Visual Connections has announced the appointment of Karren Challoner-Miles to the role of executive general manager – association, commencing immediately.
Challoner-Miles’ appointment follows the retirement of long-serving CEO, Peter Harper. Harper, who founded the original sign industry supplier association 30 years ago and had been at the helm of Visual Connections for the past 18 years, announced his retirement in July. He was also recently recognised for his contribution to the industry, winning the Industry Achievement Award at this year’s ProPrint Awards.
As part of the restructure, Sarah Moore has also been promoted to general manager – trade shows and events.
Visual Connections president, Mitch Mulligan, said Challoner-Miles’ appointment came after an exhaustive recruitment process, with the board given the difficult task of making the call from a field of very qualified candidates.
“We were impressed and encouraged by the calibre of candidates who expressed interest in the role, but Karren’s experience and qualifications made her the obvious choice to lead Visual Connections into the future.
“We are very pleased that Karren has agreed to lead our operational team, and we know she will bring fresh ideas and a new energy to Visual Connections.”
A senior marketing, brand and product leader, Challoner-Miles has worked within the energy, technology, telecommunications and news and real estate publishing sectors, managing consumer, business and affiliate marketing strategy and execution for private and board-led organisations across APAC.
She has deep expertise in strategy, organisational operations, market expansion and product development and promotion, with experience covering everything from optimising technology and process automation for marketing and acquisition teams, to driving successful omni-channel lead-generation, acquisition and retention campaigns.
“I’m excited to join the association and to capitalise on all the great work outgoing CEO Peter Harper has achieved during his 18-year tenure. I’m fortunate that I can work alongside him for the next few weeks and benefit from his extensive knowledge of the industry,” Challoner-Miles said.
Challoner-Miles will commence immediately, providing plenty of time for a full handover, and with the next year’s schedule of events confirmed, final publications for the year in production, and plans for the flagship PacPrint exhibition in Sydney in May well underway, Mulligan said all is in place for a smooth transition.
“We have a strong team in place at Visual Connections, and I know Karren’s expertise and leadership will complement their operational strengths and deep industry knowledge as we seek to support a sustainable future for the industry in this fast-moving, ever-evolving space.
“We welcome Karren most warmly and look forward to seeing the association go from strength to strength under her leadership; it really is the start of a new era.”
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