CEO Inner Circle Breakfast 

Featuring Craig Tiley, CEO, Tennis Australia

Private Breakfast, Invitation Only 

 
The next instalment of AmCham's CEO Inner Circle Breakfast Series will feature Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia.

Craig is recognised as one of Australia’s most innovative and forward thinking chief executives. His charismatic and passionate nature together with his business acumen has leveraged him to the forefront of sports administration and the leader behind Australia’s largest and most successful international sporting event.

Craig has been Tournament Director of the Australian Open since 2006 and was appointed CEO of Tennis Australia (TA) in 2013. His relationship with the playing group and relentless focus on improvement has transformed the Australian Open into the players’ favourite Grand Slam and Australia’s favourite sporting event, bringing 728,000 people through the gates annually, delivering more than $300m in direct economic benefit to Australia and reaching a global audience of more than 350 million.

His enthusiasm, combined with a team value system of teamwork, loyalty, excellence and humility has seen the doubling of TA’s revenue to more than $300m, expanded TA’s reach into Asia and the creation of an internal media unit which includes host broadcast, production and distribution of content internationally. Craig is also a Male Champion of Change, passionate about shifting mindsets around gender equality and diversity, both on the tennis court and in the workplace.

Craig was initially recruited to TA in 2005 to head up its High Performance team, in 2006 his role was expanded to be that of Director of Tennis, responsible for tennis nationally, and oversaw the introduction of Hot Shots (one of the nation’s most successful starter programs), a new international tennis short format in Fast4, a national body for coaches, a multi-million dollar facilities program, world class athlete support services, the establishment of the AO Series and the $900m redevelopment of Melbourne Park, including the much-envied National Tennis Centre.

Prior to joining TA, Craig was a professional tennis player and coach. At the University of Illinois, he led the fastest tennis program turnaround in US collegiate history, breaking a 100 year-old record for most consecutive wins. He won two NCAA Div. I national titles and twice earned the US National Coach of the Year award, which was presented by the President of the United States during a White House Ceremony. He also coached several top ten professional players and captained the South African Davis Cup team.

Craig was born in South Africa to a sport loving family. He spent 2.5 years as a Lieutenant in the South African Army where he received the 6th ever Army's Meritorious Award. Craig holds academic degrees in kinesiology, economics and business, has produced two best-selling tennis videos and has served as a keynote speaker and leadership consultant. Craig and his wife, Chicago-born Ali, have three children, Marlowe (4) and twin boys Archer and Weston (3).

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