SACEOS was set up in 1979 to be the voice and champion of the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry, to help those in the business to develop and prosper, and to work closely with the government to meet the objective of making Singapore the best venue in Asia. Training has been and continues to be a cornerstone of SACEOS and it is a strategic pillar for the association to help members as Singapore and Asia grapple with greater competition from other regions, fight for talent, as well as manage and retain talent.
To raise professionalism in the exhibition industry, SACEOS in 2001 became the first MICE industry association in the world to launch a set of technical references.
Since it was set up, SACEOS has developed and strengthened its international MICE industry network which provides global networking and business opportunities for its members.
In Singapore, government agencies SACEOS works closely with include the International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) and the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau (SECB), a division of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
SACEOS achieved a milestone in this area in 2014 by bringing professional courses with international accreditation, only available in Europe and the US previously, to Singapore and accessible to MICE practitioners throughout Asia.
To be the leading MICE association to enhance Singapore’s position as a premier global hub for the industry.
Aloysius Arlando is the Chief Executive Officer of SingEx Holdings,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore investment company, Temasek
Holdings. SingEx Holdings comprises several entities focusing on the
venue management and events development businesses. They include
SingEx Venues Pte. Ltd., which manages the Singapore EXPO
Convention and Exhibition Centre, the largest purpose-built MICE venue
in Singapore; and SingEx Exhibitions Pte. Ltd., the event management
arm which develops and manages exhibitions, conferences and other
business events relating to key industries of the future economy.
Since taking over the helm in 2010, Aloysius has built up a portfolio of MICE-related ventures, both regionally and globally, as well as developed its suite of business event solutions and venue management services to new standards. Singapore EXPO and MAX Atria was awarded Best International Venue 2016 by UK’s Exhibition News and Best Business Event Venue in 2018 and 2019 by Singapore Tourism Board,while SingEx Exhibitions was awarded Best Trade Conference Organiser in both years and Best Exhibition Organiser in 2019. Through her head office in Singapore and subsidiaries in Delhi, Guangzhou, Jakarta and London, SingEx stages a portfolio of over 25 proprietary trade events in India, China, Indonesia, SouthAfrica, UK and Singapore
Prior to SingEx, Aloysius spent 18 years in various leadership positions in Singapore’s public sector.While he was at the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Ministry of Trade & Industry, he advanced the development plans for Singapore's tourism, business travel and MICE industries. He was a key member of a multi-agency committee responsible for Singapore’s Integrated Resorts projects, where he oversaw the MICE development aspects. He also served in the Ministry of Manpower where he spearheaded lifelong learning and workforce development efforts
In 2004, Aloysius received a Public Administration Award in recognition of his achievements. Aloysius capped off his stint in the public sector as the Assistant Chief Executive of Business Travel and MICE in STB, where under his watch, Singapore emerged as the Top International Meetings City and Asia’s Top Country and City for Meetings by the Union of International Associations for the first time.He was also concurrently serving as the Executive Director of the organising committee for the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Singapore 2009 high-level meetings
In line with his role at SingEx, Aloysius was nominated in 2014 as the Vice-Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Chapter of The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) and Vice-President of the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) in 2015. Aloysius is now the President of SACEOS (Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers) and President of AIPC, the first Asian to assume the association’s presidency.
To find out more about Aloysius, click
here to view his Linkedin Profile.
Anthea Tan serves as the Director of Sales, Expo at Marina Bay Sands. Her role involves driving exhibition lead events into Marina Bay Sands both locally and internationally. As a per-opening team member, Anthea has served 9 years in Marina Bay Sands, exceling in different roles within the team over the years.
Prior to joining Marina Bay Sands, Anthea was a tradeshow and conference organizer for 6 years and worked in key exhibition organizing roles across operations, project management, marketing and sales in Informa, one of the world’s largest Professional Exhibition Organisers.
Being passionate about the Meetings and Business Events Industry, Anthea serves as Vice President (Suppliers) of the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organizers & Suppliers (SACEOS) in 2015 to 2019, represent the collective interest of the supplier chain within the industry in Singapore. SACEOS is the association that represents the interests of the Business Events, Meetings and Tradeshow industry in Singapore. Within SACEOS, Anthea also assumes the Chairperson role in the Sustainability committee within SACEOS where she drives developing standards, education and awareness of sustainability efforts in MICE industry.
Anthea holds a Bachelor in Business from Royal Melbourne University of Technology majoring in Marketing. She has also holds the Certified Exhibition Management (CEM) global accreditation from the International Association of Exhibitions & Events (IAEE).
To find out more about Anthea, click
here to view her Linkedin Profile.
