Arts Festival Director & Media Career
Leo Schofield AM has been a leading figure in Australia’s cultural life for over 30 years. He directed 13 major arts festivals and international performing arts events across Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, and Brisbane. Alongside this, he built a parallel career as a journalist and broadcaster, with a widely read weekly column in The Sydney Morning Herald for over a decade. He accompanied the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on its 1988 US Bicentennial Tour and later served as the inaugural Chairman of its board when it became an ABC subsidiary.

Heritage, Conservation & Advisory Roles
Leo has been deeply involved in heritage and conservation, serving on the Centennial Park Trust, NSW government advisory committees, and the National Trust of Australia (NSW). He chaired the Committee of Review for Commonwealth-Owned Heritage Properties and served nine years as a Trustee of the Powerhouse Museum. His advisory roles include the Federal Government’s Cultural Advisory Panel, the Victorian Government’s Victoria Commissions initiative, and Melbourne’s Old Treasury Building Trust.

Honours, Board Appointments & Community
Commitment
In 2000, Leo was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to festivals, conservation, heritage, and arts fundraising. He received France’s prestigious Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2001 and the Federal Government’s Centenary Medal. He continues to consult for business and the arts, serving on the boards of the Sydney Opera House and the National Portrait Gallery. A long-term Potts Point resident, Leo also chaired an exhibition celebrating the Powerhouse Museum’s decorative arts collection titled 1001 Remarkable Objects.