MARK WORWOOD

Senior Production Editor

South China Morning Post

Founded in 1903, the English-language broadsheet South China Morning Post – its Sunday edition is the Sunday Morning Post – is Hong Kong’s unofficial newspaper of record and most trusted mass media organisation, with more than 130 million unique visitors to its website during 2023.

• Produced – wrote, subbed and laid out – racing editorial, including daily news stories, semi-weekly form guides and weekly feature articles/opinion pieces, as one member of its two-person desk covering Hong Kong’s most popular sport and the city’s largest taxpayer, the Jockey Club.
• Authored its top 2022-2023 racing story – Purton slams chief steward’s ‘new standard’: ‘It isn’t going to be sustainable’ – which engaged online readers for not only more minutes than any of its sponsored sports articles but also 25 per cent more time than any of its other racing items.

External Media Communications Manager

WA Police Union

The WA Police Union provides industrial, legal and welfare services to nearly 7,000 police officers, police recruits, police auxiliary officers, Aboriginal liaison officers and cadets. Established in 1912, it acts as a passionate advocate, lobbying for better conditions for its hard-working members.

• Orchestrated its internal and external communications, producing timely media releases, fortnightly electronic newsletters and quarterly printed magazines, writing briefing notes, talking points and rousing speeches, and building campaign websites like switchoffduty.com.
• Liaised with state and federal politicians, civil servants across various government agencies, journalists reporting for print, radio, television and online media organisations, and police executives, particularly commissioners, assistant commissioners and other bosses.

Racing and Wagering Manager

Western Australian Turf Club (Perth Racing)

The Western Australian Turf Club is Western Australia’s metropolitan home of thoroughbred racing. Formed in 1852 and currently trading as Perth Racing, it operates Ascot Racecourse and Belmont Park, hosts approximately 90 meetings a season and provides year-round action in the inner city.

• Reimagined its spring and autumn carnivals, notably creating the world’s original thoroughbred racing festival that featured a Group One race worth at least $1 million on three consecutive Saturdays – the Railway Stakes, the Winterbottom Stakes and the Kingston Town Classic.
• Conceived its game-changing Equine All Stars Incentive Scheme, which alleviated the substantial expenses associated with interstate- and overseas-based horses competing in The Masters and resulted in four successive seasons of record-breaking nominations, visitors, runners and profits.
• Supersized its TABtouch affiliate income by more than 1,400 per cent over four years, proposing, negotiating and executing the landmark agreement between Racing and Wagering Western Australia and all the state’s clubs that benefitted the latter collective by seven figures annually.
• Presented its in-house multimedia previews, reviews and podcasts – The Box Seat, The Run of the Race and Tongue Tie Off, respectively – administered its full suite of social media presences and anchored the Sky Racing network’s live and exclusive telecasts of its meetings.
• Devised, designed and delivered Perth Racing at Home, its password-protected streaming service that enabled its locked-out members and, subsequently, via a commercial contract, registered owners to watch preliminaries, races and replays during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
• Steered its most regulated operational divisions and special projects, including introducing Good Friday racing to Australia in 2017, installing its $2.4 million Ascot SuperScreen in 2019, and inviting Ascot Racecourse’s first female race caller, Dawn Lupul, to International Women’s Day in 2020.

Chief Intelligence Officer

Last Minute Mail (closed)

Last Minute Mail was Australia’s leading subscription-based racing and sports betting advisory service, covering domestic racing events weekly and international sports competitions daily.

• Assessed Australian races every weekend with performance ratings, speed maps and other analytical tools and used an extensive network of global contacts developed over two decades to identify the world’s optimal sports wagers, irrespective of tournament, time or location.

Communication, Marketing and Media Consultant

markworwood.com

markworwood.com was a communication, marketing and media consultancy that specialised in servicing companies operating in the editorial, entertainment and sports spaces.

• Coordinated the Australian launch of Norway-based dating agency Digisec Media, generated mainstream coverage from the newsworthy results of commissioned surveys and produced exclusive content for Australian, American, British and Irish publishers.

Product Evangelist

Macquarie University

Informatics is a computer department that creates an information technology edge for Macquarie University, designing, deploying and delivering great products and services.

• Promoted its new apps, notably BoardPad, DataSwitch, iLab, iLearn, iTeach, OneForge, OneVision, Tracker and Units, and moderated its monthly events – Federation Forums, Tech Talks and Town Halls – that evangelised its recently implemented initiatives to its students, faculty and staff.

