Neil O'Brien
Chief Executive Officer
Email – nobrien@gulf-savannah.com.au
CEO Office – 0408 051 358
After hours – 0421 995 205
Neil was appointed Chief Executive Officer in September 2023, and is operating from bases in Cairns, the Gulf Savannah region and Brisbane. Neil is results driven and has extensive executive experience leading tourism and major events, infrastructure and experience development, biosecurity, and corporate and business services.
With over 37 years in public sector leadership across seven agencies in regional and South-East Queensland, Neil brings strong skills and experience to the role. He has worked extensively in front line operational, corporate and strategic roles, including over 19 years in senior and executive leadership positions in tourism, major events, agriculture and fisheries.
Roles currently under recruitment include:
Finance and Governance Officer
Tourism Recovery Officer
Stephanie Toy
Tourism Recovery Officer
Email –tourismrecovery@gulf-savannah.com.au
Stephanie joined GSD in July 2025 as GSD’s Tourism Recovery Officer – Steph is currently working part-time on Tuesday and Wednesday each week.
Steph is based in Cairns and has a wealth of experience in business development, tourism, operations management, marine, marketing and communications. Steph’s experience spans across regional and remote locations, in the private sector, within local Councils and the Tourism department in Queensland Government. As a former hospitality business owner herself, Steph is well versed in the opportunities and challenges faced by small business in remote parts of Queensland.
Steph is working closely with Gulf Savannah tourism businesses, Councils, government agencies, and industry partners to support recovery and build resilience across the Gulf Savannah region as a part of GSD’s Tourism Resilience and Recovery Program – a jointly funded Australian and Queensland Government initiative under Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements for the declared disaster event in November 2022 to April 2023.
