Julian Cook The new director of the Auckland Pride Festival will be the man who originally set up the massive event then resigned amidst claims of poor and unilateral decision-making by the then-board. Cook established the Festival for 2013 and ran it in 2014 but resigned when the then-board changed its management and reporting structure without consulting him. His departure triggered much on-going community criticism of the board and its members which resulted in resignations and eventually a complete overhaul of the way the Auckland Pride board operates. Cook has for several decades been behind some of Auckland's most successful glbti community events. His resignation from Pride was at ther time seen as a great loss to the organisation and its importance to the Auckland glbti communities. “We are delighted to have Julian back on board with Pride,” said Board Co-Chair Kirsten Sibbit in a statement released this morning. “His proven track record with the Auckland Pride Festival, together with his enthusiasm, passion for the Rainbow communities, strong work ethic and vision for the event, made him our standout candidate for the role. I'm excited to see what he's able to deliver in 2017 and beyond.”
Credit: gayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 27th August 2016 - 11:01am