Anthony John Cochrane is an Australian businessman, best known for event promotion and sports administration. Cochrane was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Event promotion

Cochrane has been involved in event promotion since the 1970s, and has promoted or produced tours for several international and local artists, including

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

, Sammy Davis Jr.,

Placido Domingo Placido may refer to: People Surname *José Plácido de Castro (1873–1908), Brazilian soldier and politician *Michele Placido, (born 1946) Italian actor and director * Plácido Vega y Daza, (1830-1878) 19th century Mexican general and politician ...

and The Main Event Tour featuring

John Farnham John Peter Farnham AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...

and

Anthony Warlow Anthony Warlow (born 18 November 1961) is an Australian musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range. He is a classically trained lyric baritone and made his debut with the Australian Opera in 1980. ...

. Cochrane once spent a week sleeping on

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

's floor in order to convince him to return to tour Australia, despite previously vowing he never would. Cochrane's theatre credits include '' Grease: The Arena Spectacular'' and Australian productions of musicals including ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'', '' Annie'' and ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'', for which he and his fellow producers won a

Tony award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

. He also collected ARIA's for Platinum albums. He is the global Chairman of IWEFO, International World Exhibition and Festival Organization. In 2012, Cochrane and his wife Thea founded International Events Consulting, best known for developing and touring ''Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones Exhibit'' globally. The company entered administration in December 2020. Cochrane remained a director of Cochrane Entertainment, a company he also co-founded.

Sports administration

In 1996, Cochrane and three other investors purchased the promotion rights for the

Australian Touring Car Championship The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...

from

IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: * IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...

for $52,000. In 1997, the series was renamed to

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

, and expanded to be valued at $330 million when a stake of the sport was sold to

Archer Capital Archer Capital is an Australian private equity investment firm based in Sydney. It was founded as GS Private Equity in 1996. Archer Capital hosts multiple investment funds which invest in businesses across a wide array of industries and sectors, ...

in 2011. In 2012, Cochrane retired from his role as executive chairman of V8 Supercars. Cochrane was added to the

V8 Supercars Hall of Fame The Supercars Hall of Fame is a collection of individuals and events that recognise the efforts of past champions and prominent figures within the Supercars Championship. A new inductee is announced annually at the championship's end of season gala ...

in 2012, becoming the first person to be inducted having not raced in the championship. In March 2014, Cochrane joined the board of the

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

club, and became chairman in March 2016. In his time as chairman he maintained his reputation for being outspoken and uncompromising, particularly in his relationship with the media. His blunt style has even seen him described as the

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

of the AFL. In 2021, SX Global, with Cochrane as president, became promoters of the new

FIM Supercross World Championship The FIM Supercross World Championship is the premier championship for international stadium supercross racing. It is organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), the global governing body of motorcycle racing. History The s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cochrane, Tony Living people Australian motorsport people Gold Coast Suns Supercars Championship Australian theatre managers and producers Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Australia