Ray Shaw   BBus, Comm, AMM, AFMEA, FPRIA, AJA
Chairman

Ray Shaw is an active and influential member of the meetings and events industry and the Chairman of Event Planners Australia and the Intermedia Group of Companies. Ray established Intermedia in Brisbane in 1979. The Intermedia group of companies have been named in the Queensland Top 400 companies since 1990 and celebrated 25 years of success in October 2004.

Ray has also played an active role in progressing the meetings industry through his extensive involvement in organisations and initiatives including Meetings and Events Australia, the Brisbane Convention Partnership, the National Convention Advisory Board and the Meeting and Event Management Consultancies Association. As Chairman of Event Planners Australia, Ray is committed to achieving the company vision of building a national company committed to best-practice event management and excellence in client service.

Suzanne Best BBus Comm, BA, AFMEA
General Manager

Suzanne Best has 26 years’ experience in the conference management and public relations industries. She joined Event Planners’ founding company Intermedia Convention & Event Management in 1982 as a public relations consultant and over the past three decades, has been promoted to key positions including Event Manager, Executive Consultant, and General Manager. Today, as General Manager of Australia’s premier meetings and event management company, Suzanne is responsible for overseeing all aspects of procedure, policy development, human resource management and quality assurance. Her strong operations and commercial background is reflected in peer and industry recognition over the years. In 2001 she led her event team (and her company) to national victory, winning the Meeting and Events Industry award for Meeting of the Year (over 500 delegates).

She has been twice honoured with nomination for Telstra Business Woman of the Year, most recently becoming a state finalist out of a pool of 2,000 nominations nation wide. Her latest accolades have come from being at the helm of an organisation which has been installed into its industry’s Hall of Fame for its record of excellence in event management, and for playing an integral role in an organisation which has received continuous recognition for "Outstanding business achievement and providing a major contribution to economic growth".

Catherine Reilly BA Comms, AFMEA
Director, Client Relations

Catherine joined the company in 2000 as an Event Coordinator. She quickly showed her flair in marketing and in 2001 became Business Development Manager. In 2004 Catherine became part of the establishment team for Event Planners and was appointed as national Client Relations Director. Following a two year sojourn working in the corporate and government sectors, Catherine rejoined Event Planners in 2007 as Director, Client Relations and a member of the Executive Management Team.

Catherine has been instrumental in moving Event Planners away from ‘traditional’ relationships with clients. Her first hand experience working across the association, corporate and government sectors, combined with her knowledge of Event Planners’ operations and processes, gives her a unique understanding of our clients’ requirements.
 

Lisa joined Event Planners’ as Event Accountant in 2000 providing quality assurance over conference budgets and financial reporting. In 2001 she also took responsibility for managing our delegate and guest services team. She was instrumental in implementing our online registration and accommodation management systems, tailoring the process to provide the most user friendly and guest focused service.