Interview
May 2021
Exhibition Showcase Talks To Leighton Wood, Chief Operating Officer, Melbourne Convention And Exhibition Centre ES. Please take us through your professional journey. What have been the major milestones and key accomplishments that you made during your glorious career? Leighton. I began life as an exercise scientist obsessed with all things sport, particularly Cricket and Australian Rules Football. I become more interested in business and following the completion of an MBA was appointed CEO of Melbourne Major Events Company, a State Government instrumentality that brought major sporting events to Melbourne. Events I was successful in luring were the 1997 Bledisloe Cup Aust v NZ (91,000 at MCG), 1997 World Cup Soccer Qualifier (85,000 at MCG) and 2002 World Masters Games (25,000 participants). I subsequently became CEO of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Bid and then CEO of the Games themselves. I was then CEO of Sport Knowledge Australia, a Federal Government funded initiative that sought to export Australian sporting knowhow. During this period I did business with the Indian Sports Authority and the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad and visited magnificent India on half a dozen occasions. I then became Chief Operating Officer for Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, a position I have held for over 10 years. 36 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
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