The Ironman Group promoted Michelle Pepper to the role of managing director for Oceania. Pepper is taking over the role from Geoff Meyer, who has retired as of the end of July.
Pepper has been with The Ironman Group for the last eight years, with an overall background of more than 13 years of experience in marketing and leadership roles in the events industry. She joined the company through the acquisition of Lagardere’s New Zealand operation. Pepper will transition from her role as vice president, marketing for the Asia-Pacific Region, having previously held the role of head of marketing for Oceania.
In her new role, Pepper will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Oceania business for The Ironman Group, leading the four Oceania offices, Melbourne, Sydney and Noosa in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand, and the more than 80 full-time employees. The Oceania region features 25 events across multiple sporting disciplines and brands, including running, trail running, and triathlon events as well as the Ironman, Ironman 70.3, and UTMB World Series brands and events in the region.
“Michelle is an accomplished leader who has an in-depth understanding of our athletes and a passion for elevating the overall customer experience during every step of the journey,” said Scott DeRue, chief executive office for The Ironman Group. “Michelle has a clear and compelling strategic vision for the future of The Ironman Group in Oceania, and she is committed to partnering with the team to inspire, empower, and help everyone be their best self. Michelle loves to solve problems and has the courage to advocate for her team and the best course of action, which will be instrumental in helping us to imagine and create an exciting future in Oceania.”
“I’d like to sincerely thank our retiring Managing Director, Geoff Meyer who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to this team and The Ironman Group over many years. I will be forever grateful for his leadership. We are a better organization today because of Geoff and all he has contributed to our community, and we wish him well in retirement,” said DeRue.
Meyer joined The Ironman Group in 2012 with the acquisition of USM Events. After five years as managing director of the Asia-Pacific Region, Meyer relocated to Singapore to create a standalone Asian Division for The Ironman Group. During his time in Asia, Meyer helped to build a full business unit with operations, sales, marketing, and finance functions, among other areas, and facilitated major acquisitions that included the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, and Sunrise Events Philippines, as well as expansion of the Ironman brand into Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and India, before returning to lead the Oceania team once again in 2021.
Oceania plays a key role in the overall business of The Ironman Group and this year will host both the VinFast Ironman 70.3 World Championship triathlon in Taupō, New Zealand and the World Triathlon Multisport Championships Townsville in Australia. The Oceania team also organizes events including the world’s largest fun run, the City2Surf in Sydney, the Garmin Noosa Triathlon, the NZ Sotheby’s International Realty Queenstown Marathon and three UTMB World Series events.
Pepper will continue to be based out of the Auckland, New Zealand office.
Images courtesy The Ironman Group, Michelle Pepper/LinkedIn
