CEO Update - October 2026

Kate has extensive experience as a non-executive director and board leader across a diverse range of prominent Victorian organisations. Kate is Chair of the Prahran Market and holds board director positions with Essendon Football Club, Moonee Valley Racing Club, Marcus Oldham Agricultural College and the Pancare Foundation.

She brings a valuable combination of agricultural understanding, commercial acumen, strategic leadership and a genuine commitment to advancing Victoria’s agricultural community.

Kate’s appointment comes after Matt Coleman OAM announced

during the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show that he intended to stand down as President at the October Board meeting. We thank and congratulate Matt on his leadership and the significant contribution he has made to the organisation as President for the past 10 years.

To ensure a smooth transition of leadership, Matt will remain on the Melbourne Royal Board and continue to make a valuable contribution as a Director including serving on the Unincorporated Joint Venture  Board Sub-Committee(s).

The change of President coincides with our new CEO, Rick Aylett commencing at Melbourne Royal on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Rick brings extensive leadership experience and a distinguished record of achievement in roles of significant responsibility, with deep expertise relevant to the organisation's purpose and vision, events and venue business, and future priorities. We look forward to Rick joining the Melbourne Royal team and building upon the organisation's strong foundations and support its continued success.

2026 Melbourne Royal Show

On behalf of Melbourne Royal Board and management, I thank everyone who was involved in the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show held from 24 September to 4 October. The Melbourne Royal Show is the remarkable Victorian major event that brings much joy and happiness to the Victorian community, and we trust those involved and attended had an enjoyable experience this year.

The inclement weather did impact the overall attendance over the 11 days, however pleasingly it did not affect customer satisfaction, which was the highest for the past 5 years.

The size, scale and complexity of the Melbourne Royal Show is like no other Victorian major event. To deliver such a massive event as a not-for-profit organisation, we rely heavily on the volunteers who generously provide their valuable time, experience and expertise.

We are most grateful for the support and assistance we received from more than 1,000 volunteers who assisted us over the 11 event days in a variety of roles including as judges, stewards and customer service.

We are particularly grateful to members of our Show Competitive Section Committees who volunteer their valuable time and countless hours to assist us deliver quality agricultural and leisure interest competitions. Their tireless work, commitment, passion and enthusiasm in assisting us maximise the appeal and success of their respective competitions is incredible.

On behalf of the Board and management, I take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge the incredible contribution of the following committee members who have stepped off their respective Competitive Section committees following the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show:

• Gary Turnham (Honorary Life Member) – Beef Cattle Committee
• David Bolton – Beef Cattle Committee (Chair)
• John Downing – (awarded President’s Medal in 2017) Sheep Committee

Each of the above mentioned have been long serving volunteers of their respective committees and their contribution, support and commitment has been profound, which we are most grateful.

We thank the thousands of competitors who competed to win a coveted Melbourne Royal blue ribbon at the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show. Details of all the Blue Ribbon Champions and Best in Show winners are listed here for your reference.

The financial and in-kind support we received from our valued Partners and Sponsors for the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show is very much appreciated.

Hundreds of casual staff and more than 750 businesses that were involved in some way with the 2026 Show including suppliers, service providers and businesses exhibiting at the event.

We particularly thank all the carnival operators, showbag retailers, food vendors and retail exhibitors for contributing to the event experience.

We also appreciate the active involvement of Victoria Police, emergency services, Consumer Affairs Victoria, WorkSafe Victoria and other regulatory and community agencies, who assisted us deliver a safe and enjoyable event.

With wonderful sponsors, volunteers and staff, along with the support of the Victorian community, we are very confident the Melbourne Royal Show will continue to be hugely popular and successful in the future.

The Melbourne Royal Show is a unique and valuable platform to celebrate agriculture, inspire excellence through competition and bring communities together and with your ongoing support and involvement may this continue in the future.

Thank you once again for your interest, involvement and support and we trust you and your family and friends had a most enjoyable experience at the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show.

Showing Support for Melbourne Royal

An important outcome from the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show was the commitment announced by the Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson and the Leader of the Nationals Danny O’Brien and Shadow Minister for Agriculture Emma Kearly. The Liberal Nationals coalition if elected in November 2026 have committed to working with Melbourne Royal within 12 months of taking office to solve our tenure and joint venture issues, and to invest $1.5 million in a new master plan for the Showgrounds.

We were also buoyed by the Premier, Ben Carroll reconfirming the Labor government’s support for the Melbourne Royal Show to remain at the Showgrounds for the foreseeable future. The Minister for Agriculture, Michaela Settle also confirmed her support to facilitate a process to securing Melbourne Royal’s long-term future ahead of the current Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements concluding in 2031. Following discussions with the Premier and Minister Settle, we now look forward to actively participating in the proposed planning process led by Agriculture Victoria to resolve the punitive constraints of the current PPP.

We remain hopeful that the outcome of the planning process will secure Melbourne Royal’s future at Melbourne Showgrounds and ensure our organisation is financially sustainable in perpetuity. Achieving this outcome can enable Melbourne Royal to generate greater economic and social value for the State in the spirit of celebrating agriculture. 

In closing on a personal note, I am most grateful for the support I received from everyone over the past two months while I have been interim CEO. It was a great privilege to lead the organisation during the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show and I thank the Board, our staff and all the wonderful volunteers for their support, passion and commitment to deliver a safe and successful event. 

Thank you for your ongoing interest in Melbourne Royal and I trust you will enjoy reading the additional articles in this edition of the newsletter. To stay well informed about all the latest news and updates with Melbourne Royal events, awards and venues, visit melbourneroyal.com.au.

 

Darryl Ferris

Interim CEO