Meet the leaders: Erin Vincent

Erin Vincent is CEO of The Wheeler Centre. She’s also a media executive who helped drive high-profile ABC programs including News Breakfast, Insiders and Q+A. In this profile she shares why all she wants to do is re-read a beloved Aussie classic. 

What are you reading and or listening to at the moment?
I’m reading Woo Woo by Ella Baxter which I am loving, and I am listening to The Opinions, a New York Times podcast that brings together a mix of opinion writers which feels essential right now during Trump’s second presidency. 

If you could re-read one book what would it be?
Since John Marsden’s death, I want to re-read Tomorrow When the War Began, a series I devoured in my teens. Only someone with such deep respect for young people could create such beloved characters that will live on in our national memory.

Podcasts or video streaming? And do you have any recommendations?
Why choose one when you can have both! I have just started the Telepathy Tapes which is an utterly fascinating podcast. I’m also very into the second season of The Newsreader on the ABC, which feels so familiar to me having spent almost twenty years in a newsroom. 

What is your favourite hotel and why?
I recently went on a trip to Italy with two girlfriends and spent a night at the Grand Hotel Imperiale in Lake Como. The trip came at a very special point in each of our lives and I was on the verge of a career change, so I felt a special sense of freedom on that trip. Lake Como is spectacularly scenic, and the hotel itself was just dreamy!

Who do you admire and why?
I would have to say my mum and dad because they both left their home country in search of a better life and then dedicated their lives to giving their children opportunities they didn’t have themselves.

What is your Instagram feed most likely to be full of?
Books, opinion makers, female icons and fashion.

Do you have a favourite designer?
Alemais for some fun and colour and Camilla and Marc for more traditional workwear.

What is the one thing you spend money on that could be considered an indulgence?
Sneakers. I had knee surgery a few years ago and my surgeon told me one of the things I needed to do to keep it strong was to replace my shoes regularly. It was music to my ears!

What brings you joy?
I love having music playing at home. My husband just bought me a record player for Christmas which I am loving, and so are my kids. I look forward to building our collection!

What do you hope people will remember about you?
I try to teach my boys to be kind and curious, it would be nice to be remembered the same way.

Who are three women you’d like to be in the room with when making a big decision?
They’d have to be women who aren’t afraid to disagree with me — so my mum, my bestie Stace and Oprah, because What Would Oprah Do?!