Accreditation Advisory Committee

David has a career spanning 40 years in wholesale, retail, group touring, inbound, and state tourism. A business owner since 1992, guiding the parent company, ITC Pacific, and its major brands, to a prominent position in the travel sector.

Founding Chairman/Board Director of the Student Educational Travel Organisation (SETO), past board member/Director of the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) 2016-23, and a past CATO treasurer with a focus on governance, constitution, and codes of conduct guidelines. David brings to the ATAS Advisory Committee a broad knowledge of the travel industry and its stakeholders, and a keen focus on practical accreditation strategy and design.

Brett is the founder, CEO and Managing Director of one of Australia's largest privately owned travel groups, the Newcastle, Hunter Region, NSW based Hunter Travel Group (HTG).

In 1984, following an enriching year as an exchange student near Munich, Germany, Brett's passion for travel and exploration took root, becoming an integral part of his identity. His impressive near 40 year journey in the world of travel commenced immediately after graduating from school when he embarked on a career at the 'original' Jayes Travel Service in Newcastle, Australia. Brett's trajectory in the travel industry has been marked by a steady ascent, from his early days as a Travel Advisor to the roles of Branch Manager, Retail Network Manager, and ultimately General Manager. In 1999, he ventured into entrepreneurship, establishing his own travel enterprise with a solitary storefront nestled on the shores of Lake Macquarie in the scenic Hunter Region, New South Wales. This pioneering endeavour was among the earliest to bear the Travelworld (now Helloworld) branding in Australia.

Today, Brett presides over a network encompassing 35 travel store locations spread across most states of Australia. Under his leadership, a formidable team of over 170 individuals is dedicated to catering to a diverse clientele, spanning corporate, retail/leisure, groups/events, motoring association travel (AAA), luxury travel, and cruising. These segments operate under a distinguished portfolio of brands, including Helloworld Travel, RACQ Travel, RACT Travel, and Cruise Travel Centre.

Brett's unwavering commitment to the travel industry is fortified by his unwavering focus on solutions, streamlined processes, efficient systems, and a deep appreciation for people. The customer, whether they are clients, team members, suppliers, or industry partners, remains the nucleus of his approach. This customer-centric philosophy, combined with his deeply rooted family values of trust, respect, integrity, and accountability, continues to propel HTG forward on its journey of growth and excellence.

Steve Brady is Group General Manager, Cruise at Helloworld Travel Limited, where he has executive responsibility for the Group's cruise retail and wholesale businesses, including sales, marketing, operations and commercial strategy. He brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience across the Australian and international travel industry, spanning wholesale, retail, sales and operational leadership.

Steve has held a range of senior roles within Helloworld Travel, including Group General Manager Sales and General Manager of Sales, Reporting and Pricing (Wholesale), and previously led commercial operations in Australia, Vietnam and Cambodia with Insider Journeys (formerly Travel Indochina). He holds an MBA and is regarded for his strong commercial acumen, leadership, stakeholder engagement and deep understanding of distribution, compliance and operational excellence within the travel sector.

Originally a Civil Engineer, Chad worked on major projects within both Australia and the UK. In 2004 Chad resigned his engineering role in London with the intention to travel through South America for six months. Not being happy with the tour options provided in South America, Chad and his co-founder, Greg Carter, took the view that there was an opportunity to improve on the market's existing tour product to South America. Chimu Adventures was born and after almost twenty years of growth, has become a leader within the Australian travel industry for travel to South America and Antarctica.

In 2017, Chimu Adventures launched a joint venture with Intrepid Travel to operate the Ocean Endeavour in Antarctica. Chad took on the role as Managing Director for this business unit and now spends his time between the two businesses.

Chad has served on a number of industry bodies including The Australian Travel Association for Latin America, IAATO's Climate Change Committee, IAATO's Associate Members Working Group and the Australian Travel Industry Association's ATAS Advisory Committee.

Scott has had a comprehensive career in travel that as exceeded 25 years. After starting out as a travel consultant himself in 1997, he moved into the airline world in 1999 where he spent close to the next 18 years, all of which were sales related and all were travel industry related. The last 10 years in the airline world were in local management at a major international airline where Scott moved through and ran various departments.

Scott made the move back to the agency side of the industry in late 2016 and held senior roles in Magellan Travel Group and also Helloworld Travel once it acquired Magellan. Currently, Scott is the inaugural General Manager of the new invitation only Link Travel Group, a joint venture between Flight Centre Travel Group, The Goldman Group and Spencer Group of Companies, and he has built that group to already be a powerhouse in the local market.

Apart from being highly experienced in the industry, Scott is highly regarded and respected by agents and suppliers alike

Rebecca is the Regional Head of Sales APAC at Yanolja Go Global, known as Stuba in Australia, where she leads a high performing, multinational sales team across the region. She is responsible for driving commercial strategy, revenue growth, and partner engagement across all brands, working closely with key stakeholders to strengthen the company’s presence across Asia Pacific’s diverse markets.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the travel industry, Rebecca has led and developed teams across both the UK and Australia, bringing a truly global perspective to her role. Her background spans complex, fast-paced travel and hospitality environments, where she is known for building strong, collaborative teams in long-term partnerships. Rebecca’s strategic leadership and deep industry insight continue to support Yanolja Go Global’s mission to deliver innovative, scalable solutions for travel businesses worldwide.

