Each year, more than 10 million visitors travel to South Bank. South Bank Corporation ensures they enjoy their stay by creating vibrant public spaces for them, as well as for residents, to explore and unwind in. The organisation has been responsible for the family-friendly parklands, the retail and dining strip in Little Stanley Street, and Brisbanes cultural boulevard in Grey Street. South Bank Corporation’s latest project is Southpoint, which will break new ground as one of the state’s largest mixed-use developments with three high-rise towers for apartments, business offices, and a five-star Emporium hotel.
The corporation was established to create a long-lasting legacy after the South Bank site was selected to host the World Expo 88. Prior to this event, the area had been reduced to a near-derelict port with a couple of old heritage hotels and industrial buildings, but was resurrected to provide suitable grounds for the showcase, which over 18 million people attended.
CEO Jeff Weigh, who has been leading South Bank Corporation for three years, says in those early days the original site was demolished with the exception of a couple of heritage buildings, and a master plan for a world-class inner urban community was laid down. ”That plan is still there today, some 25 years after the expo,” he says. ”It has been a very successful project. People from around the world come to see just why it has been so successful, because a lot of countries have great difficulty dealing with a site that large in the middle of the city.”
Jeff’s professional background has been largely in the tourism and marketing arena; however, he has also worked in the education, hotels, health, property, and hospitality industries. He was the chairman of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission, deputy general manager of the Queensland Tourist and Travel Corporation, and also the owner and managing director of his own business Rotech Plastics. Furthermore, Jeff was recently approached to join the board of the Port of Brisbane, which was an incredibly proud moment in his career.
He believes a good leader is somebody who is able to gather the best talent and then inspire them. “To inspire them to be the best they can be and to inspire them to contribute their views in a non-threatening way so that you get the best ideas on the table,” he explains. “I would liken the role of a good CEO to an orchestra conductor you dont have to be the number one violinist but you need to know how the violin mixes with the bassoon or the drums.”