HEllo, I'm
Sarah Salera
HEllo, I'm
About
- Name: Sarah Salera
- Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Professional Profile
Highly organized, enthusiastic and articulate professional with over 2 decades of experience working in diversified industries backed by successful history of planning and executing industry specific Awards, large-scale events, logistics and production.
My expertise is providing integrated solutions and being able to proactively comprehend client’s needs and effectively transform ideas into practical, actionable, cost-effective solutions, and maintaining excellent working relationships with stakeholders & internal teams.
Also Adept at vendor management, hospitality services, quality management, budgeting & costing and team management for event coordination.
I joined IIR in 2006 as Special Events Manager, where I was leading large scale events, features, Awards and special events for the whole Cityscape portfolio (CS Dubai; CS Abu Dhabi; CS Singapore; CS China; CS India; CS New York and Retail City), the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show; Middle East Event Show; Arab Health Awards and the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Bride Shows.
In 2011, I joined Messe Frankfurt as not only as the Conference Event Manager but to also manage the group’s side events as well as create and execute Awards across Messe Frankfurt ME’s portfolio.
Before making a career in the events, conference and exhibitions industry, I also had a solid sales & marketing background working for some of the large hospitality chains (like, the Shangri-La; Marriott and Hilton).
Skills
Event Management
Advanced
Marketing Intelligence
Expert
Competitor Analysis
Expert
Resource Optimization
Expert
Knowledge
- Client Retention & Up sells
- Partnerships and Alliances Strategies
- Budget Management
- Commercial Excellence
- Effective Negotiation Skills
- Corporate Communications
- Vendor Management
- Client Account Management
- Promotional Operations
- Statutory Compliance
- Documentation & Reporting
- Team Management
- Training & Development
- Liaison & Coordination
- Organisational Acumen
- Continuous Improvement
- Multi-tasking & Persuasive
- Time Management
Experience
Over 2 decades of experience in Event Planning and Management
Messe Frankfurt Middle East GmbH,
Dubai, UAE
Event Manager
Feb 2011 - Dec 2019- Appointed to lead the entire events through a turnaround. Assumed majority of responsibilities & accountabilities related to Branding & Corporate Communications, Media, Marketing, Event Management, Public Relations, and Vendor Management. Key role in achieving sales growth that consistently outperformed key competitors and the industry as a whole to become a one stop shop event management solution provider.
- Developing strategic plans, ideas, long-term marketing, risk mitigation, management plans and procedures for various special events (awards, business breakfasts, cocktail receptions, managed events) to run alongside the company’s portfolio of exhibitions and conferences for added value and commercial enhancement
- Lead responsibility and full ownership for developing, managing, budgeting, marketing and delivering the organisation’s various annual awards programmes Managing business development activities & establishing healthy & prolonged business relations with clients; identifying new opportunities and building relationship in allocated accounts to achieve revenue and profitability targets
- Aligning the integration between Marketing and PR Teams by delivering integrated solutions for the clients; engaging in consistent business development Designing marketing literature, production and distribution of all organization publications (brochures, press releases, web page, sponsorship marketing) Identifying & networking with reliable potential collaborators, other business opportunities resulting in deeper market penetration & drafting strategies accordingly
- Analysing post-event & competitors performance to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
- Liaising with other Business Units to ensure a synchronized approach with no overlap
- Executing value assessment for proposals and partnership packages; formulating and providing valuable Sales Report to the Top Management related to achievement of revenue targets with fine tuning sales & marketing strategies on weekly basis
- Monitored costs in-line with company objectives and business plans; ensured profit targets are achieved, margins maintained & expenses controlled
- Developing strategic plans, ideas, long-term marketing, risk mitigation, management plans and procedures for various special events (awards, business breakfasts, cocktail receptions, managed events) to run alongside the company’s portfolio of exhibitions and conferences for added value and commercial enhancement
