New Chairperson appointed to Greater Whitsunday Alliance board

Mackay business leader Tony Caruso has been appointed as the incoming Chairperson of the Greater Whitsunday Alliance (GW3) board. 

Mr Caruso will lead eight directors on the board to guide the strategic outcomes for the Mackay Isaac Whitsunday (MIW) economic development organisation.

Whitsunday Regional Council (WRC) Mayor and Chairperson of the Greater Whitsunday Council of Mayors (GWCoM) Andrew Willcox said Mr Caruso was selected from a group of high-profile candidates after a comprehensive recruitment campaign.

Mr Willcox said Mr Caruso’s experience and passion for the local area made him the ideal individual to help lead the next phase of growth for the MIW region.

“Tony’s extensive experience holding senior management positions in contracting services across the New South Wales and Queensland resources sector means he has a common understanding of the economic opportunities and challenges we face as a region.

“Known as a dynamic leader, Tony is eager to generate and implement new initiatives targeted at enhancing our regional economy, particularly during these tough times. 

“He will be a fantastic addition to the GW3 board, Mr Willcox said.

Outgoing GW3 Chairperson Mr John Glanville said that after almost four years in the role, it was time to step down and he was delighted to see Mr Caruso appointed as his successor.

“I look forward to working closely with him in the transition to help him, the board and organisation continue to grow and develop for the benefit of the entire region in the future,” Mr Glanville said. 

Mr Caruso said he was excited to lead the GW3 board and believes the role of economic development bodies is an important one in regional communities and here in this region, with three closely linked communities.

“GW3 has an even more critical role to play in ensuring that this region is working together and working to its strengths to build a resilient and thriving hub that will be economically sustainable well into the future.

“We have some new and interesting challenges and opportunities ahead of us and I wanted to be a part of creating outcomes that set us up for success”.

In 2005, Tony joined Mastermyne and as the Managing Director and CEO led the company to achieve many milestones while making the best of changeable cycles in the sector.

Mr Caruso has held various board roles including Resource Industry Network.

“I’ve learned a lot in these roles, and it has afforded me the opportunity to build an extensive network of people and connections which will be valuable in this role as GW3 chairperson”, he said.

Mr Caruso said working to the MIW region’s strength will underpin its long-term success.

“Each of the three regions is fortunate to have some key attributes that make them strong and viable, Whitsundays with its tourism, Isaac with its natural resources and Mackay with its world class engineering and METS hub.

“There are a number of overlapping areas that can be explored to benefit the region collectively and that’s in areas like education, agriculture, technology and bio-futures.

“If we can unlock the barriers to developing further in these areas and build the infrastructure to support investment we will not only see the direct economic benefits but greater indirect benefits like commercial and residential development and infrastructure that further improves liveability in this great region,” he said. 

Mr Caruso said he wanted to take the opportunity to publicly thank the inaugural chairperson John Glanville for his leadership of GW3 and his success in bringing the three regions together under his direction.

“I only hope I can do justice to the role and follow in his footsteps but there’s no doubt he’s left me some big shoes to fill,” he said.

Mayor Willcox also wished outgoing Chairperson John Glanville all the best for his retirement and commends him for his achievements with GW3 and for laying the foundations as the inaugural role as Chairperson.

In the months ahead Mr Glanville will mentor and help transition Mr Caruso to the role before he is officially appointed chairperson at the GW3 Annual General Meeting in December.

Greater Whitsunday Alliance is the region’s peak, independent economic development body committed to making the Mackay, Isaac, Whitsunday region strong for generations.

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