MEA Column: Introducing the New ILEA Board Members

INTRODUCING THE NEW ILEA BOARD MEMBERS

VP Expo Relations: Peter Anderson Peter moved to Dubai in 2015 and quickly joined ILEA to get more involved in the events industry in the UAE. Prior to that he was based in the UK working as Regional Director for Viceroy Hotels and Dorchester Collection. He currently represents his nine luxury hotels under the Dorchester Collection brand across the GCC.

VP of Finance: Stephen Armitage Stephen is the founder and Managing Director of Dubai based outsourced accounting company, UAE Business Solutions. He has accumulated a wealth of experience in finance, internal audit, business process re-engineering, business consultancy and business ownership in a career spanning 29 years. A qualified accountant and internal auditor, Stephen has worked for several global corporations based out of the UK and Australia and has been resident in the UAE for 11 years.

VP Health & Safety: Adrian Peet Adrian moved to the UK from South Africa over a decade ago, joining the events industry, and, by 2010, focusing on event safety. He gained insights in large-scale event infrastructure working on the London 2012 Olympics, before becoming the client lead for Shell - in Malaysia, Nigeria and Japan.

As Project Lead for the Rugby World Cup 2015, he developed the health and safety framework for overlay works to the 13 stadiums and 44 team bases, assisting with health and safety management within the Organising Committee’s functional areas.

VP Membership: Karishma Hundalini Karishma Hundalani is the Co-Founder and Director of EVENTFAQS Media, India’s largest business media platform for the business events, weddings and live entertainment industry. She has been instrumental in growing the company

ME

Peter Anderson; Steve Armitage; Adrian Bell; Karishma Hundalini; Adrian Bell; Emma Clark; Melissa Tenkhi; Ahmed Al Shehhi; Paul Berger; Khalid Alhammadi.

together with its flagship brands, like The WOW Awards, amongst others.

Through her experience gained in chronicling and research of the events industry, Karishma lends her expertise to producing and curating content for business conferences, for various clients and platforms.

Adrian Bell: VP GCC relations Adrian is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Action Impact and has been living and working in the Middle East for over 20 years. His agency is one of the most decorated live experience agencies in the Middle East region and is admired for its creative thinking, talented people and high-standards of delivery working with top global and local brands such as IBM, Expo 2020, Aldar, Google and ENEC.

Adrian is also the Founding and Past- President of the Middle East Chapter and has received a lifetime achievement award at the Middle East event awards for Outstanding Contribution in 2014, Excellence in ILEA Membership Recruitment 2013 and the Robert J Graves Award for Pioneering Spirit in 2013.

Emma Clark: VP Knowledge & Education Emma Clark, Action Impact’s Event Director is also the VP of knowledge and education for the International Live Events Association (ILEA), invited back by Paul Berger to serve a second term; an entirely voluntary role, and was the first person in the MENA region to successfully achieve the prestigious and hard-earned Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) qualification.

Having worked in the events industry for over 18 years in the Middle East. Her knowledge has included work with most household names and brands across the UAE, launching nuclear power stations through to building a floating auditorium to open the largest theme park in the Middle East.

Melissa Tenkhi: VP Marketing & Communication: With eight years of hands-on experience in Dubai, Melissa is an astute marketing and communication professional. Graduating from one of the top business school in France, Melissa is also a self-starter with a track record of producing outstanding results throughout her career. She currently works for one of the leading Overlay management Dubai-based company and has been heading the marketing strategy for the past five years.

Ahmed Al Shehhi: ILEA Board Advisor Ahmed is considered a modern day entrepreneur who identifies opportunities in different verticals and expands them to become leading brands in their own industries.

He founded Blink Experience in 2003 and over the past 16 years he has gained invaluable experience in managing and delivering events with prestigious scale.

Driven by passion and perseverance, Blink Experience has been recognised at international prestigious awards ceremonies like Gold and Silver at SPIA Asia, and other awards in the Middle East Event Awards.

Today Ahmed chairs the board of Directors of

Selayia Investments, the parent company and the driving force of the multiple successful entities such as Blink Experience, Recchi Constructions, Union Information Technology, and Difuzed, where he continues to lead the teams with the same passion & vision

Paul Berger: ILEA President Elect Paul has been working in the Middle East and Asia since 1993, starting his career in Dubai with the OMNICOM Group as a lead Account Director on Emirates Airline, Pepsi Cola and General Motors. In 1997, he moved into the sports event management and sports marketing sector by launching the first leisure motor sport tracks in the region; Indoor Karting, Outdoor Karting, and the Dubai Autodrome circuit. In 2006, Pauil began a close relationship with Formula 1, working closely with McLaren and Ferrari on their Middle East partnerships and being involved in the launch of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix. After 12 years in the motor sports industry, I acquired a shareholding in one of the Middle East’s leading event industry suppliers, Harlequin Marquees & Event Services. In 2009, he became CEO of Harlequin and subsequently sold the company to the Arena Group. In 2010, Paul was appointed CEO of the Middle East and Asia Division of the Group, launching the company in Singapore and Malaysia. He has subsequently expanded the division to Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Korea and now Japan. The division has grown from an AED 20m business in 2009 to over AED 100m by the end of 2018, with over 180 employees. www.ilea-me.com