- Lead responsibility and full ownership for developing, managing, budgeting, marketing and delivering the organisation’s various annual awards programmes Managing business development activities & establishing healthy & prolonged business relations with clients; identifying new opportunities and building relationship in allocated accounts to achieve revenue and profitability targets
- Aligning the integration between Marketing and PR Teams by delivering integrated solutions for the clients; engaging in consistent business development Designing marketing literature, production and distribution of all organization publications (brochures, press releases, web page, sponsorship marketing) Identifying & networking with reliable potential collaborators, other business opportunities resulting in deeper market penetration & drafting strategies accordingly
- Analysing post-event & competitors performance to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
- Liaising with other Business Units to ensure a synchronized approach with no overlap
- Executing value assessment for proposals and partnership packages; formulating and providing valuable Sales Report to the Top Management related to achievement of revenue targets with fine tuning sales & marketing strategies on weekly basis
- Monitored costs in-line with company objectives and business plans; ensured profit targets are achieved, margins maintained & expenses controlled
Informa Middle East (IIR Dubai) Dubai, UAE
Special Events Manager
Apr 2006 - Feb 2011- Served and managed Abu Dhabi Yacht Show, Arab Health, Palme, Middle East Event Show, Hospital Build, Middle East Electricity and other events across the Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, China, Jeddah, India, and New York
- Streamlined every aspect of an event (large/high-profile) such as organising, planning, promotional activities, scheduling, team management, event location scouting; created events in a way to reach its maximum potential
- Established and monitored budgets and maintaining financial and administrative records; reported costs, sales figures, & statistics for an industry-leading events to the company
- Expertise in managing key external stakeholders including policy makers by undertaking decision maker mapping, built relationships, formulated strategies and drove teams to attain objectives
- Reviewed goals to develop and create concepts and strategies with Exhibition Director/s (Cityscape Abu Dhabi, Citybuild, Cityscape Asia, Cityscape Jeddah, Cityscape Riyadh, Cityscape Dubai, Cityscape India, Cityscape USA, Cityscape Latin America) Interacted with the external Event Partners, Agents and Groups to ensure continuity of events
- Streamlined every aspect of an event (large/high-profile) such as organising, planning, promotional activities, scheduling, team management, event location scouting; created events in a way to reach its maximum potential
- Established and monitored budgets and maintaining financial and administrative records; reported costs, sales figures, & statistics for an industry-leading events to the company
- Expertise in managing key external stakeholders including policy makers by undertaking decision maker mapping, built relationships, formulated strategies and drove teams to attain objectives
- Reviewed goals to develop and create concepts and strategies with Exhibition Director/s (Cityscape Abu Dhabi, Citybuild, Cityscape Asia, Cityscape Jeddah, Cityscape Riyadh, Cityscape Dubai, Cityscape India, Cityscape USA, Cityscape Latin America) Interacted with the external Event Partners, Agents and Groups to ensure continuity of events
Tesco Canada International (Middle East & Africa)
Office Manager
Jul 2005 - Jan 2006- Spearheaded the complete general administration & office management functions; supervised and organized managerial services for administration; resolved employee grievances & common organizational problems for better management
- Executed recruitment and supervised administrative staff personnel; prepared staff work schedules and attendance records
- Generated manuals describing procedures and standards; liaised with Senior Management & presented the various reports
- Executed recruitment and supervised administrative staff personnel; prepared staff work schedules and attendance records
- Generated manuals describing procedures and standards; liaised with Senior Management & presented the various reports
Camox Guide International, Dubai, UAE
Marketing/Recruitment Manager
Nov 2003 - Jul 2005- Spearheaded the entire administration, marketing and financial domain of Dubai Office in coordination with the Bombay (Head Office), India, Philippines, and Sri Lanka Offices.
- Synchronized the Middle East Clients to recruitment services; assisted and adviced on appropriate recruitment strategies
- Devised new streams for new orders & deployed new recruits; maintained constant communications with new & existing clients to increase market share (The Fairmont Dubai, Hilton Dubai Creek, Hilton Jumeirah, Sheraton Jumeirah, Wafi, etc.)
