MICE 2.0, with DConcept – Edward Beale

Edward Beale is the Managing Director of DConcept, a national pioneer in the field of event requirements manufacturing. Edward is a highly driven commercial business leader passionate about creating effective business strategies. He has immense experience running large-scale business units and is passionate about his work.

DConcept started in KSA in 2007 and focuses on maintaining its market position within KSA and offering effective support services. The company also has a social media presence on LinkedIn and Twitter. Let’s get to know more about Edward and his company through our interview below.

Explain the background of you and the company in detail. 

Having spent over a decade in the Middle East, managing various P&Ls within the MICE sector (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) covering territories from Doha to Dubai and delivering projects all over the world, the opportunity to live and work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was of high interest to me. The country is going through an unprecedented transformation phase, and it is an honor to be part of it, supporting the MICE industry during its growth toward supporting VISION 2030.

DConcept has shown a dedicated commitment to the MICE sector in the region, having been established in the Kingdom’s Capital, Riyadh, in 2007. During this time, the company has supported the Kingdom’s extensive growth plans, supporting various Governmental Departments in delivering their messages through events and exhibition formats.

Dconcept’s focus has always been to maintain its market position within the Kingdom and provide a knowledge transfer platform to the younger Saudi nationals wanting to be part of the MICE market, introducing their own youth platform for the MICE market called STEPS. This incitive actively contributes towards our full-time hiring process.

The company sits with a state-of-the-art event production facility that rivals any other in the GCC. Over the years, the Leadership team has invested heavily to ensure the Kingdom’s MICE market thrives and is supported with event-focused technologies that deliver best practice principles on an International level.

We are a support service that provides International creative agencies the below-the-line (BTL) delivery service to do amazing work within the Kingdom. We are proud to support the Government on various direct projects. However, the majority of our work comes from leading Experiential Agencies, who trust our capabilities and value our commitment to delivering ‘best in breed’ Event and Exhibition services.

What are your goals? 

My goal is to ensure that Dconcept is driving the efforts needed to ensure that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the leading market for MICE regionally, setting standards globally for best practices. The country is in a huge growth stage, and MICE is a major contributing factor to the successful narrative of the country’s development. The company and I believe heavily in knowledge transfer, ensuring the next generation of MICE leaders is trained up and able to carry the industry long after we are gone.

Our STEPs program is a key driver to supporting local Saudis and ensuring the industry is maintained and managed locally in the future years, supporting the Kingdom to achieve market dominance in the MICE sector regionally. During CV19, our industry was rattled by talent transfer to other industries. As the industry becomes more buoyant, we must bring on young staff keen to be part of this industry and train them to be future local leaders and pacesetters within KSA MICE.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of yourself/company right now? 

Having spent such a large amount of my career in the GCC, I believe we are in the right place at the right time. The company delivers excellent work on a very large scale, meeting the growing MICE demands in the country. Our business model predominantly is to support leading global creative agencies, delivering large and ‘out of the box’ event solutions for their clients within the Kingdom. DConcept is the region’s leading event service provider offering BTL and TTL services (below-the-line and through-the-line), delivering temporary construction and creative experiential event solutions.

What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?

DConcept has invested heavily in the future of sustainable MICE practices. Where other GCC MICE service providers in the BTL space invested in custom solutions made from predominantly MDF/ply, resulting in a large carbon footprint, we invested in aluminum and non-PVC fabrics. An example of this is our Durst 5m printer, one of only a handful in the GCC. Our investment strategy is not only a capital injection of funds but also a mindset change. It takes time, education, and practice to implement internally with staff training and externally with clients, educating them on ‘best practice solutions for our industry. We believe in a full turnkey service to our clients, though we understand that the core of our business is service, our people must also feel looked after and trained on best practice solutions. We need not only to give them the best tools to work with but also to support them in how to use them to best service the client.

Our STEPs program is a good example of how we are looking to educate the next generation of MICE professionals, using our ‘best practice’ approach to design, plan, and deliver temporary event solutions. Whilst our approach takes time and resources away from the day-to-day, we are firm believers that what we do now will benefit both the company and the industry during this time of MICE expansion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Why did you start (or want to be the head of) this company? 

Having spent over a decade in leadership positions within various MICE PLCs, the opportunity to work with a Saudi-owned and Saudi-run company was incredibly desirable for me personally. The company hits its Saudization quota, meaning the majority of the staff are local Saudis. I am often asked many questions about MICE, how or why we do things a certain way etc. The whole country has a positive outlook, and it’s noticeable in the team’s attitude toward work. We all have an inherent desire to learn, be part of the process, and engage with our industry’s daily troubleshooting demands.

There is a natural desire to learn within the company, spreading throughout the industry in the Kingdom, which is something special and a joy to be part of. We welcome many international clients, some operating with limited experience within the Kingdom. Their feedback is always positive, as they describe the energy onsite from our locally run teams, often saying they did not expect this and it’s a ‘breath of fresh air.

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?

As an industry (Globally), the biggest challenge we have overcome was 2020/21, the fallout of CV19. DConcept used this time to reinforce our approach to MICE 2.0 within the Kingdom. As a society, we have invested in future technologies that enable many of us to work from home, there is now a positive work/life balance, and health and well-being are key drivers to self-care. This transcends perfectly into the MICE sector, both in terms of human interaction and the use of next-generation technology. These factors are helping our industry, giving it a rebirth post-pandemic. We now have better solutions for a mixed reality offering to the event sector. We can now experience a different style of event.

