CHAIR and DIRECTOR OF BOARD - PROFESSOR BRIAN KING
Brian King is Professor of Tourism Management at Victoria University, Australia. He was Head of Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing from 1998 to 2007 and is currently seconded as Director of Victoria University’s major strategic initiative within the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Services). He is a Visiting Professor at AILUN University in Sardinia, Italy.
Brian has extensive tourism industry experience having occupied management roles in the tour operations, resorts, cruise-ship and airline sectors and maintains his industry involvements at board level and as a judge in the Australian Tourism Awards (2006-7). He has consulted extensively to international development agencies principally in the areas of tourism marketing and human resource development.
From 1999 to 2006 he served as a Board Member (Non-Executive) of the listed company Macro Corporation, operator of Ocean Spirit Cruises. This provided him with experience of the compliance and other governance requirements associated with the operations of listed companies, specifically operating in the tourism sector. His principal inputs focused on marketing and communications and also developed a knowledge of finance, government and legal issues. He has completed training on governance and compliance conducted by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
He has published widely in the fields of tourism planning in developing countries and island microstates, resort operations and marketing, tourism education and human resource development, tourism in emerging Asian markets and tourism/migration linkages. He has authored several books including Creating Island Resorts, Tourism Marketing in Australia and Asia-Pacific Tourism. Regional Planning, Co-operation and Development. He has been an active participant in the THE-ICE since its inception.
He is Founding and Current Joint Editor-in-Chief of Tourism, Culture and Communication and holds editorial board positions with a range of leading refereed journals.
DR RUSSELL ARTHUR SMITH – Board Director
Dr. Smith is a hospitality and tourism development expert who has extensive academic and professional experience in Asia, as well as North America and the Middle East. He is Interim Dean, Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management, at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Dr. Smith has headed large multi-disciplinary teams for the preparation of major hospitality and tourism development plans. In addition, he has served on many private and public boards and committees throughout the Asia Pacific as well as held appointments in universities in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States of America. He holds a doctorate from Harvard University and a degree in architecture with first class honors from the University of Queensland. He is a Certified Practicing Planner.
DR GEORGE BROWN - Board Director
Dr George Brown was appointed Group Academic Director at Think: Education Group in 2007. Prior to this he held senior academic positions with the Navitas Group, Le Cordon Bleu Australia, International College of Hotel Management and TAFESA.
In 2010 Dr Brown was appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Minister for Education the Hon. Julia Gillard MP as a Board Director of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. As part of this role, Dr Brown sits on the Steering Committee of the ALTC Learning and Teaching Academic Standards Project and the ALTC Fellowship Scheme Standing Committee.
He is also currently appointed to the New South Wales Register of Higher Education Assessors and sites on the ACPET National Higher Education Committee. Dr Brown’s research interests surround higher education accreditation, quality improvement and the burgeoning problem of non-official higher education provision.
Dr Brown holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide, a Master of Educational Management from Flinders University and both a Bachelor of Business and Graduate Diploma of Education from the University of South Australia.
MR NICHOLAS HUNT – Board Director
Nicholas Hunt was appointed Chief Executive Office of William Angliss Institute in August 2007. Prior to this appointment he held positions as a Board Director for the Institute from 2004 and Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Alliance Victoria (the merged entity of Country Victorian Tourism Council and Victorian Tourism Operators Association) from 2000.
Nicholas has gained broad experience in the tourism sector especially, having been Executive Director for Tourism Training Victoria where he directed research, standards implementation, assessment and promotional activities.
As well as his professional interests, Nicholas is involved in a number of prominent industry groups including Chair of Victorian Tourism Awards Industry Reference Group and is a Member of the Melbourne Hospitality Advisory Group for the City of Melbourne.
DR J S PERRY HOBSON – Board Director
Perry Hobson is the Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE-ICE) - an initiative funded by the Australian Federal Government. Its membership currently includes fourteen universities, vocational education and private hotel schools - see http://www.the-ice.org He is also an Associate Professor in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Southern Cross University (SCU) - where he was the Head of School from 2000-2005. He holds a BSc. (Hons) Hotel & Catering Management from Oxford Brookes University (UK), a Masters in Hotel, Restaurant & Travel Administration, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (USA), and a PhD in Tourism from Southern Cross University (Australia).
Perry worked in the hospitality industry in the UK. He has held full-time academic positions with Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (USA), and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (SAR-China). Over the years he has held visiting appointments at various institutions such as the Hotel Management School (CHN) in Leeuwarden (Holland), and he is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Innsbruck (MCI), Austria.
He is the Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Vacation Marketing which is published in London (UK), and serves on the editorial boards of another seven international journals. He has recently been invited to become the co-Editor of the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education which is published in Washington DC (USA). In 2005, Perry was recognised in the journal Tourism Management as being amongst the top 50 researchers in tourism and hospitality management over the previous two decades. He has been the recipient of awards of excellence for his research from the MCB University Press/Emerald in the UK, and from I-CHRIE (the International Association of Hospitality & Tourism Educators) in the USA
While he was the Head of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at SCU the School received the New South Wales (NSW) State Award for Excellence twice, and went onto win the National Australian Tourism Award for Education and Training. Perry has also been a personal recipient of the Platinum Award for Tourism from the peak industry organization Tourism Training Australia (TTA) for his contribution to education. He has also twice been elected the Chair of the Council of Australian Universities for Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) which is the national association of educators in Australia. Active in many international associations, Perry currently serves on the Boards of APacCHRIE and APTA, the two leading Asia-Pacific regional educators associations.
