PRESS RELEASE
SPAA is delighted to announce that Kim Williams AM has accepted an invitation to deliver the prestigious Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, 19 November at 10:30 am, the first plenary of the Screen Forever: SPAA Conference 2013 to be held at Melbourne’s Crown Conference Centre.
Kim Williams, who knew the late Hector Crawford personally, is one of Australia’s most dynamic and impressive arts and business leaders and has made his mark in every field he has worked in over a dazzling 40-year career. In one of his first public appearances since departing News Corporation, he has a unique vantage point from which to talk about the current directions in media, the challenges of advocacy in these changing times and the landscape for production.
Matthew Deaner, Executive Director of SPAA said: “Kim Williams has a unique perspective of the world of media and entertainment, particularly in Australia. With an incredible career spanning across public, independent, subscription television and then at Australia’s largest media company, Kim has been on the frontline of the rapidly changing landscape of traditional and innovative content, its creators and the platforms used to entertain, inform and connect audiences. It will be a rare opportunity to hear from someone with such a broad knowledge and yet intimate understanding of the media and entertainment industry. His lecture will be thought provoking and will no doubt change the way people think about creating content in the 21st century.”
Until August this year Kim Williams was Chief Executive and Managing Director of News Limited, a role he held from late 2011. Prior to that he was Chief Executive of FOXTEL where, over a decade, he pioneered many of the major digital broadcast innovations in Australia.
Kim Williams has also had a long involvement in the arts and entertainment industry in his roles as Chief Executive of Fox Studios Australia, the Australian Film Commission, Southern Star Entertainment and Musica Viva Australia. He was also once a senior executive at the ABC. He has been Chairman of the Sydney Opera House since 2005 and has held numerous other Board positions over his career, including foundation Chairman of the Australian Film Finance Corporation.
Kim Williams was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by Macquarie University in 2009 and the Richard Pratt Business Arts Leadership Award from the Australian Business Arts Foundation in 2012.
Previous Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture speakers have included Dare Jennings, Peter Garrett, Lachlan Murdoch, Noel Pearson, Margaret Pomeranz, Harold Mitchell and Gillian Armstrong.
Screen Forever: SPAA Conference 2013
18 to 21 November 2013
Registrations now open at www.screenforever.org.au