Our Team

Tracey Whiting AM is a Director of Solstice Media Limited. She has a background in strategic marketing, audience development and community engagement, and has held marketing and advisory roles with Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Tourism Western Australia and the South Australian Government. Tracey was Chair of the Art Gallery of South Australia from 2014 to 2020 and prior to that, served as a board member. She also served on the boards of the South Australian Museum, the National Museum of Australia and the Adelaide UNESCO City of Music. She is actively involved in philanthropic projects and has developed many fundraising and membership campaigns.

Tracey has been Chair of the Adelaide Festival Corporation Board since September 2023.

Alison Beare is Chief Executive Officer of the UKARIA Cultural Centre.  A highly skilled senior administrator and advisor, her leadership of UKARIA includes the curation of its annual cultural program.

Previously, Alison was the SA Manager for Philanthropy Australia and from 2007 – 2011 she was the Executive Officer of the Australian String Quartet (ASQ). She has developed and implemented many successful music programs both with ASQ and as Concert Manager at the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide. Alison is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and participated in the Executive Colloquia at Cranlana in 2017. She is on the board of the Australian Youth Orchestra.

Alison has been a member of the Adelaide Festival Corporation Board since December 2019.

Leesa Chesser is an accomplished non-executive director at Neami National and West Beach Trust. Formerly South Australia’s Minister for Disabilities, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse, she spearheaded the $723M NDIS rollout, driving service reform.

Trained in health economics and business at the Queensland University of Technology, Leesa mentors emergent tech startups at Flinders University’s New Venture Institute and Australia Award Fellows via the Gender Consortium. ESG-focused, she aligns innovation with UN Sustainable Development Goals. A Future Director Award finalist and Salzburg Global Fellow in the care economy and equity, she champions the arts and impact-driven governance.

Leesa has been a member of the Adelaide Festival Corporation Board since January 2024.

Mary Couros is Councillor for the North Ward of the City of Adelaide.

Mary owns and operates multiple businesses located in North Adelaide. She holds a Diploma in Business and Real Estate and has more than 25 years’ experience in the real estate industry, working across administration, property management and sales.

Mary has been a member of the Adelaide Festival Corporation Board since February 2023

Brenton Cox is Managing Director of Adelaide Airport. With extensive executive leadership experience in business and finance he has guided the airport’s expansion, significant passenger growth, and response to COVID.

Brenton has previously held the positions of non-executive director of Sydney and Hobart Airports and executive roles with Macquarie Airports and Macquarie Capital in London and Sydney.

Brenton has been a member of the Adelaide Festival Corporation Board since December 2022.

During two decades as a journalist, Daniela anchored global news events for BBC World News in London, served as Chief Political Correspondent for SBS News in the Canberra Press Gallery and held prominent roles including State Political Reporter for ABC News and Network Ten. Following her television career, she's led media and communications for an ASX 50 company and for a national communications agency. Daniela now runs her own consultancy providing executive media and presentation training, strategic communications advice and is a sought-after master of ceremonies and panel moderator.

Daniela has been a member of the Adelaide Festival Corporation Board since September 2025.

Senior Analyst | Budget and Performance Branch
Department of Treasury and Finance

Matthew is a theatre director, opera director, and artistic director. He established his own independent theatre company in Perth in 2001 and was consequently invited to be Associate Director at Black Swan State Theatre Company (2006), and then Malthouse Theatre’s Associate Director (2011) in Melbourne. From 2015 to 2025 he was Artistic Director/co-CEO at Malthouse Theatre, Australia’s most daring theatre company, producing premier productions of theatre, dance, and contemporary opera.

As a director, many of his productions have premiered internationally, including Picnic at Hanging Rock to the Barbican (UK) and Royal Lyceum Theatre (Edinburgh) and been co-produced with international companies such as Lyric Hammersmith (London) and Royal Lyceum Theatre with Solaris. He directed the Australian premiere of Tom Waits’ musical The Black Rider and numerous new Australian works including John Harvey’s The Return with Melbourne’s RISING festival. During the pandemic, Matthew directed and created Australia’s largest immersive theatre production, Because the Night, which ran for nine months at Malthouse Theatre. Matthew has directed over 40 productions in Australia with companies ranging from Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Griffin Theatre Company, and Black Swan State Theatre Company.

His opera credits include Strauss’ Elektra with Opera Australia, West Australian Opera, and the Perth International Arts Festival; new contemporary opera Make No Noise at the Bavarian State Opera in Munch; Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman for New Zealand Opera; and Kurt Weill’s Happy End for Victorian Opera.

In 2023 Matthew was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to the arts as a director.

Matthew commenced as Artistic Director of Adelaide Festival in March 2025.

Julian is an arts leader and executive with approximately 25 years of experience across a range of roles in the Australian theatre and arts industry. He has worked as an Executive Director, Senior Program Manager, and Creative Producer in a variety of organisations across Australia, including Malthouse Theatre, the Centenary of Canberra, Tuggeranong Arts Centre, Craft ACT, and The Blue Room Theatre.

Prior to joining Adelaide Festival, Julian served as Executive Director of State Theatre Company South Australia (STCSA), the flagship professional theatre company in South Australia and a statutory authority of the South Australian Government. Before STCSA, he was Executive Director at The Blue Room Theatre, a highly regarded theatre company supported through recurrent funding from the Australia Council, the Government of Western Australia, and the City of Perth.

In these leadership roles, Julian has been responsible for managing the resources of major cultural institutions, exercising executive, business, and artistic judgment to oversee significant programming output, government and stakeholder engagement, and fundraising activities.

He maintains extensive networks across the Australian arts sector through his experience managing commissions, co-productions, events, and the casting and contracting of creatives and performers. Julian is motivated by the transformative power of the arts to reflect and expand the human experience and by the collaborative relationships that underpin the sector’s vitality.

Julian commenced as Executive Director of Adelaide Festival in September 2025.