosophy on life is to be kind to all and to indulge those that you love.

His passions include family, Newcastle United and motorcycles (especially British ones) as well, until February 2025 when she left us, caring a little pug named Stella.

Click here to connect with him via LinkedIn.