A chat with our new CEO

A chat with our new CEO

April 21, 2023
6 min read
Kylie Lyons WPC CEO

We sat down to chat with our new CEO – Kylie Lyons to find out who she is, her thoughts on taking the role and her plans for the future….

KW: Kylie, thanks for meeting me today. Tell us why you are the best person to take on the role of the CEO of the WPC?
KL: Can I start by thanking the Governing Committee for appointing me, for trusting me and for giving me the opportunity to step into this role. It truly excites me, and I am thankful to Giuseppe Scozzi for his leadership and developing the WPC into what it is today.
I am a Professional Photographer and have been operating my own business Handprint Photography since 1993. I have a tertiary background in graphic design specializing in Photomedia from the University of Western Sydney (Nepean) and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
I am a Master of Photography I with the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP). For my services to the photographic industry, I was awarded an Honorary Life Membership (HLM) of the AIPP in May 2012. I was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Institute in 2021.
I have been a member of the WPC Governing Committee since 2014 so have a deep understanding of how it works and what is needed for the next stage of its evolution.

KW: What was your motivation for taking on this role?
KL: I am passionate about photography and the vision of the WPC to unite photographers around the world through competition. My motivation is for the WPC to be more engaging and to grow and further develop WPC into a global premier photographic competition, with increased participation from eligible countries around the world.

I am a former National President and National Chairman of the AIPP and enjoyed growing the reputation, skills and professionalism of photography in Australia. I have gained knowledge and insights over the last 30 years and like to share it with others.

With the advances in technology, we can connect with each other around the world. Distances are no longer a barrier and we can harness technology to turn us into a truly global community. It doesn’t matter where the CEO is based. Or the Committee members. Or the entrants.

I think Covid has changed all our mindsets in regard to how we value and perceive the world. Whilst our worlds shrunk to the size of our lounge rooms during lockdown, we saw how we could enlarge our lives and still meaningfully engage with other across technology.

KW: The future of WPC sounds very exciting! How do you plan to achieve this?
KL: (Kylie laughs) Certainly not on my own! The WPC Committee is made up of very experienced and professional photographers and business people. My plan going forward is to utilize the skills and abilities of our fabulous Committee members and volunteers, they are the powerhouse behind all the running of WPC.
I am amazed and humbled by the dedication and commitment that our committee members and volunteers give to the WPC every year, remembering that everyone is a volunteer – and their time is unpaid. We have past committee members and friends of the WPC that continue to give their time, provide invaluable knowledge and resources to grow and develop WPC. To these people, I give a huge thank you. Without them, we could not provide the competition to our entrants at such a competitive price.
Also, to our sponsors, with special mention to ChromaLuxe for their continued support over many years, we thank you for your support.

We are currently working on developing a new website to be more user friendly for our community, including improved functionality for Cup participants. We are spending a lot of time making sure that any changes are transparent and meet our whole community needs, on a long term and strategic basis. We are ‘future proofing’ WPC, but always ensuring we stay true to our Mission and Objectives. It’s a thrilling time and I am looking forward to presenting our developments to you all.

A RECAP ON OUR SENSATIONAL SINGAPORE SLING

This year’s highly successful 10th World Photographic Cup (WPC) was held in sensational Singapore. With 32 countries participating and over 100 participants registered to attend the presentation in person, the WPC continues to grow in scale and reputation as a premier global photographic competition.
Winning for the second year in a row, Mexico was awarded the much-coveted World Photographic Cup. Team Captain Marian Bliss Blake said:

This cup is the result of 8 years of great effort by friend, colleagues and family to demonstrate internationally that in Mexico we have an extraordinary visual culture and that our photographers are the best in the world. Although this year a portfolio of 24, of which 8 reached the final and 3 won medals. Team Mexico is made up of hundreds more photographers who every day pursue the big dream of making the perfect photography and who believe in this wonderful project of the CFM – Comité Fotográfico Mexicano and participate every year with their best photographs.
On behalf of Team Mexico, I thank World Photographic Cup for providing an amazing platform for photography and photographers around the world.

Great news – If you were not able to get to Singapore, or want to watch the 2023 WPC Competition again, we’ve linked it to the WPC website for easy viewing.
We could not have delivered such an amazing event without our corporate sponsorship. We thank our Gold sponsor, ChromaLuxe for their ongoing support.
Following the awards presentation in Singapore, Marketing Manager of ChromaLuxe EMEA, Tom Lievens said:

‘As the 2023 edition’s GOLD SPONSOR, ChromaLuxe also congratulates Kylie as the new WPC CEO. Coming back to the 2023 event, we were delighted to have the 24 images of the winners being displayed at the event on our ChromaLuxe Metal Prints. We’ve received some amazing feedback from the award winners about their prints, such as “it makes the colors pop”, “stunning”, “a cut above of what I’m used to see from other Metal Prints”, “the sharpness of the image is amazing”, and “the colors are so accurate”. Check out their testimonials!
We look forward to see more of your work on our Metal Prints, because “image matters”.

WPC wishes to thank the Singapore Photographic & Digital Imaging Trade Association (SPDA) and its President, Mr. George Lin, and SPDA Organizing Committee for hosting such a wonderful event.

Image Copyright Michael Ozaki 2023

Photos from the event can be found at:
1) Guided Tour Album https://photos.app.goo.gl/iVNhY7Tw8owVHrFd9

2) Award Ceremony Album https://photos.app.goo.gl/FQz4BTV8uffDQxaW9

3) Gala Dinner Album https://photos.app.goo.gl/HHcJhKjMc5c3SV6u8

With thanks to Michael Ozaki for these images

The 2023 Edition commemorative book is a great gift for any photographer or lover of photography. Get in quick to order your copy. Additional merchandise including coffee cups and tote bags are still available for a limited time. See our online shop on the WPC website. All orders can be shipped anywhere worldwide.

THE TEXAN TIMELINE

Howdy, it’s time y’all started thinking about your entry for WPC 2024. The event is being held in conjunction with Texas School in April 2024.

WPC Online Entries open: 1st July 2023

New online entry details will be available shortly!

THE FUTURE OF WPC – WE NEED YOUR INPUT!

The World Photographic Cup (WPC) was founded in 2013 as a cooperative effort by The Federation of European Photographers (FEP) and Professional Photographers of America (PPA). Since then, the event continues to grow and has established itself as a worldwide premier photographic competition.
Our aim is to become truly global and have representatives from all eligible countries in our competition. To do this, we are seeking the feedback from past and present entrants, current and past committee members and any person interested in the WPC.
We want your feedback (warts and all!), the good, the bad and the ugly. We want you to share the things you liked, didn’t like, regarding everything – venue choice, judging requirements and decisions, categories, corporate governance, leadership, competition rules or anything else you have an opinion on.

Let us know if you also want us to follow up your opinions/concerns/compliments.
Please send your thoughts to ceo@worldphotographiccup.org.

Thank you for your input.

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