MR GUY BENTLEY – Board Director
Mr Guy Bentley is the CEO of the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School and oversees the running of the Australian International Hotel School Canberra and Blue Mountains Hotel School, Leura, as well as the Blue Mountains Hotel School, Tianjin China and Suzhou China. Mr Bentley has worked in a variety of management and consultancy positions in England, Scotland and Australia in the hospitality and tourism industry.
He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of New England and teaches in the areas of tourism and hospitality management, HR management and ethics. He has publications in the area of Intellectual property, pricing and distribution strategy and compliance in the hospitality and hotel industries. He has presented at the 2006 National Tourism Leaders Conference and presented on innovation at the 2007 Orion Congress in Suzhou.
Mr Bentley is a NSW committee member for Australian Colleges of Private Education & Training and received the 2006 Tourism Platinum Award for National Training Legend Award.
PROFESSOR JOHN JENKINS – Board Director
John Jenkins is Professor of Tourism, Head of School Tourism & Hospitality Management and a member of the Australian Regional Tourism Research Centre at Southern Cross University. He has authored several books and approximately 60 book chapters and refereed journal articles.
Professor Jenkins is managing Editor, Annals of Leisure Research and Reviews Editor for, Current Issues in Tourism and Annals of Leisure Research and is the Chaired of the Scientific Committee for the 6th Asia-Pacific (APacCHRIE) Conference and THE-ICE International Panel of Experts Forum 2008.
John’s expertise includes: Ecotourism, Tourism Planning & Policy, Tourism & Protected areas/National Parks, Outdoor recreation management, Leisure Studies and Leisure and recreation in urban communities.
MR ALAN WILLIAMS – Board Director
Mr Alan Williams is the Managing Director of the Australian School of Tourism and Hotel Management, a privately owned and Registered Training Organisation in Western Australia. The School is also registered by the Minister of Education as a Higher Education Provider offering University Bachelor Degrees and Post Graduate Master Degrees in association with Southern Cross University.
Mr Williams is an active member on a number of peak industry education bodies in Australia all of which have an interest in ensuring long term viability, sustainability and quality of the Australian Education and training industry These include; Company Director Perth Hospitality Professionals Pty Ltd; Company Director Resort and Hotel Management Pty Ltd; Director, Board Member and immediate Past Chair Australian Council of Independent Vocational Colleges (ACIVC), National Peak Industry Body operating on Approved Tertiary Assurance Scheme; Executive Committee Member and Treasurer Western Australian Private Education and Training Industry Association (WAPETIA), WA based peak industry body; Industry Advisory Board Member, Industry Education Advisory Board for Southern Cross University WA and Board Member, Australian Association of Hotel Schools (AAHS), National Industry Association Board.
Mr Williams is passionate about Vocational Education and Training and this can be evidenced within his own organisation where a number of innovative delivery and assessment strategies have been incorporated, ensuring the very best possible education outcomes are achieved for students and industry.
Brian King is Professor of Tourism Management at Victoria University, Australia. He was Head of Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing from 1998 to 2007 and is currently seconded as Director of Victoria University’s major strategic initiative within the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Services). He is a Visiting Professor at AILUN University in Sardinia, Italy.
nt was appointed Chief Executive Office of William Angliss Institute in August 2007. Prior to this appointment he held positions as a Board Director for the Institute from 2004 and Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Alliance Victoria (the merged entity of Country Victorian Tourism Council and Victorian Tourism Operators Association) from 2000.
Perry Hobson is the Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE-ICE) - an initiative funded by the Australian Federal Government. Its membership currently includes fourteen universities, vocational education and private hotel schools - see http://www.the-ice.org He is also an Associate Professor in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Southern Cross University (SCU) - where he was the Head of School from 2000-2005. He holds a BSc. (Hons) Hotel & Catering Management from Oxford Brookes University (UK), a Masters in Hotel, Restaurant & Travel Administration, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (USA), and a PhD in Tourism from Southern Cross University (Australia).
uy Bentley is the CEO of the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School and oversees the running of the Australian International Hotel School Canberra and Blue Mountains Hotel School, Leura, as well as the Blue Mountains Hotel School, Tianjin China and Suzhou China. Mr Bentley has worked in a variety of management and consultancy positions in England, Scotland and Australia in the hospitality and tourism industry. 
John Jenkins is Professor of Tourism, Head of School Tourism & Hospitality Management and a member of the Australian Regional Tourism Research Centre at Southern Cross University. He has authored several books and approximately 60 book chapters and refereed journal articles. 
Mr Alan Williams is the Managing Director of the Australian School of Tourism and Hotel Management, a privately owned and Registered Training Organisation in Western Australia. The School is also registered by the Minister of Education as a Higher Education Provider offering University Bachelor Degrees and Post Graduate Master Degrees in association with Southern Cross University.