Paul Berger, a founding member of ILEA (International Live Events Associations) Middle East and an active Board Director since its inception in the Middle East in 2010, took the Presidency of the Middle East Chapter in January 2019 and will lead it into EXPO 2020 (being hosted in Dubai, UAE). As part of the first Board meeting under his president-ship, the new Board was announced as well as the strategic route forwards during the board’s tenure.
The board of directors of ILEA – ME, for this tenure (18 months) include, Khalid Alhammadi, Vice President Events Services, Dubai World Trade Center; and Ahmed Al Shehhi, Founder & CEO, Blink Experiences; as ILEA ME Board Advisors; Adrian Bell, Co-founder & Executive Director, Action Impact as VP GCC Relations / Past ILEA ME President, Karishma Hundalani, Head – Brand & Content, EVENTFAQS Media (VP Membership); Melissa Tenkhi, Senior Marketing Manager; Wicked (VP Marketing and Communications); Emma Clark, Event Director, Action Impact (VP Knowledge & Education), Adrian Peet, Managing Partner, Glowglass Middle East (VP Health & Safety); Peter Anderson, Regional Sales Director, Dorchester Collection (VP Expo Relations) and Steve Armiistage, Founder, UBS Consultancy (VP of Finance).
As a non-profit association, ILEA rely on the support of members and look to invest all of the membership fees into expanding the Chapter around the region.
Paul Berger’s goals for the Chapter under his Presidency are:
• Grow the membership base by 10 new companies per month. "I would like the Middle East Chapter to become the biggest Chapter in the world by 2020".
• Establish an HQ for our Association in Dubai.
• Establish Chapter branches in Abu Dhabi, Jeddah and Riyadh.
• Create a dedicated Board Role to represent the Chapter with EXPO 2020.
• Stronger Emiratization within the Chapter and on the board.
• Monthly Small Events Calendar that addresses the requirements of each member.
• Annual Major Events Calendar for the benefits of the members.
• Monthly President’s Lunch with members by invitation. "I want my presidency to be personal to every member".
• Education - focus on introducing the ILEA Industry qualification, CSEP to our industry in the Middle East.
• Health & Safety workshops for our members and the introduction of one set of industry guidelines adopted by local government.
• Improve the financial health of the Chapter to reinvest into initiatives that will benefit the members and our industry.
• Introduction of new ideas for the benefit of the members. (Watch this space).
• Improve the communication between ILEA Middle East and the members.
“I am sure these goals will evolve over the term of my Presidency, but most importantly, I want the Chapter to become relevant to everyone involved in our industry and to provide each of you with measurable benefits for your organization. We need to work collaboratively to make our industry stronger and better in the Middle East. We are one industry voice that needs to be heard and recognized by everyone in this region, particularly government and local government organisations” concluded Paul Berger.