Robyn Archer AO

PURPOSE

Push Management exists to empower people to think differently and to affect positive change by challenging paradigms. Push delivers bespoke creative and business strategy that combines critical and creative thinking with evidence-based insight for people committed to improvement.

VALUES

With a 30-year history of work and life experience supporting him, Rick pursues a set of values in Push Management that represent his personal approach to life. The pursuit of these values feeds the way in which he works and an ongoing search for self-awareness and improvement.

• Authenticity – real, honest, and avoiding popularism.
• Candour – care personally, challenge directly.
• Interdependence – sustainable solutions from connected relationships and the co-existance of social and economic impacts.
• Persistence – questioning the status quo, getting to core issues, and seeing projects through to the best possible outcome.
• Evidence – insights and decision-making based on research, relationships and rigour.

Rick Heath is the Principal of Push Management.

He has a professional management career spanning over 30 years across Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Business and is a graduate of the WA Academy of Performing Arts. He has worked extensively in the performing arts industry as an advocate for industry reform, a consultant, producer, presenter, and contractor.

Rick has Chaired and been a Board member of arts organisations for the majority of this career as well as sitting on multiple grant assessment and award panels. He has been Chair of the Helpmann Awards Presentation for Children Panel, a member of the Panel for Regional Touring, and a Board member of The Last Great Hunt.

Rick is a Fellow of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management where he studied for three months between 2017 and 2019 under the guidance of Michael Keiser in Washington DC. This enabled Rick to further hone his strategic planning skills whilst developing a substantial network of international peers who continue to feed his professional practice.

Amongst other positions, Rick has worked as Event Operations Manager for the Sydney Opera House, General Manager for Buzz Dance theatre and Executive Producer for the Perth International Arts Festival. He is also a founding member of the Performing Arts Touring Alliance.

Together with Harley Stumm, Rick undertook a six-month national consultation project for the Australia Council for the Arts resulting in Australia’s first National Touring Framework.

Rick was Project Facilitator for the Contemporary Dance Model Development project (Future Moves), a $1.6M government initiative for the development of Contemporary Dance in Western Australia paving the way for the establishment of contemporary dance company CO3.

In 2018 Rick completed a state-wide community consultation that resulted in a 5-year touring strategy for the state of Western Australia, the outcome of which resulted in changes to government programs and continues to deliver industry reform.

Rick is a cultural advocate. He has a passion for strategic business development, and social enterprise, nurturing effective and productive relationships between suppliers and consumers.

Robert Love AM

Kim Beasley AC – Governor of Western Australia

HIS CAREER

Rick’s career crosses over strategy, advocacy, producing and executive leadership, leveraging the unique combination of his business and cultural expertise. Most recently Rick has undertaken cultural research, consultation and strategy projects for numerous Local Government Authorities. In 2023 Rick was National Producer for Big hART’s inter-cultural Songs for Freedom project encompassing a national concert tour, an album, documentary, and public awareness campaign.

Previously as Executive Director and Co-CEO of Black Swan State Theatre Company, Rick oversaw box office income increase by 38% and a 54% increase in membership, as well as a record-breaking philanthropic success.

Rick was the Executive Director of Performing Arts Connections Australia (formerly the Australian Performing Arts Centres Association – APACA) a national membership advocacy body between 2008 and 2019. Whilst managing PACA, revenue more than doubled, membership increased by 86% and annual conference attendance increased by 70%. Rick’s strategic approach saw transformative structural change in the arts and cultural industry particularly in touring practices and business-to-business relationships.

HIS APPROACH TO WORK

Truth and transparency are the foundations of Rick’s approach. He creates trust through credibility, reliability and strong relationships that recognises the interdependence of outcomes.

His leadership is achieved by listening, using and building the strength of the people that surround him, being deliberate in seeking out cues that signal change, and developing alignment and shared purpose.

Gabriella is a highly experienced Arts Management professional, with over 25 years working in a variety of arts roles from administration to project management and event coordination.

She has worked in performing arts organisations, managing company administration, budgeting, marketing and grant funding.

Gabriella has experience on both sides of local government – as an employee in arts and cultural roles and also working with local government as a stakeholder for other event projects, both large scale and community driven.  This provides a unique perspective, allowing an understanding of the nuance of community needs and broader Council objectives, whilst being cognisant of the reality of the resourcing and delivery of projects.

For over 15 years Gabriella worked in local government roles in both large (City of Joondalup) and small (Town of Bassendean) Arts and Cultural Development roles.  This included arts & cultural strategy, community arts projects and delivering cultural development programs. The role included programming, event delivery, project management and exhibition coordination. In these roles she also became experienced in the delivery of community workshops and facilitation.

In 2018 Gabriella played a key role in the development of the Town of Bassendean’s Arts and Cultural plan.  This process involved extensive community consultation, surveys, workshops and an advisory panel.

The final plan presented a diverse range of arts and cultural offerings reflecting this creative community, with a focus on an existing pool of creative talent within the community.

In her time in local government, Gabriella delivered large scale community events, ranging from an annual children’s festival for the City of Joondalup, the Little Feet Festival to an annual Australia Day concert and fireworks for the Town of Bassendean.  She grew this event over 10 years from an audience of 5000 to up to 20,000 people.  She also delivered an annual Naidoc day event, presented in partnership with Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service, the largest one in the metropolitan area.

