DUBAI // With the clock ticking down to the start of Expo 2020 and increasingly more major international events being held in the UAE, there is a growing need for professionals who can manage them successfully.
Although the UAE hosts Formula One races and the Dubai Rugby Sevens, no university in the UAE offers degree-level training in the events industry.
“Just about every university in the UK offers events-management degrees of some sort because London won its Olympic bid,” said Angela Anthonisz, a lecturer at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.
“There are lots of events companies here but they may not be aware of the international standards that are used in terms of health and safety and risk management. Events managers have a duty of care when it comes to how they look after attendees.”
According to research by Deloitte, events management is one of the biggest skill sets missing for 2020, along with hospitality, food and beverage and restaurant management.
Ms Anthonisz said one issue is that hospitality is not viewed as a career and “is seen as something you do if you have to”.
Thomas Ovesen, chief executive of 117 Live, said the status of the industry must be raised.
“The absence of academic degrees is a reflection of how the live-events industry is categorised or rated by authorities as well as the commercial hospitality industry, of which it is an integral part. In most countries it is recognised as a strong component.”
Yet it is a career that requires thorough training and qualifications, Ms Anthonisz said.
“Capacity management, crowd control, these all require training. Running an Expo is going to demand a team of people with a particular skill set, who really know what they’re doing when it comes to events. It’s one of the three mega events, along with the World Cup and Olympics, and they can make or break a destination if not done well.”
The growing demand for degrees in the industry is a reflection of the level of professionalism in countries with established events industries, as many degree courses cover planning, logistics, health and safety, licensing and risk management, Ms Anthonisz said.
“In terms of employability, the event degree programmes have an industry placement of about 80-90 per cent. Students can have a job within six months of leaving university. When I was at Huddersfield University [in the UK] it was about 90 per cent, because a lot of students went back to the employer that they worked with during the course.”
Without a formal body, as found in other parts of the world, the industry in the Emirates faces challenges.
James Magee, chief executive at Global Event Management Group, agreed that formal qualifications and training were key for those looking to recruit, with experience usually gained during studies or placement year.
“One of Dubai’s biggest and fastest-growing industries has been the event business since 1990, yet talent is still imported and very little is being done to train or educate a new breed of event manager,” he said.
“Courses and recognised qualifications need to be developed to respond to this and prepare the market for Expo 2020 and beyond. A fund needs to be developed to help these courses, to create recognised qualifications among people who know these markets. International expertise is important, but so is local knowledge if we are to achieve greater things in the future.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
