New position at Dreamworld

A longtime mate of mine, James Corvan (pictured) has been appointed General Manager Strategy and Planning at Dreamworld and Whitewater World theme parks on Queensland's Gold Coast.

It's a new position that will focus on driving the business forward. The appointment follows a three month consulting project in which James was tasked with restructuring the organization’s sales and marketing departments.

Chief executive Stephen Grigg said, "This is an important role for the future of our business. James will help drive our master plan and will create a blueprint for the future of our business."

A 35-year veteran in the tourism industry, James has held senior managerial positions, including Executive Director of Marketing and Executive Director of Destination Management with Tourism Queensland. Prior to that, he worked in regional tourism organisations across Australia and in the airline, hotel and conference industries.

In fact, I first met James when he was the boss at Southern Downs Tourism in Queensland's south east many years ago. Since then I've caught up with him at Bundaberg and Alice Springs where he worked in similar positions some years ago, before coming back to Brisbane for his Tourism Queensland roles.

Commenting on his new position, James said, “Dreamworld has transformed from a theme park with a handful of thrill rides and attractions into a multi-faceted publicly-listed business cleverly aligned with some of the country’s biggest brands. A little over 12 months ago, we added a whole new water park, WhiteWater World.

“It’s now time to take the business to the next level. I will be looking across the board in terms of visitor experience to amenities, dining options and merchandising to drive Australia’s number one entertainment precinct. This new role is the sum total of many things I have done and I am excited to bring these skills into a publicly listed organisation.”

The role of General Manager Strategy & Planning will report to the CEO.