Head of Communications

tomwaterhouse.com

Tom was not born to be a footballer, win a major or wear the baggy green. But with four generations of betting knowledge in his blood, Tom was born to bet because he was born a Waterhouse.

• Launched Australia’s most-talked-about online bookmaker, directed its internal and external communications and hatched the idea for its first television commercial, In The Blood, which leveraged the Waterhouse wagering dynasty of Charles, Bill, Robbie and Tom.

Account Manager

Anne Wild & Associates

Anne Wild & Associates is a well-established and highly successful Sydney-based boutique full-service public relations agency that specialises in two streams – lifestyle/travel and business/innovation.

• Advised three of its principal clients – Australia’s biggest provider of industry-specific research, IBISWorld; Lion City statutory body, the Singapore Tourism Board; and international energy firm focused on catalysing clean, safe and affordable heat with zero emissions, Star Scientific.

Media Manager

Sydney 2009 World Masters Games (IMGA)

The Sydney 2009 World Masters Games was the seventh edition of the world’s largest multi-sport event, with a record 28,676 people from 95 countries competing across 28 sports at 72 venues.

• Formulated and executed a bold communication plan so it exceeded its ambitious public target of 25,000 competitors, satisfied its state and federal government stakeholders despite almost zero traditional marketing expenditure and delivered an estimated economic benefit of $60.2 million.
• Negotiated its three media partnerships with ABC Local Radio, Channel Nine and News Limited, recruited most of its double-digit ambassadors, including seven Olympic champions, and persuaded best-selling author Peter FitzSimons to write a Games oath as its legacy item.
• Created “a local news juggernaut” in the words of New South Wales minister Jodi McKay and her trusted advisers and drafted ceremonial addresses for Prince Frederik of Denmark, New South Wales premier Nathan Rees and International Masters Games Association president Kai Holm.

Media Manager

Sydney FC

Instituted in 2004, Sydney FC is Australia’s highest-profile soccer side. It was the first A-League team to win the OFC Champions League and the inaugural A-League Grand Final winner.

• Handled its internal and external communications, notably media operations at its home games – all broadcast live on television domestically and internationally – multi-lingual press conferences, marquee unveilings, player appearances, photo opportunities and sponsorship announcements.
• Defused several public relations crises, including one of its young stars trialling for European clubs without permission on the eve of the 2007-2008 A-League season, and contributed to its average attendance for matches in that elite competition rising 9.2 per cent from its previous campaign.

Media Manager

Centrebet (closed)

In 1996, Centrebet became the first Southern Hemisphere organisation to offer internet betting. In 2002, it became the first non-TAB bookmaker in Australia to employ a media manager.

• Circumvented draconian legislation to position it as the biggest and best corporate online bookmaker in six countries – Australia, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden – as the Alice Springs-based leader of a multi-national communication, marketing and media crew.
• Introduced novelty betting to Australia – initially, the Northern Territory Government would sanction markets on television shows, political elections and the like on a case-by-case basis – and played an instrumental role in its 2006 floating with a market capitalisation of $174 million.

Chief Sports Writer

Racing Post

The United Kingdom’s Racing Post is the world’s premier wagering publication. Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum set up the daily newspaper in 1986 before selling it in 1998.

• Covered countless eminent events, notably the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, the Rugby World Cup 1999 in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland, and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in Australia, and edited its bumper sports section – up to 30 pages – on average, once a week.

PGDip Broadcast Journalism

University of Central Lancashire

A Broadcast Journalism Training Council-accredited postgraduate diploma that featured one industry placement. Modules included radio journalism, television journalism and media law.

BA (Hons) Psychology with Public Media

Trinity and All Saints (Leeds Trinity University)

A bachelor’s degree with honours at a media-centric college of the University of Leeds that featured two placements. Qualified with AAC A-Level grades: Economics (A), General Studies (A) and Maths (C).

Graduate Development Program

British Horseracing Board (British Horseracing Authority)

An exclusive course – more than 1,700 applicants for 17 scholarships – that began with two weeks of learning from the best at the British Racing School and ended with two months of work experience.

Webmaster

Waylen Bay Sea Scout Group

Started in 1964, the Waylen Bay Sea Scout Group provides local young people aged five to 25 years with an adventurous, fun, challenging and inclusive program that has a nautical twist.

Secretary and Webmaster

Manly Warringah Football Referees Association

Constituted in 1949, the Manly Warringah Football Referees Association’s objective is to promote, develop and foster football refereeing and the game of football on Sydney’s northern beaches.