Ben Powney

Twenty years of hosting takes you a long way, and in Ben Powney's case that's more than 75 countries. He works out of the Sunshine Coast as an MC, corporate presenter and comedy host, and the range is the point: gala evenings that need lift, war memorials and commemorations that need restraint, awards nights and industry conferences somewhere between. A room of 50 gets a different Ben than a room of 5,000, and that's deliberate. He reads the audience, sets the tone, then holds it for the length of the program. Humour comes out where it belongs and stays parked where it doesn't. If your event needs a steady voice at the front and someone who won't misjudge the moment, he's the sort of hire that lets you stop worrying about the stage.