Reminiscing EEMA's Decade: 10 Years of Rajeev Jain Serving EEMA NEC

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | September 7, 2017 | News

Rajeev Jain EEMA Sabbas Joseph Brian Tellis Michael Menezes

As part of the EEMA’s founder members since July 5, 2008, Rajeev Jain, has been part of the National Executive Committee. He has been re-elected every year with unanimous votes by the membership, and has worked tirelessly on strengthening EEMA’s position as a profitable association.

In this exclusive interaction, Rajeev Jain, Vice President and Treasurer, EEMA, recounts some memorable moments of EEMA’s Decade while working closely with all three Presidents of EEMA.

“It has been my dream since the the inception of EEMA in March 2008, that it be built into the strongest and biggest Association to India, which with the support of every member over these 10 years, I believe we have achieved. I prefer to focus on work and not on controversies, and have tried to keep myself involved in efforts towards licensing issue of the industry and liaising with Government officials for the upliftment of EEMA as an industry body. As treasurer, I believe I’ve not only managed to save funds for a secure future for the association, but also happily evaluate ideas to invest in industry initiatives that fuels our growth.”

“I always say that, I am working for all my 283 Members and the NEC is who I report to.”

As part of EEMA-NEC, Rajeev has worked closely on all the flagship events of the Association, including every EEMAGINE and EEMAX Awards. In the excerpts below, he recounts memorable milestones and important achievements in the tenures of the three Presidents of EEMA: Michael Menezes, Brian Tellis and Sabbas Joseph. Rajeev tenures…

Mr. Sabbas Joseph

EEMA has been most fortunate to have Sabbas Joseph as its president, in a very important and defining stage of its life, as its reached maturity. To have a leader who is focused and so well respected across the membership, was exactly what the association needed.

I have learnt so much from Sabbas Sir, both personally and professionally. He is the most humble and down to earth person, in spite of his tremendous achievements. Even when requested to take over presidentship of EEMA, Sabbas Sir’s first response was that he would need to check with his partners at Wizcraft: Andre and Viraf.

In the 3 years of his tenure thus far, EEMA has achieved dialogue and interactions with eminent politicians like Sh. Arvind Kejriwal, Sh. Vijay Goel, Sh. Vankaya Naidu, Sh. Aditya Thackeray among others.

I think I have argued with Sabbas Sir the most, on every important decision. But that’s what has lead us to make the best decisions. He never over-rules any points of view, and even in my case, always trusted that I had the best interests of the association at heart.

We joke, and would first call him ‘Airforce One President’ and now his latest nick name is ‘Maha-Mahim’. And that’s because of the respect Sabbas Sir has garnered and the unconditional support he receives from EEMA-members.

An achievement very close to my heart, in Sabbas’ tenure has been the acquisition of EEMA’s office. When first proposed 3-years ago, Sabbas Sir ensured complete and total support, and on July 28, EEMA purchased its own property at E-330, Greater Kailash – II, Delhi -110048, which generations will cherish. A proud moment for all of us!

Sabbas Sir’s forecasting vision and positive energy is the one major ingredient of the EEMA Family. I share a fantastic personal rapport with him and respect him immensely.

Mr. Brian Tellis

I often joked with Brian Sir, that it takes me at least 10 seconds to respond to him, since I’m trying to decipher his accent!

But jokes apart, Brian Sir has a great attitude. Sometimes misunderstood and taken for granted by members, but he is an exceptional good person, and he kept things moving forward throughout the 4 critical years of the association, that he was President.

I say 4 critical years, since that was the time of the association where it had form and respect, and with that came many who wanted to take advantage of this as well. We experienced many ups and downs, and that was the first time I found politics seep into the association. But Brian Sir had a way to stay focused on what was important, and ensure we were always moving ahead.

Brian Sir has served the longest tenure so far as President of EEMA and we worked together through 4 conventions, in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kochi.

I took over as Treasurer of EEMA during his tenure, and my most memorable moment and achievement for EEMA, was when we could announce a saving of INR 1 Crore in fixed deposits for the Association during the Convention in Kochi.

Brian Sir entrusted me with responsibility, and I believe I lived up to that by working towards building EEMA as a financially strong association.

Mr. Michael Menezes

I was in complete awe when I met Mr. Michael Menezes for the first time. To meet the owner of Showtime Events, was like a dream come true!

That’s how it was in the initial days of the association, people coming together. Professionals, entrepreneurs, agency-owners we had only once heard of, or known of their work, now became one big network under EEMA.

It was Michael Sir who took the effort to link lots of the industry-folk, from all over India. The association took actual form because of Michael Sir’s efforts. It was important at the time of us starting off, that senior members be part of the association, and Michael Sir managed to bring all of these leaders together. He continues to play an integral role in the association and always supports efforts towards moving forward.

As for my experience working with Michael Sir, when we did so on the first two conventions, first in Goa and then Agra. All I can say is that he is a perfectionist and I had the most remarkable experience working with him. Michael Sir believes in getting things done, even if it meant doing them himself.

I have also worked with all the General Secretaries of EEMA including Mr. Mandeep Singh, Mr. Ankur Kalra, Mr. Rajesh Varma, Mr. Sanjeev Pasricha amongst other members, like Mr. Vijay Arora, and needless to say the achievements of EEMA and the NEC over these 10 years would not be possible without their dedications and excellence.

Its also been a fun experience for all of us! Before you know it, we were all working and behaving as one cohesive unit. That’s an achievement that cannot be put into words…

With Sabbas Sir, the industry has indeed become ‘ONE’, and for me personally it has been a huge opportunity to interact with veterans in the likes of Mr. Mohomed Morani, Mr. Roshan Abbas, Mr. Harindra Singh, Mr. Vijay Nair, Mr. Sanjoy Roy, Mr. Vivek Singh amongst others.

The greatest testimony to our oneness, is the EEMA Global Leadership Retreat, when over 100 families of EEMA members packed their bags and set-off to Antalya. The EEMA Global Leadership Retreat saw a rare occasion where all three Presidents of EEMA were present with their spouses celebrating togetherness as One Big, HAPPY Family!