To find out more about Don, click
here to view his Linkedin Profile.
Chief Executive of East West Planners and Immediate Past President of SACEOS with over 35 years in the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Events Industry.
Actively involved in the industry in Asia, having expanded East West Planners with offices in China and Malaysia, growing from a destination management company to a full service experiential solutions provider with specialization in meetings, incentives, conferences and events, in addition to leisure travel catering to a very niche market.
Harnessing technology, mid 2015 East West Planners launched their own Interactive, Web Management Portal serving the B2B audience. Users have access, to current content and pricing with the ability to customize, book arrangements covering the Asia regions. Future plans are to include more Asian destinations.
Other areas of her work encompasses business tourism development & consultation, working closely with major industry players, National Tourism Boards locally and overseas.
Currently serving
o Immediate Past President SACEOS [Previous positions : SACEOS President, Hon Treasurer, VP M & I since 2002]
o Committee member of SKAL [since 2013]
o Board Advisory - Management Development Institute of Singapore
o 2017 PCMA Chairman's Award Honouree
o 2017 STB Lifetime Achievement Award
o Advisory Board - Business Events
Training and Speaking Engagements – As early as 1990’s, Janet’s commitment to training takes her throughout Asia where she facilitates, teaches, shares and lectures to industry practitioners and students. Recognized as a MICE Industry expert, her speaking engagements span across locally, regionally and internationally.
Throughout her career, Janet has won several accolades for the company as well as for herself. She was bestowed the PCMA 2016 Global Meetings Executive of the Year Recipient together with other prestigious DOM Benedictine Working Mother of the Year Award, 1990 and the travel personality of the Year for Asia Pacific at the EIBTM Show, Geneva, Switzerland, 1995.
To find out more about Janet, click
here to view her Linkedin Profile.
To find out more about Oscar, click here to view his Linkedin Profile.
To find out more about Richard, click
here to view his Linkedin Profile.
Dylan Sharma is a seasoned event professional with over 20 years of experience in the MICE industry.
His journey in event management began after he graduated from university and joined a reputable local firm focusing on events and exhibitions; where he honed his project and business management skills. In six years, he secured key accounts and market share, working his way up to the position of General Manager leading the event management division, whilst also playing a significant role in enabling the organisation to become publicly listed.
In 2006, Dylan, together with his co-Founder, embarked on the path of entrepreneurship and started TRICOM Events. Today, TRICOM is a proud homegrown event agency that focuses on high level business events. The passionate and dynamic team at TRICOM is dedicated to creating meaningful events for their clients, and delivering perfection through strategic plans tailored to clients' needs. In 2020, this also included spearheading the return of the first large scale event in Singapore since the pandemic; working closely with various governing bodies to ensure the safe resumption of events.
During these unprecedented times, it is Dylan’s belief that the way forward is for all players in the MICE industry to collaborate not compete. This has led him to be actively involved in SACEOS and the conversation around the resumption the MICE industry; this includes co-leading the hybridisation segment of the Industry Resilience Roadmap (IRR) and moderating a webinar on Safe & Innovative Events. As the Vice-President of Advocacy and Communications at SACEOS, Dylan hopes to represent the many varied voices and concerns of the diverse MICE ecosystem, and work together with industry players to ensure vibrancy and readiness for a bounce-back.
To find out more about Dylan, click
here to view his Linkedin Profile.
Veemal Gungadin is the Chief Executive Officer of GlobalSign.In Pte Ltd (GSI). Veemal founded the company back in 2006 and architected and coded the first software platform of the company, at an age when his peers were settling for university placements. He bootstrapped the company with no external investment. GSI today is a leading event tech company with offices in Singapore, Australia, Dubai, India, Myanmar and the US.
Having graduated from National University of Singapore with a degree in Computer Science, Veemal remains at the forefront of technology and spearheads the software products being crafted at GSI. The challenge he sets for his team is to release what’s going to go mainstream in the next 5 years.
GSI’s core SaaS products are:
Veemal is also an investor and advisor for several innovative startups. In Singapore, Veemal advises on product development & growth at Synchestra, a revolutionary InsurTech platform. Veemal also acts as strategic tech advisor for Severalnines, today a global leading database management company headquartered in Sweden that was founded by ex-employees of MySQL & Oracle.
Debbie is the Managing Director for Freeman Asia Pacific.
With almost 30 years of international experience in the exhibition and events sector, Debbie boasts a strong track record in building and leading high performance and diverse teams across the region to drive strategic goals.
At Freeman, she oversees the four offices across Asia Pacific - Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. She is in charge of providing strategic insights and growth strategy to continue growing the Freeman business within the region, as well as encouraging a collaborative culture among the offices to create the best experiences for Freeman clients.