As Event Operations and Logistics Manager for Perth Festival, Gabriella specialises in managing stakeholder relationships for large scale public events.  Her strong relationship management and communication skills allow for complex problem solving, leading to successful outcomes.  This role requires managing all local government relationships as well as key state agencies such as Main Roads WA, WAPOL, PTA, DBCA, Kings Park Botanic Gardens and the Department of Health.

Gabriella is a qualified trainer and assessor, experienced facilitated virtual training.  With her extensive background in events, she delivers the Certificate III in Events .

Passionate about creativity, in 2022 Gabriella produced and presented a podcast, Tell Me What You’re Working On… Engaging conversations that celebrate creativity in all its forms.  This series was produced with the support of the City of Stirling.

Tim Long has had a diverse career in the sport, entertainment, Arts and venue management industries and is currently the Managing Director of Hawkridge Entertainment Services, a boutique management consultancy firm. He possesses superior analytical, communication and financial skills that have resulted in the conceptualisation, creation, and delivery of diverse projects covering a range of scope and complexity.

His consulting experience incorporates a diverse range of government and commercial clients including the City of Ryde, Newcastle City Council, Sydney Fringe Festival, Ku-Ring-Gai Council, Wollondilly Shire Council, Coffs Harbour City Council, Shoalhaven City Council, Blue Mountains City Council, Georges River Council, City of Sydney, Create NSW, Infrastructure NSW, Infrastructure SA, Wellington Museum (NZ), RHR Group (The Sydney Coliseum Theatre), Pirtek Stadium, Mounties Group and the Blacktown International Sports Park (Blacktown City Council).

Tim specialises in the development of strategies for organisations, from community and cultural facilities plans to assisting clients with financial modelling, operational modelling and the development of policies and procedures. He also has vast experience in the development of cultural, sporting, commercial and community infrastructure including preparing issues and options papers, feasibility studies, giving design advice and strategic advice.

As an experienced venue manager, he has also managed a range of venues and organisations including as theatres, conference centres, numerous multicultural and musical events. Tim was also Willoughby Councils representative on the design team for The Concourse project in Chatswood – a 1000-seat Concert Hall, 500-seat Theatre, 500sqm Exhibition/Conference Space, Studio, Rehearsal Room, Gallery and Retail spaces that has added significantly to the cultural and economic landscape of Chatswood and Sydney.

Tim has featured at a range of conferences and events including as a panellist for the Live! Singapore Global Performing Arts Exchange, Marina Bays Sands, Singapore, as a speaker for APACA (Australian Performing Arts Centre Association), MEA (Meetings & Events Australia) Conferences and as a speaker and panellist for Stadia and Arena Asia Pacific. He is also a guest lecturer for undergraduate and graduate venue and events management courses at UTS (University of Technology Sydney).

He has a Master of Business Administration from the University of New England, a Graduate Certificate in Arts Management from the University of Technology Sydney, a Diploma of Live Production, Theatre & Events as well as completing the Venue Management Association’s Public Venue Management School. Tim is also one of only 25 venue professionals in Australia to have attained the Certified Venue Executive accreditation from the International Association of Venue Managers.

Tim is an expert review panel member for Infrastructure NSW and Infrastructure SA, performing gateway reviews on major infrastructure projects. Tim is also a board member of the Venue Management Association and a board member of Create NSW’s Cultural Infrastructure Advisory Board.

A purposeful, outcomes-orientated individual, Carly has a strong track record in co-designing and delivering impactful cultural heritage, story-telling and creative industry initiatives with diverse organisations and communities across Australia. With over 25 years’ experience in community development, Carly specialises in collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She brings a wealth of skills, knowledge and networks from her engagement in the not-for-profit, government, and private sectors.

Representing the National Museum of Australia (NMA), Carly presented at the UNESCO Culture 2030 World Forum in Meishan, China on how the creative industries can sustain livelihoods in remote regions. A Winston Churchill Fellow, Carly has led numerous large-scale, long-term, award-winning engagement projects and programs including the Ngurra Kuju Walyja (One Country One People) Canning Stock Route Project and Yiwarra Kuju (One Road) globally touring exhibition (10 Aboriginal Art Centres across the Western Desert, Form and the NMA); the Cultural Connections Initiative employing 673 First Nations practitioners across Australia (NMA); and major built environment interpretative design projects with the Western Australian Museum Boorla Bardip and Blue Mountains City Council Visitors Centre (Thylacine Design).

As Principal Consultant of Tracker and Intermedia Productions Carly has worked across remote and regional WA, NT, SA and Far North QLD, collaborating with a diverse range of councils and community organisations including the production of Jandamurra with Bunuba Aboriginal Corporation, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Opera House; Encounters exhibition with the British Museum, and Whadjuk Noongar Elders City of Stirling; Arts Queensland’s Skills and Training Survey consultation with Aboriginal art centres.

More recently as CEO Ainslie and Gorman Art Centres and Director Arts Capital, Carly led a dynamic team in management of Canberra’s largest collective of multidisciplinary artists and peak body organisations comprising 139 residents, and a range of public-private venues including community access to studios, theatres and recording-rehearsal spaces.

Her qualifications include Foundations of Directorship, Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Impact, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, School of Business, University of Western Australia, a Postgraduate Diploma in Anthropology, University of Melbourne and a Bachelor Arts: Art History, Curatorship and Anthropology, Australian National University. She is presently enrolled in the Two-way Indigenous Methodologies course with Nulungu Research Institute University of Notre Dame (Broome WA).