Andy El-Bayeh is a visionary leader, cultural strategist, and brand innovator whose work has redefined the landscape of hospitality, travel, and lifestyle across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. With over two decades of experience at the intersection of creativity, commerce, and culture, he has become one of the most respected voices in brand development and experiential strategy. As CEO of Example, Co-Founder of Primera, and Founder of Example Labs, Andy’s career reflects a consistent commitment to building businesses that inspire human connection, cultural depth, and commercial success.
From his early days in marketing leadership within Australia’s most dynamic hospitality groups to his current role guiding multi-market creative ventures, Andy has cultivated a distinctive approach to brand building—one grounded in storytelling, emotion, and authenticity. His ability to combine business acumen with cultural intuition has allowed him to help brands transcend traditional marketing, crafting experiences that shape how people feel, think, and live. His professional journey embodies a simple but powerful belief: brands are not just businesses—they are living ecosystems of meaning that reflect and influence the human experience.
As CEO of Example, Andy leads one of APAC’s leading culture agencies, known for shaping the identities of global clients such as Accor, Diageo, Bacardi, Brown-Forman, and Penfolds. Since founding the agency, he has guided its expansion from a creative studio in Sydney to an international player with offices in Australia and the UAE. Under his leadership, Example has become a bridge between creativity and commerce—designing and amplifying brands, destinations, and experiences that people talk about, remember, and return to. From luxury hotels to cultural institutions and hospitality ventures, Andy’s team has helped bring to life over a thousand projects that combine strategy, artistry, and a deep understanding of place.
Andy’s influence extends far beyond agency leadership. As Co-Founder and Strategic Director of Primera, an AI-driven wellness company, he is helping redefine how individuals engage with their health. Primera translates complex wellness data into actionable insights, connecting users to trusted experts through a blend of artificial intelligence and human empathy. In this venture, Andy merges his passion for wellbeing with his expertise in brand storytelling, transforming abstract information into experiences that empower people to live with greater clarity and longevity. Primera exemplifies his broader vision of using technology not to replace human connection, but to enhance it.
His entrepreneurial energy also finds expression in Example Labs, the innovation arm of his agency. Through Labs, Andy develops and invests in ventures across hospitality, F&B, and wellness, supporting founders who share his belief in purposeful, story-driven brands. Whether incubating a new restaurant concept, launching a hospitality technology platform, or advising a wellness startup, his work through Example Labs bridges the gap between creative inspiration and commercial scalability. This ecosystem of ventures—Example, Primera, and Example Labs—reflects his holistic understanding of how culture, innovation, and business growth intersect in the modern economy.
Before establishing his own ventures, Andy spent nearly a decade shaping the marketing landscape for Australia’s most iconic hospitality brands. As Director of Marketing & Creative and Head of Commercial & Partnerships at Merivale, and previously as Group Marketing Manager at The Keystone Group, he led brand development for hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues that defined Sydney’s social scene. His success in these roles earned him national recognition, including the Hotel Industry Rising Star Award from the Australian Hotels Association. These formative years instilled in him a deep respect for craftsmanship, collaboration, and the power of experience as a brand’s most potent expression.
Throughout his career, Andy has been a sought-after speaker, panelist, and thought leader, contributing to global conferences and trade events that explore the future of marketing, hospitality, and culture. His appearances at SXSW Sydney, Australian Pub Leaders Summit, and City of Sydney panels demonstrate not only his expertise but also his generosity in sharing it. He regularly contributes editorials and thought leadership pieces on the evolution of hospitality and modern marketing, offering insights that challenge convention and spark conversation. His voice is as much about the “why” behind great branding as it is about the “how”—always human, always authentic.
Andy’s portfolio of work has a global dimension. He has led creative and strategic projects across Australia, the Middle East, and the broader APAC region, working with clients who view culture as both a currency and a catalyst for change. His recent expansion of Example into the Middle East underscores his forward-looking leadership, launching new hotel and restaurant concepts while guiding Bacardi’s regional culture strategy and brand activations. In each market, Andy’s approach is rooted in respect for local insight and ambition for global relevance—a balance that defines his leadership style and his professional success.
Beyond his professional achievements, Andy is deeply passionate about wellness, biohacking, surfing, and the exploration of new technologies. These personal pursuits reflect the same curiosity and drive that fuel his work—an ongoing quest to understand what makes people feel alive, inspired, and connected. His ventures in wellness and longevity are not separate from his creative work; they are extensions of his mission to build a richer, more human world.
At his core, Andy El-Bayeh is not just a marketer or an entrepreneur—he is a cultural architect, shaping the environments, stories, and experiences that define modern life. His career stands as a testament to the idea that business success and human fulfillment are not opposing forces but complementary outcomes of visionary leadership. Through every venture and collaboration, Andy continues to elevate the industries he touches, helping brands and people alike discover deeper meaning and greater purpose in what they create and share with the world.
Character:
Andy embodies integrity, curiosity, and empathy in everything he does. His leadership style is rooted in authenticity and respect, fostering collaboration across teams and cultures. He consistently brings a sense of optimism and humility to his work, inspiring others to think bigger while staying true to their values.
Knowledge:
With over 20 years of experience in brand strategy, hospitality, and marketing innovation, Andy combines creative insight with strategic depth. His expertise spans the full spectrum of brand building—from placemaking and storytelling to digital transformation and customer experience. This breadth of knowledge enables him to guide both startups and global organizations toward sustainable, culture-led growth.
Strategic:
Andy is a systems thinker who sees opportunity in the spaces between disciplines. He has a unique ability to translate complex business challenges into creative strategies that drive measurable impact. His ventures demonstrate a consistent focus on balancing visionary ideas with commercial viability, ensuring that creativity always serves a clear purpose.
Communication:
As a communicator, Andy is articulate, persuasive, and deeply human. Whether leading a global pitch, addressing an international audience, or mentoring emerging leaders, he speaks with clarity and conviction. His storytelling ability turns strategy into narrative, data into emotion, and ideas into movements that resonate across industries.
