ICC Sydney's Adam Mather-Brown

ICC Sydney General Manager, Adam Mather-Brown says it’s his passion for people and the buzz of the pre-opening environment that attracts him to lead operating teams in new international convention centres.

The development of ICC Sydney marks Adam’s fifth opening of a major convention centre on the world stage. As he plans for the centre’s opening, he will draw on 17 years’ experience running convention centres and a career spanning 28 years across the hospitality sector.

“There is something very special about opening a venue of the magnitude of an international convention centre,” said Mr Mather-Brown.

“Whilst we move strategically, we travel at a furious pace to market and prepare a business that will employ up to 1,800 people. Convention centres deliver huge economic benefits to their host cities and it is an honour to play a role in that process. For me though, it’s all about the family of people we are nurturing for success and the culture we develop to equip them to deliver A-class service in a manner that is true to the spirit of the destination. We are not only putting our best foot forward for ICC Sydney, we are ambassadors of this great city,” he said.

Born in South Africa, Adam played a key role on the opening of Cape Town International Convention Centre and the International Convention Centre Durban before joining AEG Ogden to open the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and more recently the Qatar National Convention Centre.

Like many before him who have joined the global talent hub of Sydney, Adam is a proud advocate of his new home and dedicated to his role of training a new generation of hospitality staff that will deliver a major boost to the city’s hospitality industry.

“Just as convention centres leave legacies beyond the economic benefit they provide to a city, our training programs build legacies for our people beyond the work they will undertake at ICC Sydney. We will be one of Sydney’s hospitality training grounds,” he said.

Success in a pre-opening environment comes down to the experience of the management team and the staff training programs it implements, said Mather-Brown, and being a member of the AEG Ogden family offers a competitive advantage in this area. Drawing on the expertise of AEG Ogden’s industry stalwarts, people who innately understand what is expected of a world class venue from day one, is an advantage that ICC Sydney is capitalising on.

“Our experience allows us to implement tested training programs but it also provides us with a bank of long-standing clients. It is both our experience and our relationships that give us a competitive edge in pre-opening environments,” he said.

Adam said these relationships were invaluable to ICC Sydney in testing ideas and new ways of doing things in a pre-opening environment but equally as important was AEG Ogden’s track record, which provided clients with an added level of confidence when booking a venue that was yet to open.

“Clients know that when we open in December 2016, they will be in the safe hands of an experienced team that is not shy in delivering creative, best in class solutions,” said Mather-Brown.

www.iccsydney.com