He said while it was not a case of "reinventing the wheel", he had some new ideas that would hopefully come to fruition. One was an Antiques Roadshow-type event for example.
The festival has run for 12 years. The past two have been organised by a committee of volunteers.
Committee chairwoman Diane Paterson said it was difficult to pull everything together and they realised they needed help from a professional event manager.
"Martin knows Central Otago, us and Art Deco so it all fitted in."
Mr McPherson, who has been managing events for about 30 years, is a keen Art Deco collector - a fascination that began when he was 18 and moving out of home.
"I went to buy a bed, base and mattress and came out with a bright yellow tea set.
"It's a period of design that I've always liked."
He said he was currently in "full swing with Blossom Festival [planning]" but had the Art Deco festival in the back of his mind and hoped tackling the two projects might streamline some things for him, co-ordinating suppliers for example.
The Blossom Festival will be held in late-September and the Art Deco festival will be held in the last weekend of February.
