Metz honoured as Melbourne celebrates its conference ambassadors

A gastroenterologist who helped to bring four international conferences to Melbourne has been honoured for helping to bolster the Australian city’s reputation as a science hub.

Professor Geoffrey Metz, from Epworth Hospital, was given the Club Melbourne Award for Excellence at the annual Club Melbourne Ambassador Program Awards, held last week.

Professor Geoffrey Metz and John Brumby chair of Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust Photo Credit: MCEC

Metz has been an ambassador since the programme’s beginnings in 2005, leading bids for events that, city leaders claim, added more than $64m to the city’s economy. 

Twelve other leaders were honoured for leading successful bids for 12 international conferences to Melbourne, doubling the number of successful bids achieved last year.

Collectively, the events are projected to deliver more than $62.5m in economic impact for the State, nearly tripling the economic impact from the previous year. The events will attract over 10,000 visitors to engage in impactful conversations and experience the vibrancy of Melbourne.

Club Melbourne is owned and led by Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and supported by Melbourne Convention Bureau and the Victorian State Government.

The programme has more than 80 ambassadors working in the fields of medical, science, engineering, agriculture business and community and infrastructure technologies.

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said: “Victoria continues to grow its reputation for holding world-class business events. These events not only showcase our state to the world, but also help boost our visitor economy through spending across accommodation, hospitality and broader tourism offerings.”

MCEC chief executive Natalie O’Brien added: “The annual awards night celebrates their ongoing advocacy efforts and commitments to building Melbourne’s reputation for research, business and exceptional events. And we’re so proud this year to celebrate almost triple the economic impact from the high-profile events secured for MCEC.”

 The award winners are:

•            Professor Frank Dunshae, World Congress on Animal Production 2024

•            Professor Alistair Moffat, Annual International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research & Development in Information Retrieval 2026 

•            Todd Harper AM, World Cancer Leaders’ Summit 2025

•            Dr Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, International Symposium on Digital Earth Summit and Locate 2026

•            Dr Arvind Sinha, Asian Australian Rotorcraft Forum 2024

Bid assist winners:

•            Professor Sanchia Aranda AM, World Cancer Leaders’ Summit 2025

•            Professor Ron Wakefield, World Sustainable Built Conference 2026

•            Professor Grant McArthur, VCCC Alliance Conference 2023

•            Professor Jonathan Shaw, International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region 2026 

•            Associate Professor Anna Boltong, MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting 2026

•            Emeritus Professor Milton Hearn, 2nd Australian Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering 2024

Club Melbourne Award for Excellence:

•            Professor Geoffrey Metz AO for his work in securing four successful bids since 2005 with a combined economic impact of $64.3m.

Written By

James Lancaster

AMI editor James Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk, read, listen to music, and drink beer.