The President
trusted nucleus from which to access the diverse business opportunities in Middle East and Africa. Business events are a growth multiplier catalysing this business augmentation mission. What is key to maintaining a winning mindset? People fear ambiguity and are short term in their judgement. If you innovate and disrupt routines, you must be willing to be misunderstood and you’ll be validated in time. Dare to own any challenge that’s given to you. These are your best opportunities to become outstanding. Trust your intuition. Data and numbers sometimes don’t add up. Cultivate an enthusiasm for problems, they make you ultra-creative and resourceful. Be Bold. Be Accountable. Be Misunderstood. At Emirates Woman we champion incredible women – many of whom are launching their own businesses or have achieved outstanding milestones in their career. What have been the key career milestones for you to date? In 1997 I was selected as the first Asian manager globally to be sent to the European headquarters in then the world’s largest public listed events company. I then had the incredible opportunity to be the first woman executive, young and fearless, to lead on one of the largest, totally male-dominated aviation and aerospace events in the world. My time here back in 2005 marks DWTC’s departure from tradition; all my predecessors were male and older. As the first woman, young and absolutely an outlier, to be offered the exciting transformative leadership role was humbling. I’m privileged to have led on the creative conceptualisation and launch of some of Dubai’s much-loved city-wide events like Dubai Fitness Festival and the Dubai Food Festival. I cherish these highlights with my wonderful team who has worked so tirelessly to contribute towards a safe and refreshing lifestyle in the emirate. What have been the biggest challenges to date and how do you approach overcoming these so successfully? Having been here for 16 years, we’ve fought and conquered quite a few battles; from the macro economy quagmires, global events competition, and now the pandemic; to internal challenges of talent management, capacity building, and creating and sustaining a culture of innovation. Each of these unique episodes demanded extraordinary performances in different disciplines for us to survive and thrive. We must remember that daily, small incremental changes over time help to build a resilient, agile and creative workforce that is equipped to surmount any kind of obstacles in the long term. Don’t forget that people across the hierarchy are the ones that carry the company through, and a winning team is not built overnight. They are cultivated over time.
What do the first 30 mins of your day look like, your morning routine? A quick scan of overnight breaking news, a peek-and-kiss of the kids still in bed and then off to my 40 min fire-me-up run. What is at the heart of DWTC, the values and the DNA? For me, it’s an establishment of delightful paradoxes. Beneath this statuesque, enduring and somewhat conservative façade is an entity imbued with traditional values of resilience, trust and respect. Yet, it’s inspired by the modern entrepreneurial ethos of agility to drive change constantly, doing more with less, and being disciplined yet playful within its confines. There’s a great deal of energy yet reticent dignity in our community as we advocate a culture of talk-less-do-more. We are humble but proud, bold yet deliberate. Can you tell us about your role at Dubai World Trade Centre and how this supports positioning Dubai as the epicentre for business in the Middle East? I lead in the strategic and creative development of DWTC’s owned portfolio of business and consumer events, some of the popularly known ones are GITEX, Gulfood, Dubai Boat Show, and Dubai Motor Show. Recent events serve the startup sector, fintech & blockchain, food security and the newly branded #NOFILTERDXB to re-define Dubai Motor Show. Business events support the development of industries by converging global audiences en masse in Dubai. It’s a significant part of Dubai Tourism’s strategy, contributing to 3.3% of Dubai’s GDP. We host over 2 million visitors annually and support over 80,000 jobs. Dubai is the most
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Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President of Events Management at Dubai World Trade Centre, tells us what it takes to get to the top of a tough market and stay there
F E AT U R E
8/31/21 3:15 PM