Before joining Freeman, Debbie was President of Reed Exhibitions in South East Asia and Australia, a company she has worked at since 2000. At RX, she worked through the ranks, joining as a Manager at Reed Gift Fairs to become Group Exhibition Director before assuming the responsibilities of Managing Director for RX Australia in 2008, and then being promoted to President in 2014. As President, Debbie helped the company expand its reach, achieving high growth and market leadership status.
To find out more about Debbie, click
here to view her Linkedin Profile.
Ian Wu holds the position of CEO and Co-owner of HUONE Singapore, which is part of the HUONE International Group of thematic meeting venues, which has venues in Denmark and Finland. Being a relatively small business, venue wise, he is fortunate to oversee and be directly involved in almost all aspects of the business. Ian also sits on the of Board of the Finnish Business Council. Prior to his current role he has held multiple positions in the SingEx Exhibitions business over a 5 year period. His last role being Director (Healthcare - Tech), where he spearheaded and charted the overall growth of the portfolio, which comprises of six events, in 3 distinct sectors, healthcare, automotive and rubber commodities.
Before his career with SingEx, Ian spent: several years working with Informa Exhibitions; as well as serving 13 years with the Singapore Armed Forces, where he notably undertook the role of Organising Secretary of the 2010 National Day Heartland Celebrations, amongst other training and doctrine development positions.
Ian has a First Class Honours Degree in Business Administration, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Wales, Cardiff.
To find out more about Ian, click
here to view his Linkedin Profile.
To find out more about Gerard, click
here to view his Linkedin Profile.
Ivan Ferrari is at the helm of UBM’s TMT team as ConnecTechAsia and Black Hat Asia Event Director.
Prior to taking up this role, Ivan was General Manager of UBM Indonesia, where he oversaw operations, strategies and business development. More recently, for the past two years, Ivan had been in charge of UBM’s business development and special projects in Southeast Asia, a role in which he supervised the integration and the realisation of revenue synergies between UBM and Allworld in ASEAN, including the implementation of Value Based Pricing in partnership with JWC and the roll-out of Sales Excellence.
Before joining UBM, Ivan led a consulting company based in Lugano, Switzerland, serving the exhibition industry, UBM being one of his key accounts.
After leaving the Airline in 1988, she joined a travel agency handling Outbound MICE business for several years.
With more than 20 years of experience in the MICE world and with a sheer passion for strategic analyses, geopolitics and business development, Ivan has helped businesses grow through the combination of a forward looking mindset and actionable strategies.
To find out more about Karen, click
here to view her Linkedin Profile.
Priscilla Leong is a commercially-minded networker, enjoys engaging with people and creating win-wins by connecting the dots and exploiting opportunities.
Priscilla is currently the founder and Managing Director of Expotrans Pte Ltd, a company established with a vision to leverage on technology to enhance efficiency in operational processes and overall customer experience at trade shows and events. The company is an affiliate of Expotrans SpA, a company established since 1990 operating as official freight forwarder at major Italian venues like Fiera Milano in Italy and also Crocus in Moscow.
Prior to this, Priscilla was the Global CEO for Agility Fairs & Events Logistics (“Agility”). In her 16 years with Agility, she started as CFO rising to role of COO and subsequently promoted to CEO for the Fairs & Events Specialty business. In Agility, she had oversight over an extensive network of offices in over 30 countries covering Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and Middle East. Priscilla also headed the Fairs & Events unit in Singapore and was concurrently responsible for business development for APAC.
Being passionate about the Meetings and Business Events Industry, Priscilla had previously served on SACEOS Exco from 2011 till May 2020 in various capacities, separately as Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Secretary, Committee member and VP-Community. During her tenure with SACEOS, she was instrumental to the establishment of MOU between IELA and SACEOS, worked on changes in the Constitution of the Association. She was also involved in the establishment of SACEOS Sustainability Accreditation for the Industry and worked on revamping the membership structure for SACEOS to be more inclusive for the future. Priscilla was also elected to the Board of IELA in 2019 and held the position of Honorary Treasurer.
Over the years, Priscilla remains very much plugged into the global events industry through her involvement with other industry associations like AFECA, IELA and UFI, making her contributions to the industry whenever possible.
Priscilla holds a Bachelor in Accountancy from National University of Singapore and is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of Singapore.
1 Raffles Boulevard,
Level 3 Venue Management Office,
Suntec City, Singapore 039593
Phone: +65 9732 3941
General/Course: secretariat@saceos.org.sg
Events: events@saceos.org.sg
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