Our Team
Elizabeth (Liz) Giordano
Director and Principal Marketing Consultant
GDipComm, BA, PGDipProfComm
Liz Giordano has over 18 years of marketing, communications and PR experience. She has worked for a number of major companies including Mistral International, Penguin Books Australia, Bates Smart Architects and Metlink Melbourne.
At Metlink she was responsible for a major rebranding project that encompassed all customer information touch points for public transport users. She also developed and implemented a number of high profile campaigns; including television commercials to encourage behaviour change around a number of key issues for the industry.
In her role as Marketing and Communications Manager at Metlink, she was part of various committees including the City of Melbourne’s New Year’s Eve, and the Public Transport Accessibility Committee.
With a recognition of the need for organizations to outsource their marketing functions or gain further assistance with their marketing teams, she founded Gem Marketing Solutions in 2003, and gained clients Melbourne Water, Life Saving Victoria and various others with whom she still personally works with.
Specialising in the creation of marketing strategies and planning, she also has indepth experience in the development of visual identity and branding, and brand applications.
Liz’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts (Communications major), and has undertaken Post Graduate studies in Professional Communication and Marketing. She is a member of the Australian Marketing Institute.
Kathie Karapalidis
Communications Consultant
BA, Journalism
Kathie Karapalidis has more than 16 years’ experience as a journalist and communications adviser.
She has worked as a reporter for a number of publications including New Limited Suburban’s flagship Progress Press which won an Australian Journalism Association Award for editions which she worked on.
Kathie was a media liaison adviser for Victoria Police where she provided crisis management and coordinated press conferences and media events.
She wrote speeches for the Chief Commissioner of Police and her background in ethnic media enabled her to manage communications campaigns for the agency’s multicultural portfolios and identify unique ways to target the state’s diverse audiences.
Kathie’s work with Victoria Police took her to the Department of Justice where she provided extensive media and communication support including preparing media briefings and event packs for ministerial events and writing media releases, speeches and communication strategies.
She coordinated internal communications strategies and campaigns for a range of portfolios and led a whole-of-government internal communications campaign for Victoria’s new Human Rights Charter.
Kathie was a full time speechwriter for the Minister of Police and Emergency Services and has prepared speeches for the ministers of Gaming, Racing and Consumer Affairs as well as others.
She has also provided media and communication support for Victoria’s emergency services including CFA and Life Saving Victoria.
Her experience in media and government communications has led her to becoming a specialist writer where she can tailor the right messages to any audience whilst ensuring accuracy and clarity.
Kathie has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).