CXO INSIGHT
Looking ahead , what trends do you anticipate will shape the future of the global events industry , and how is DWTC positioning itself to lead and adapt to these trends ?
You place a strong emphasis on creative marketing and talent development . How do you approach nurturing talent within your team and what qualities do you believe are essential for success in the events industry ?
I lead from the front and my team knows I ’ m with them from the ground floor to apex . We have a talented and truly committed bunch of energetic and motivated colleagues . My responsibility as their manager is to offer them the opportunities to catalyse them from good to outstanding event professionals .
We do not advocate a culture of individual prima donnas . We are a very team-centric business across the company . We are able to deliver consistently solid events because we have a motley crew
with a creative mélange of styles , abilities , cultures and individualities which is simply combustible when they come together .
Being innately creative is a plus . The ability and commitment to drive a creative process with innovative and fresh outcomes is more important . Any great product is the combined output of different people with varied expertise . The finesse to evoke the best out of each individual is an art . I ’ m still learning to be patient .
Like others , our business requires people who are talented and ‘ want it bad enough ’ to be successful . Unfortunately , these qualities don ’ t always co-exist in individuals despite the availability of great career opportunities .
We remain humble and shall always be number two . I ’ m most proud of who and what we are .
How important is it to you to act as a role model to young women with leadership aspirations ?
There ’ s significant consolidation and M & A activities in the global events industry . The end of the COVID pandemic also unleashed a lot of events across sectors , resulting in great fragmentation . Clients are increasingly questioning value and impact in the events business . At DWTC we continue to focus on differentiating our propositions and remain diehard on delivering great outcomes for the industries ’ ecosystems and communities we serve as a first mission .
We will work harder on under-served sectors and markets where we can create the biggest positive impact in more creative partnerships with the stakeholders . Therefore , we have recently announced the launch of GITEX DIGI _ HEALTH 5.0 in Asia , a sector we believe AI shall exert great influence in leapfrogging the healthcare industry .
GITEX GLOBAL is just around the corner . Can you share any insight into what goes on behind the scenes to deliver an event of this scale , and what visitors to this year ’ s event can expect ?
Every year GITEX GLOBAL outdoes itself , not just in scale but in new opportunities for the international digital community . This sell-out edition with over 6,700 companies from 130 countries has attracted many new government and private sector fans from as far as Puerto Rico and Costa Rica , to rising digital nations like Azerbaijan , Bosnia and Herzegovina . We are also presenting globally the year ’ s largest project showcase , use cases , learnings and debates on AI and DeepTech with over 3,000 exhibiting companies in this sector . There is a significant spotlight on scale-ups and high growth start-ups as Expand North Star , our dedicated start-up event , advances to the next phase of ecosystem development .
Most exciting of all , we shall present to our global audience the GITEX universe of new opportunities in GITEX EUROPE , GITEX ASIA , GITEX NIGERIA , GITEX AFRICA Morocco , AI Everything Global and GITEX DIGI _ HEALTH 5.0 . x
Everyone ’ s aspirations are different . What I stand for and advocate may not be the model for others hence I ’ m not out there to ‘ actively ’ act as a role model . It ’ s important for me that young women know their own aspirations and desired outcomes and believe wholeheartedly that opportunities are out there for them to claim it . It ’ s the personal and professional adversities that I ’ ve surmounted that led me to accomplish what I could today . I would like them to know it is possible but the journey to get there is a baptism of fear , tears , making hard choices , taking risks , losing hope and coming back stronger . There ’ s no detour .
46 www . intelligentcxo . com