Kate Wickett has been appointed Interim CEO of Sydney WorldPride, the company charged with the design and delivery of Sydney WorldPride 2023, by the Interim Board of Directors.

Kate Wickett

Kate, who is currently the Co-Chair of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, one of the world’s leading LGBTQI arts and cultural organisations, will step down from her role as Co-Chair at the end of the 2020 season, while continuing on as a Director.  Kate has also stepped down from her senior executive role at the Commonwealth Bank.

Kate is a lawyer by background and has both extensive corporate and government executive experience leading large projects and working with a diverse range of stakeholders.

Kate was also part of the successful Sydney WorldPride bid, and will now lead the team charged with setting up the organisation and negotiating the first stage of local, state and federal funding.

“Kate brings a wealth of knowledge not just from her time at Sydney Mardi Gras, but also as a Director at Melbourne’s Midsumma festival, and has both the professional and government liaison skills essential to see us through this first stage of delivery of Sydney WorldPride,” said Damien Hodgkinson, the Interim Chair of Sydney WorldPride.

Kate says, “WorldPride in Sydney and in the southern hemisphere for the first time provides the opportunity to showcase our wonderfully diverse communities to the world. I am thrilled to continue the great work achieved over the past year during the bid process and to establish the organisation to enable it to deliver a world leading innovative, interactive and inclusive festival and human rights conference for all to enjoy and participate.”

The initial appointment is for a period of 6 – 9 months whilst the organisation sets up the necessary company risk, governance, funding and finance frameworks, at which point the Interim Board will commence the recruitment of a permanent CEO.

ABOUT SYDNEY WORLDPRIDE

Sydney WorldPride 2023 will be the 8th WorldPride staged by InterPride, the global peak body of LGBTQI organisations, which has over 551 member organisations across 86 countries.

This will be the first time the event has been held in the Southern Hemisphere and is expected to attract over 1 million attendees over the two week period, which will simultaneously be held with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival in March 2023.

The event is expected to be the largest WorldPride ever held, with the economic impact to New South Wales and Australia estimated to be between $660m-$840m by Deloitte Economics.