Page 351 - Protec PR Book Volume 2

TPMEA AV INDUSTRY RECOGNITION AWARD
Winner: Stephen Lakin, Protec
Nominees: Martin Lubach Jinesh Nair
WINNER:
TPMEA AV INDUSTRY RECOGNITION AWARD
STEPHEN LAKIN, PROTEC
“My career in this industry goes back a few decades. I started in the entertainment business in 1978, when I formed my first company Viewplan in 1979. I grew Viewplan PLC and then floated it onto the UK Stock Exchange in 1985. By 1987 I had 850 staff working in the company. I eventually sold Viewplan to a larger public company in the UK.
“My next company, Gearhouse, was started from scratch in 1989 and I grew it to become the world’s largest event rental company - with nearly 2,000 staff based in over 40 companies throughout the world.
I floated Gearhouse onto the UK’s Stock Exchange in 1995.
“By 1999 I’d left Gearhouse, went into semi-retirement and moved permanently
to the Middle East. I was soon itching for something new and I started my next company, Protec - Production Technology - at the end of 1999 in response to a request from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to produce an amazing opening ceremony for their newest skyscraper, the Al Faisaliah Tower. Since then, Protec has grown considerably and is today one of the largest full service event technical and staging solutions companies in the world.
“Based in Dubai for the last 25 years, I have been avidly promoting the UAE as the leading destination for events while growing Protec into one of the largest full service event technical production companies in the world, certainly the largest in the Middle East. I have worked on hundreds of major events including the opening launch of Dubai Media City, Dubai Shopping Festival,
various National Day celebrations and other prestigious events across the Middle East in my company’s 19 year history here in the Middle East.
“It looks like retirement is not something I can manage, not when I love what I do. I also consider myself very privileged to have worked on some of the greatest shows on earth including various Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games’ opening and closing ceremonies. I was the producer of the highly successful opening ceremonies for IDEX 2013, 2015 and 2017 - possibly one of the most complex but also one of the most exciting shows I’ve worked on.
“I feel privileged to have had 40 years
in this business, and it was especially wonderful to have this work honoured at the inaugural TPMEA Awards. A very special thanks to TPMEA for selecting me amongst the nominees, each of whom have made great contributions to building the industry, and turning it into what it is today.
“I am exceptionally pleased, honoured and humbled to have won the TPMEA AV Industry Recognition Award. It is a terrific industry to be a part of; it’s an industry full of incredible people who share my passion for what we do. The award ceremony itself was well-organised and an exceptional night – everyone was in high spirits and I’m already looking forward to next year!”
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