Reed Exhibitions has appointed Cory Watson, the current head of Fairfax’s Essential Baby & Toddler Show, as the new director of Beauty Expo Australia, Beauty Expo Melbourne and Hair Expo Australia.
Cory will begin her new role in January when long-standing event director Julia Erben officially steps down from the role.
Announcing the change in directors, Reed said senior leadership at the company “are appreciative of Julia’s many years of dedication and passion for the hair and beauty industries, and are excited to welcome Cory to the company as leader of the Hair & Beauty portfolio”.
Julia said that “after nine wonderful years at the helm of Reed’s Hair and Beauty expos” she has decided to relocate to Europe to spend time with her family.
She said she had learnt a lot from beauty industry and its incredibly passionate people during her tenure, and was “grateful for the many professional and personal relationships” she had formed over the years.
Julia stressed that her departure would not negatively impact the expos.
“Hair Expo and Beauty Expo have an experienced team who are preparing amazing shows for 2018,” she said.
“The event programs for Beauty Expo Melbourne and Hair Expo Australia have already been finalised, with new packages, exciting brands on board, and internationals artists secured – I have no doubt that they will be fabulous shows that will serve to inspire our visitors.”
Julia’s time with Reed saw the events “move from strength to strength” with Hair Expo Australia winning ‘Best Show Overall’ at the 2016 EEAA Awards, and Beauty Expo Australia “reaching huge milestones for its 2017 edition at the new International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour”.
Cory has more than 16 years’ experience in event management specialising in sales, marketing, sponsorship, people management, training, and event production.
She is currently Head of Parenting at Fairfax Events where her portfolio includes the Essential Baby & Toddler Show and the Kidtopia Festival.
Her career has also included stints working for Clarion in the UK and Single Market Events in Australia.
She said she had a huge amount of respect for Julia and what Reed’s Hair & Beauty team “has done with the events thus far.
“I am looking forward to joining the team and, with fresh eyes, bringing something new and exciting to the shows over the coming months.”