Why move from Tourism New South Wales to start Komosion?
John O’Neill: I’d had almost five years in the role as chief executive of Tourism NSW and I’d retained all through that period an interest in a Sydney-based website design and online marketing company called Glass Onion. I’d been a member of the board and a shareholder of that business. You’d also been an adviser to Michael Egan, then New South Wales treasurer, and before that a journalist. So you have had a number of fingers in different pies as you’ve gone along. Why choose entrepreneurship? Well, I think the continuity is communication. So as a journalist and then working for the former New South Wales treasurer it was really about bringing together communications and the commercial world. Looking back on leaving Tourism New South Wales, you left under a bit of a cloud. What happened? Well I wouldn’t say under a cloud. These environments are highly political. We had an external review into the state of the tourism economy. I think the New South Wales Government would acknowledge it
