Francis Child was born and educated in the United Kingdom where he obtained a BSc. in Economics with Statistics at the University of Bristol. He qualified as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales in 1981.

After leaving the accounting profession in 1985, Francis gained extensive experience in both the entertainment and events based industry sectors. Having worked for Chrysalis Records and EMI Records in the UK for 8 years, Francis moved to Australia in 1992, where he worked for AiC Worldwide (now Terrapinn) in the capacity of both Main Board Director and Finance Director. During this time AiC Worldwide became one of the leading global conference and trade show organisers.

In July, 2000 Francis purchased Conference Action Pty. Ltd a company specialising in event management for the Association, Society and Government sectors. In 2005, the addition of the Australian Professional Centre (APC) moved the business into a more strategically focused provider of association management services.

Francis has, since then, developed what is now The Association Specialists into the leading provider of association management services in Australia. He continues to passionately drive improvements into the not-for-profit sector whilst struggling to get any improvement in his golf game.

Francis is an Honorary Life Member of the PCO Association and Past President of Lane Cove Football Club.