Tickets On Sale Now- Series #2

James Neilsen

Managing Director/ Founder, EVENTelec 

James Neilsen is the founder of EVENTelec, a national leader in event electrical services, powering some of Australia’s largest sporting and cultural events. His career began in 1989 as an apprentice electrician in South East Queensland and the Northern Territory. His early exposure to events occurred at the initial set up for the Inaugural Indy car race on the Gold Coast. 

James was heavily involved in delivering infrastructure (both technical design and temporary overlay) for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, giving James hands-on experience at a global scale. 

With a career spanning over 35 years, James has built a strong reputation for delivering dependable, large-scale electrical infrastructure to major events across the country. 

His two passions are, (1) building his team and (2) dissecting products and supply chains. These passions have led him around the world, especially China to find direct manufacturing solutions for the event and electrical industry.

James Dee

Director/Founder- DarkArts Global

James (JD) Dee has worked across all aspects of the live entertainment industry at the highest levels both within Australia and around the Globe. 

His experience ranges from project management, technical direction and LX/UX design in major concerts and festivals, large scale sporting events, corporate events, film and television as well as bespoke projects.

JD’s executive management experience is consolidated by excellent communication and interpersonal skills, A result-driven leader able to create value through his ability to think analytically, strategically, and creatively while remaining highly focused on providing superior customer service and outstanding performance. 

Over the past two decades, James has been instrumental in some of the biggest events in the country and abroad including but not limited to Falls Festival, Splendour in the Grass, VIVID Sydney (NSW), 2019 Invictus Games (NSW), and the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (QLD), Listen Out & In (AUS & NZ), SXSW Sydney, The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Launch and Live Site, FIFA Live Site, and numerous TV products in sport nationally and internationally.

Liam Howe

Managing Director, iEDM

Liam has been involved in delivering major event overlay projects for over 20 years. 

He is Managing Director of iEDM, a company which provides design, engineering, project management and construction management services to clients such as Australian Grand Prix, the Supercars Series, Avalon International Air Show, the AFL, LIV Golf and various others.

iEDM act as Delivery Partners to help their clients design and delivery approximately $140M of overlay infrastructure each year. 

Liam started his career as a project manager, working on the Gold Coast Indy and started iEDM on the Gold Coast in 2009. 

Since then, it has grown to a company of approximately 70 project managers, engineers, designers, project managers, construction and site managers 

Anthony Cicuttini

SVP & Head of Aviation Development, Brisbane Airport Corporation    

SVP and Head of Aviation Development Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd

Anthony leads a high-performing team of aviation business development managers and analysts, driving airline capacity growth and strategic network development at Brisbane Airport. His leadership is grounded in more than 20 years of international experience across aviation operations, planning, forecasting, and economic analysis.

Before joining Brisbane Airport, Anthony was the Managing Director of Redwater Consulting Group—an aviation strategy consultancy specialising in market forecasting, data modelling, and economic impact assessments. 

During this time, he supported clients across 15 countries, helping navigate complex industry challenges through data-driven and collaborative approaches.

Anthony began his aviation career in airport and airline operations in Toronto, Canada, before relocating to Dubai, then Kuala Lumpur, and finally settling in Australia in 2011 to lead key aviation infrastructure and planning projects.

He is a passionate advocate for evidence- based decision making and cross-sector collaboration to meet the evolving demands of aviation stakeholders 

  Kurt Sakzewski

State Manager, Gibson Freight Australia

Coming from a family with history in motorsport Kurt joined Supercars Australia in 2001 as part of the motorsport department and in 2005 was made the head of Motorsport overseeing all Supercar races in Australia and overseas including events in Shanghai, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

In 2014 Kurt left Supercars and took over the Motorsport program for Porsche, managing their events and motorsport operations across Australia. 

He then returned to Supercars in 2017 taking on the role of General Manager of Operations overseeing the Bathurst 12 hr international GT event and brought to life the Newcastle 500, the first new street circuit in Australia in nearly a decade.

After COVID 19 changed the sporting and events landscape in Australia, Kurt pivoted into a management role with Gibson Freight, the leading events freight business in Australia where he oversees the movement of the freight for the F1, MotoGP and Supercars events.

Lisa Sams

Director, SP Event Logistics

Lisa Sams is a highly respected event operations specialist with almost thirty years’ experience delivering some of the world’s largest and most complex sporting events. 

Her career spans multiple Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth, Invictus, and Pacific Games, where she has built a reputation for calm leadership, precision planning, and a deep commitment to creating environments that enable people to perform at their best.  

As Director of SP Events & Logistics, based in Queensland, Lisa leads bespoke event management projects that combine operational excellence with a human touch. 

Her team has supported major international events including the Birmingham 2022 and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, the World Athletics Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst, and the Sydney Marathon over three years of candidacy, and it’s first year as an Abbott World Major Marathon. 

She currently provides Operations planning and delivery to Commonwealth Games Australia in preparation for the Glasgow 2026 Games.  

Prior to establishing SP Events & Logistics, Lisa held senior roles with the Australian Olympic Committee, leading operations for Summer, Winter, and Youth Olympic Teams across four continents. 

Her leadership has been recognised with the Australian Sports Medal (2022) for outstanding contribution to Australian sport