Karen Deveson is Collette's first Managing Director for the Australian region. She leads a senior team across Sales, Partnerships, Marketing, and the Customer Care Centre, ensuring the global goals and vision are implemented locally. Karen is passionate about building a collaborative, happy and successful team ensuring Collette realizes its full potential in Australia – a market of great opportunity in the guided holiday sector.

A results-driven executive with over 25 years of experience in Travel, Tourism, Research, and Media industries, Karen has a proven track record of embracing and driving change. She is a dynamic leader, creative in thinking and commercial in delivery. Prior to joining Collette, Karen was Group General Manager Cruise at Helloworld, Managing Director at Insight Vacations Australia, General Manager Publishing at Seven Network, and co-founded Sycamore Research and Marketing – a boutique research and brand strategy consultancy.

Karen holds a Bachelor of Behavioural Science from LaTrobe University, is currently completing a Master of Public Health from Sydney University, and in 2020 completed the AICD Company Director's Course.

Kylee has spent 36 years in the travel industry, following in the footsteps of her father, who owned several travel agencies. She became a part owner of Frank Ford Travel in 2004 and took on the role of sole owner and director in 2018.

Based in Ballarat, Frank Ford Travel has been proudly operating since the late 1960s and is renowned for its commitment to exceptional customer service. This dedication has been recognized through multiple awards, including a Commerce Ballarat Small Business Award and, most recently, the 2024 NTIA Award for Most Outstanding Leisure Travel Agency – Single Location.

Born during the challenges of the COVID era, Kylee's "secret weapon" is AOK Transfers — now her trusted sidekick — offering seamless, door-to-door transfers that enhance the travel journey for her clients and make travel effortless.

Kylee also appeared on The Alan Jones Show as an advocate for the travel industry during COVID. Her motivation for serving on this committee is to support and help keep travel agencies thriving.

She brings a wealth of industry knowledge and a deep passion for tourism. Travel is in her blood, and she values the strong relationships and networks she has built with fellow agents and suppliers over the years — many of whom she now proudly calls friends.

Lauren Gray boasts over 17 years of experience in the travel industry, predominantly in the Corporate travel space, and currently holds the position of General Manager for 1000 Mile Travel Group, a global host agency network.

As a visionary leader, Lauren prioritises people as the organisation's most valuable asset. She champions a culture of collaboration, respect, and empowerment, creating a supportive environment where everyone can thrive and grow together. Lauren's strategic approach drives innovation in customer experiences and successful travel programs. She nurtures customer relationships and empowers travel experts to excel in their businesses.

In addition to her professional pursuits, Lauren balances her responsibilities with her role as a mother to a young family and her commitment to personal growth, currently pursuing her MBA.

Following a successful corporate career in domestic aviation, financial services, telecommunications, and insurance, Ken decided to start his own business in a category he had always been passionate about – travel. He identified the solo traveller market niche (40 years old and above) as a significant opportunity and set about creating the business and developing their points of difference. So, in 2012, Two's a Crowd took flight. Two's a Crowd's tour range has grown to include exclusive river cruise charters, luxury train journeys and small group tours. Their client base extends from Australia to New Zealand and the USA. Their office is based in South Yarra Victoria and they have a team of eleven including sales consultants, tour hosts and administration. Team members are located across Australia and New Zealand.

Ken is also a Director of the Australian Travel Agents Co-operative (ATAC). With 130 independent members, it is Australia's only co-operative travel agent buying group

Gina Norman is an accomplished Executive with more than 30 years' experience in customer service, tourism and retail industries, and has been the General Manager of Travel and Distribution at RAA since 2018. Previously, Gina held a number of senior roles including Nation Leader SA/NT at Flight Centre Travel Group, and Chief Performance Officer at Bedford Group.

Gina's focus on strategy, operational excellence and consistently motivating her teams to exceed their growth targets has seen her win state, national and global awards for outstanding performance throughout her career.

Judy began her career in the travel industry in 1978 as a trainee travel advisor with Traveland. Over nearly five decades, she has built a successful career, holding senior travel design and management roles at both Traveland and Wandana Travel across high-end leisure and corporate divisions

In 1992, Judy became one of the industry's first Independent Contractors, reflecting her entrepreneurial spirit and leadership. In 2009, she founded Aurora Travel in Middle Park, where she leads a team of dedicated and highly experienced travel designers and Independent Contractors. Aurora Travel is a proud member of Virtuoso and CT Partners

Throughout her career, Judy has demonstrated a strong commitment to professional training and education. She has lectured in Travel and Tourism at TAFE colleges and serves as a member of the Virtuoso Professional Development Advisory Board

Judy is driven to continue advancing initiatives that elevate the professional standing of travel advisors commensurate with the expertise, dedication, and responsibility required to deliver exceptional travel outcomes for clients. Her particular area of interest is developing a pathway for young people as well as older people to have meaningful careers in our vibrant industry.