ILEA: Paul Berger

ILEA MIDDLE EAST PRESIDENT ELECT, PAUL BERGER, SETS OUT HIS OBJECTIVES FOR 2019...

As a founding member of ILEA, I have really enjoyed working this year as the chapter’s president elect, supporting our current president, Dan Bolton, and his board. This year has seen the chapter grow in both size and stature with many new members coming on board. It has been extremely motivating to see the inroads that the chapter has been making with the likes of the DED and DTCM, and the alliances we have formed with other industry associations. Before I take up my presidency next year, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a little about who I am and where I see the chapter in 2020. I have been working in the Middle East and Asia since 1993, starting my career in Dubai with the OMNICOM Group as a lead Account Director on Emirates Airline, Pepsi Cola and General Motors. In 1997, I 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, I 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, I became CEO of Harlequin and subsequently sold the company to the Arena Group. In 2010, I was appointed CEO of the Middle East and Asia Division of the Group, launching the company in Singapore and Malaysia. I have 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.

I have been involved with ILEA (then ISES!) since its inception in the Middle East in 2010, when Harlequin officially backed their initial request to the Dubai Chamber for permission to form. Subsequently in 2012 when the Dubai Chamber application approval had been received, and the business group had been incorporated, the founding president, Adrian Bell asked me to join his board and, gladly accepting, I have been an active participant ever since.

During my time as a board member I took responsibility for Events and Sponsorship, with a focus on sourcing new venues for our events. Highlights for me included securing venue partnerships from the Waldorf Astoria, the Ritz Carlton, the Address Hotel, the JA Ocean View and the St Regis, as well as significant sponsorship deals with organizations such as Fly Dubai. I am also proud to have been part of growing the membership base from the initial 30 to the 400 that it is today.

In mid-2017, I decided that it was time for me to ‘give something back’ to the local events industry and put myself forward for the role of Dan’s President Elect. I will officially take over the reins from Dan in January 2019 and hope to continue the fantastic work that he has started. With a strong board of seasoned industry professionals behind me, together with the support of our members and the wider industry, I look forward to the great honour and responsibility of leading the association into Expo 2020 and beyond.

During my presidency, I will be focusing on going back to basics, ensuring that we reinforce the foundations of our organisation for the future. In addition to continuing to grow and strengthen our board and membership base, I have set myself three key objectives for the next 12 to 18 months:

EMIRATISATION:

I feel that Emiratisation is key if we are to establish a stronger voice in this country and throughout the region. It was never our intention to be an expat organization and I believe that we need additional Emirati and GCC national representation on the board and throughout the membership base in order to rectify this.

CREATE A HOME FOR THE CHAPTER:

I have felt for some time that it is crucial that we have a physical base that we, our members and our future members can use and benefit from. I feel that this will provide the association with stability and will help to further cement our position in the marketplace, in addition to providing a useful space for training, education, meetings, general information sharing and networking. To me, this will in turn demonstrate to the local government that we are a serious industry sector that has a role to play in the economy of this country, and that there is a benefit to working closely with us going forward.

IMPROVE OUR FINANCIAL HEALTH:

Finally, I would like to improve the financial state of the organisation and feel that the generation of additional revenue is crucial to our survival. Clearly, we are a non-profit organisation, however the more funds we generate, the more resources we have available to us to reinvest into training, education, events, health & safety, licensing, marketing & promotion.

In summary, in 18 months’ time at the end of my presidency, I would like to be able to look back and see that we have made a lasting difference to our industry, with measurable results that have had a positive impact for our members and their companies. I hope also, that these results will have enabled the chapter to have grown, particularly as we welcome the largest event in the world, Expo 2020, to the country.

It is clear to me that we as an industry need to work collaboratively to achieve these goals and hope that I can count on the support of each of our members, as well as our board, to come together to move the industry forward. I look forward to working with you all over the next year and a half and hope to see as many of you as possible at our next event.