Kel Geddes - Biography

Kel Geddes was born and raised in Queensland, Australia.

An innovator and leader in the television industry, Kel began his career at BTQ Channel 7 in Brisbane, Queensland, and over the next 27 years successfully held a wide range of television positions, including directing, producing, and management in Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.

Conscripted in 1967 by the Australian Army for two years compulsory service, Kel attained the rank of Bombardier, Artillery Surveyor. He served in Vietnam on active duty within the specialised American and Australian Artillery Tactical Centres.

In 1969, he returned to television in Brisbane BTQ Channel 7, working closely with several charitable organisations, producing a succession of 36-hour fund-raising Telethons. He was awarded the British Empire Medal (B.E.M.) in the Queens Honours List in 1979 for his dedicated service to charity.

A partial list of Kel’s credits in television include Programme Director for BTQ 7 in Brisbane, President of Programming for ATV in Hong Kong, Associate Programme Director for ATN 7 in Sydney, and Programme Director for GTV 9 in Melbourne. In each of these positions, he was acknowledged for his ability to create highly popular programming formats and winning ratings.

In 1986, Kel and his wife, Anne, moved to New Zealand, where he was commissioned as President of Programming to launch the first independent television network in New Zealand, TV3, in December 1987. Following the successful launch of this network, in 1990 he was approached and appointed as Network President of Programming for Australia’s Channel 10.

In television terms, Kel had “reached the peak” in his industry. For six months, he commuted to Australia from New Zealand.

Concurrently, Anne was running her thriving photography studio, The Especially Kids Company Limited, in New Zealand. The first calendar (the 1992 edition, created in 1990 and printed in 1991) featuring her distinctive images of infants and toddlers was about to be published. A line of Anne Geddes greeting cards had also been introduced in New Zealand, and the demand for her work was increasing.

With their household goods packed for Australia in a container on the dock, Anne and Kel re-examined their career paths and determined that the next best step was to remain in New Zealand, where the family had established its home and Anne her studio. Deciding that the time was opportune, Kel left his outstanding television career to apply his considerable marketing and management expertise toward launching Anne's popular photographic images internationally.

“Marketing the incredible imagery of my wife, Anne, has become one of the most satisfying and fulfilling jobs of my life. To be able to realise the potential and ambitions of the pre-eminent children's photographer in the world market has resulted in a terrific sense of personal satisfaction, added to my joy and pride in her accomplishments,” comments Kel. The combination of talents has proven to be a successful mix, and Anne’s photographic vision and abilities have gained worldwide recognition and accolades. Her award-winning photographs of babies are visual representations of the Geddes’ deeply held belief that we must protect, nurture, and love all children.

Together Anne and Kel direct their company, Geddes Group Holdings Ltd. As an integral part of this company, Kel Geddes Management Limited has the responsibility for all marketing, promotion, business administration, operations, and the production of Anne Geddes books, calendars, the infant clothing and accessories collection Anne Geddes Baby, and other items. The Anne Geddes brand is universally respected and loved; her work is now published in 77 countries. The flagship and first Anne Geddes retail store is scheduled to open in Fall 2005 in the Downtown Disney ® District, in Anaheim, California. Anne Geddes brand gifts are also available for international shipping from a new online store at Anne Geddes Gift Shop and at the Wynn LVNV store, which is located within the Esplanade shops at the new luxury hotel, Wynn Las Vegas.

Tapping into his television expertise, Kel launched a web site for Anne's images and e-commerce in 2000. Winner of several awards from the Web Marketing Association, annegeddes.com received the 2005 Best Diversified Business Website and Best Publishing Website WebAward, and the 2004 Standard of Excellence WebAward. In 2003, it was given the Best Diversified Business Website Award, the Best Diversified Business Email Marketing Message, and Best Retail Email Marketing Message in the Web Marketing Association's 2003 Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Awards. It was honoured with the 2002 Standard of Excellence WebAward and the 2001 Best Publishing Website WebAward. The then Anne Geddes Baby clothing collection website received a Webby Worthy Award from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and the 2004 Best Catalog Website WebAward, the Best International Email Marketing Message in 2003, and the Standard of Excellence WebAward in 2002. The annegeddes.com November 2004 newsletter won Best Diversified Business Email Message, Best Publishing Email Message, and Best International Business Email Message in the Web Marketing Association's 2005 Internet Advertising Competition Awards. "Anne Geddes" is the 4th most popular baby-related search term requested on the Overture search engine, accessed by AOL and MSN users, and Anne is the 6th most popular woman on Google.fr (France) searches, according to New Zealand Listener magazine.

annegeddes.com enjoys more than 3.5 million unique visitors per year from more than 200 countries.

Kel Geddes Management, working with the guidance of Anne and her beautiful and inspiring imagery, has produced several international bestselling Anne Geddes books, including Miracle, Pure, Until Now, and Down in the Garden and two New York Times bestsellers, Miracle and Down in the Garden. Anne’s books have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 20 languages. With Miracle, published simultaneously in 22 countries in 2004, Kel applied his expertise to a new venue. In this celebration of the bond of love between mother and baby, Anne for the first time blended her images with a musical element, adding to her book a companion audio CD by premier contemporary pop singer Céline Dion. Kel was also one of three Executive Producers of Celine’s Miracle album by Sony Music.

Anne Geddes calendars are annual bestsellers around the world. The Anne Geddes 2002 calendar program ranked in the top 15 of all calendar licensed programs in the U.S. and Canada. Her U.S. calendar editions received special recognition, as the Calendar Marketing Association awarded her 1996 calendars and date books two Gold Awards and one Bronze. The Anne Geddes calendar range enjoys an outstanding continuous 15 years of bestselling production.

Dedicated to the philosophy of “giving back,” Anne and Kel have arranged for nominated funds from the Anne Geddes’ successful range of products to benefit charity. Through sales of the premiere edition Anne Geddes 1992 calendar, more than NZ $71,700 (US $50,000) was donated toward the prevention of child abuse in New Zealand. Since then, designated funds totalling more than NZ $2.8 million (US $2 million) have been donated through the Geddes Philanthropic Trust to help prevent child abuse in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In early 2005, Anne and Kel were proud to be able to donate more than NZ $119,000 (more than US $83,430.00) of nominated returns from the Anne Geddes Bank of America Credit Cards (normally given to the Geddes Philanthropic Trust for the prevention of child abuse and neglect) to the UNICEF South Asia Tsunami Relief Effort to help children suffering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia. To aid in the relief effort following Hurricane Katrina in the U.S., Anne and Kel donated more than 20,000 items of Anne Geddes Baby clothing to benefit the babies affected by relocation, and in many cases, separation from their parents.

In May 2002, Anne and Kel were presented with the Childhelp USA Humanitarian Award for their work to prevent child abuse.

The New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers has honoured Kel with its prestigious Gold Award, given to only one other individual, in acknowledgement of his ongoing contributions and support for photography.

In 2002, Kel was invited to be Chairman of the then newly formed New Zealand Professional Photographers Awards Committee, a post he held for two years, stepping down in 2005.

Kel is a sought-after motivational speaker, specialising in brand development and marketing.

Anne and Kel have been married for 22 years and have two daughters. Their extended family also includes Kel's two daughters, who are both married.