- Kept abreast with latest employment legislation by interacting with the Consulates, Government Agencies and Organizations; informed the clients about any relevant changes
- Organized and participated in recruitment trips of the clients such as Fairmont Dubai, Grosvenor House, Le Royal Meridien, Wafi Hospitality and so on
- Synchronized the Middle East Clients to recruitment services; assisted and adviced on appropriate recruitment strategies
- Devised new streams for new orders & deployed new recruits; maintained constant communications with new & existing clients to increase market share (The Fairmont Dubai, Hilton Dubai Creek, Hilton Jumeirah, Sheraton Jumeirah, Wafi, etc.)
- Kept abreast with latest employment legislation by interacting with the Consulates, Government Agencies and Organizations; informed the clients about any relevant changes
- Organized and participated in recruitment trips of the clients such as Fairmont Dubai, Grosvenor House, Le Royal Meridien, Wafi Hospitality and so on
Hilton Cebu Resort & Towers (246 Hotel Units & 68 Residential Units) Goldland Philippines Corp.(Developer), Philippines
Sales & Marketing Manager
Apr 1999 - Nov 2003- Remarkably managed sales, marketing, public relations and sold phase one’s 110 Residential Condominiums, 246 Hotel Units , 68 Residential Units and The Resort Club’s shares of the project’s 2nd phase
- Accomplished a sale of 60% on phase one’s Hotel Units, 95% on Residential Tower 1 and 61% of Residential units in phase 2
- Accomplished a sale of 60% on phase one’s Hotel Units, 95% on Residential Tower 1 and 61% of Residential units in phase 2
Education
University of San Carlos, Cebu City
BS Business Administration & Management
Events
International Fire Operations Conference, Bahrain
International Contracting Conference and Exhibition
Mobility 360 Middle East
International Conference on Future Mobility
The World Security Forum
Middle East Pediatric Orthopaedic Society Annual Meeting
Light Middle East Awards
Intersec Security, Safety & Fire Protection Awards
Global Emergency Medicine Conference
The Abu Dhabi Yacht Show
Arab Health Awards
Cityscape Architectural Awards
Cityscape Abu Dhabi Awards
Cityscape China Awards
Cityscape Asia Awards
Cityscape India Awards
Retail City Awards
The Abu Dhabi Yacht Show Golf Tournament
Cityscape Golf Tournament
Cityscape USA Golf Tournament
Cityscape Abu Dhabi Golf Tournament
Arab Health Golf Tournament
The Bride Show Abu Dhabi
... And More
Contact
Let's Keep In Touch
Testimonials
"I had the pleasure to work with Sarah in one of our events. She was just the right point of contact we needed. Anything we needed, she was there to take care of our request. She was the event manager, the coordinator and the women on ground. Thanks Sarah."
Ahmad AlAboudi
Chief Regulatory Officer
Saudi Contractors Authority
"During 2019 I was contacted by Sarah when she had noticed the potential of a conference/forum with which I was involved. From this one phone call she energized significant resources and expertise to ensure that the event would be a success with global reach. Her initiative in making a business approach and her skill and knowledge in her area of "events" is impressive. I'd deem her to be an asset to any event or conference that obtains her services."
Howard Leedham MBE
Managing Director
CONSILIUM (Security & Risk Resolution)
"Sarah has over 15 years of valuable experience working on a diverse range of events for high profile global brands. Shes the go-to person to manage and support the execution of events such as awards, conferences, networking functions and more. Shes reliable, resourceful, deadline conscious and can work ndependently. I would have no hesitation recommending Sarah."
Faye Rosewall Black
Vice President - Group Marketing
dmg events
"Sarah works in event and conferences planning since several years. I’ve appreciated working with her some years ago, in establishing and running for three consecutive years, one of the most important Emergency Medicine conference in the gulf region "
Abdo Khoury
President Elect
The European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM)
"Managing AcuTech's Middle East consultancy engagements that drive improvements in safety, security, training and preparedness for global companies. Sarah, with who I collaborated on several events, demonstrated dedication with her hard-working ethic and professionalism which enhanced my experience as a presenter and moderator resulting in a much more enjoyable event. I am sure that Sarah's career will continue to be successful and rewarding."
John Cowling CPP CBCI
Director - Middle East
AcuTech Consulting Group
"Sarah she is the hardest working person I have come a cross, very smart, always moving forward. Always motivated to work and also motivates others."