A hybrid approach to MICE is now applicable, from using online platforms to migrating Virtual Production facilities in FILM/TV. All these future ‘engagement’ services are soon to become a norm in our industry, designed to increase participation and revenues through additional commercial verticals. In the short term, challenges may seem difficult or impossible to navigate, but as the dust settles, we often find benefits of such stresses that can be utilized for future developments. Technology has been the key driving factor to the MICE sector for many years and will continue to play a key role for MICE 2.0, our creative industry in a post-pandemic world.

What is MICE 2.0?

MICE 2.0 is the rebirth of the MICE sector in a post-pandemic world.

The industry pre-Covid was in a boom phase, with industries capitalizing on future f2f technologies in our sector, and the buzzword ‘Experiential’ was everywhere. Leading international shows were delivering record numbers, and all appeared to be well. When Covid-19 came along, the industry globally was hit due to the ban on mass gatherings. During this time, our industry landscape changed a lot.

The industry now sees many new companies wanting to capitalize on the industry’s aggressive expansion, especially in the Kingdom. Many are small entities with limited overheads, challenging the status quo, forming partnerships with future technology firms, or even (as we are) focusing heavily on a more sustainable MICE offering.

MICE 2.0 will be a cleaner, more tech-driven industry. Many benefits will come from this new era of thinking. As the Kingdom focuses heavily on VISION 2030, MICE 2.0 will be more noticeable in this region than ever, leading the way for the industry globally, and delivering best practices, to an international audience.

Give us one word that describes you the best. 

A single word that describes me personally would be ‘accountable.’ I say this as I believe I have learned over time to be flexible in my approach to mentorship. I am keen to offer others the flexibility to explore and be creative whilst not jeopardizing their development by operating within a limited creative parameter. Overall, governance is important, though having the ability to attempt ideas whilst operating in a flexible and safeguarded environment is key to knowledge transfer and empowerment. So, I remain accountable on behalf of my team whilst empowering them to challenge themselves under my care.

What makes you excited about Sundays? 

The working environment in the Kingdom differs from many I have experienced in the past. Sunday mornings are filled with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the aroma of locally sourced dates. Energy carries across the office with the echoing of positivity from a family-filled weekend. Whilst the industry is a fast-paced and sometimes stressful environment, our core DNA is family-focused, so listening to the team’s weekend activities is always something special to look forward to on a Sunday morning – before the week’s activities begin fully.

What do you value most about your culture and vision? 

My vision and mission, aligned with the Kingdom’s VISION 2030, is to develop, educate and expand the business and industry through innovation and the use of next-generation future technology that brings benefit to our clients and the industry as a whole. Sustainability in what we deliver needs to be the foundation block for future development within our sector.

What are your company’s strategies, and how do they stand unique from your competitors? 

Dconcept has invested heavily into our service offering, in terms of product, but also invested heavily into our team members in terms of training and knowledge transfer. We offer a full turnkey solution to our clients that rivals any other entity across the GCC. Furthermore, we believe in using sustainable materials over high-carbon waste products, such as MDF/ply and PVC fabrics. We proudly lead the way on this initiative, actively seeking future technologies to maintain our sustainable offering.

What are the key values which helped you to overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership. 

As a rule of practice, I follow three A’s: Accountability, Agility, and Accessibility. I endeavor to remain accountable for all that happens with the company. I understand that my approach to management and strategy needs to be agile enough to counter daily threats and challenges, though I need to be as accessible as possible to my clients and team members at all times. We are one team, and we love what we do.

How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change? 

We believe in a transparent approach to business, working with our clients to support and increase their service offerings to their end clients. As the MICE industry develops within the Kingdom over the next two years and more, our business plans to expand dramatically and maintain our regional presence. Offering additional support services that will meet the demands of our clients, delivering mega events through to B2C conferences. Additional services may well include e-commerce platforms for exhibitor services in exhibitions, white labeled for our clients, or event investments into future technologies that support the requirements for items such as Virtual Production facilities offering Mixed and Extended Reality setups. Based on the industry’s needs, we will continue to make the investments needed to ensure our service offering meets our client’s requirements. To benefit our industry’s expansion within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Where is your leadership going? What benefits do your clients get from your company in this competitive world? 

My colleagues and I share the same key core business fundamentals. We believe in a transparent operating model; honest reporting, and we share a passion for delivering the best possible solution to meet and exceed our client’s expectations. We understand that our business model only succeeds if our end clients deliver exceptional work. Our service often sits with a high percentage of our client’s overall scope. Our service to them must be smooth and reliable. We have a healthy client retention rate driven by this core operating principle. We are extremely proud of this and ensure this narrative transcends through all teams in the business.

What are your company’s services/solutions or products per the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services. 

Aside from our vision for a fully sustainable industry working with materials that allow for a reduced carbon footprint, we also understand that many other vertical services would benefit our clients, allowing them to deliver exceptional work to their clients. As such, we have invested in services that cover full AVL services through design and ticketing solutions for our clients.

We plan to maintain our all-in-house service offerings to help our clients meet their client’s demands.

In addition, we remain a support service where and when needed, a powerhouse in the shadows supporting the future expansion of MICE 2.0 within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, providing services to creative agencies and brands looking to make an impact within the region.

We love what we do, and we do it very well.

Connect with Edward Beale on LinkedIn or mail Hello@dconceptexpo.com

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