About us
Learn about Tourism Australia's responsibility, vision and values, as well as information on our leadership, which sectors we focus on, and our reporting.
Leadership
Kathryn O’Brien
Kathryn O’Brien, Executive General Manager Global Markets at Tourism Australia
Executive General Manager Global Markets
As the Executive General Manager Global Markets, Kathryn (Kath) O’Brien is responsible for managing Tourism Australia’s network of international offices across 16 global markets, along with airline and distribution channel partnerships.
Bringing more than 20 years of tourism and aviation experience to the role, Kath has worked across a range of international facing positions in sales, distribution, product, operations and marketing strategy, to deliver both revenue growth and strong stakeholder relationships.
Prior to joining Tourism Australia in August 2026, Kath was Air New Zealand’s General Manager Australia, where she had responsibility for leading the airline’s distribution, commercial, partnerships, sales, marketing and operations in the market.
Her previous roles include global Chief Commercial Officer at Experience Co, and a 17-year tenure at Hamilton Island Enterprises, where she held numerous positions including global General Manager Sales.
Kath has previously held the position of Chairperson of the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia (BARA) and holds a Bachelor of Tourism.
