AAA names Michael Bradley as incoming CEO

THE Australian Automobile Association (AAA) has appointed Michael Bradley as its new chief executive, filling the vacancy created late last year when Andrew McKellar resigned to take up a new global position with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) in Paris.

Mr Bradley moves to the national organisation representing state automobile clubs from the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), where he has worked as director of external affairs since 2010.

Prior to that he served for two years as a senior adviser to federal minister for resources, energy and tourism Martin Ferguson, having previously managed media and federal political “engagement strategies” on behalf of advocacy groups and community organisations.

Mr Bradley moved into public relations in 2005 after a four-year stint as a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald.

He has academic qualifications in journalism and completed a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Science (Resource and Environmental Economics) at the Australian National University in 1997.

He takes up the position at the AAA in April, when acting chief executive James Goodwin will hand over the reins. Mr Goodwin will continue as director of government relations and communications.

In a statement released this week, AAA president Peter Joyce said: “The AAA board looks forward to Mr Bradley leading the AAA into the future and ensuring the views of constituent clubs and their seven million members are represented strongly in Canberra.”

Mc McKellar started his new role as secretary general of automobile mobility and tourism for the FIA earlier this year.

A former chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), Mc McKellar stepped into the top job at the AAA in 2011, replacing Lauchlan McIntosh who had become chairman of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).