Alex Apthorpe

Lead our MENA operations from Pixel Artworks' state-of-the-art immersive offices in D3, Dubai’s Design District. Drive regional expansion and client partnerships across UAE, KSA, and the GCC, delivering world-first, measurable immersive installations. Build and inspire high-performing client services and business development teams, collaborating seamlessly with our London studio to bring award-winning creativity to life.

Working with the owners of the business bringing in a number of new initiatives and processes spanning across corporate governance through to operational best practice. Helping the team to work more efficiently, more collaboratively and more cost effectively both within the office but also remotely either at home, in the office or on site.

Responsibility for managing a number of key accounts on a day to day basis including Mastercard, Investcorp, Department of Culture & Tourism and MOCCAE. Selling in services from the agency across a number of disciplines from events to exhibition programs and generally across the live communications field. Responsible for driving pitch winning responses and ensuring that the client's requirements are understood by the different departments within the agency from creative through to production as well as ensuring commercial viability. After award, managing and maintaining the relationship leading onwards to repeat business. Looking at external relationships and partnerships that can add value to the client and ensure that the agencies offerings are as holistic as possible.

Edelman is a leading global communications marketing firm that partners with many of the world's largest and emerging businesses and organisations. As Director of Experiential, I was responsible for heading up the experiential department working with our client base delivering brand experiences, summits and activations across a range of sectors from government to automotive. Working with an experienced team of designers, writers, producers and production managers delivering work across the Middle East and in Europe.

Brand experience and event consultancy services covering the full project life cycle from pitch through to reconciliation. Including conceptualisation, budget management, creative production, show and content creation, as well as full on-site operations, show calling and speaker/talent management.

Setup the Middle East office for the leading global brand experience agency and created a fully operational business with full P&L responsibility. Day to day tasks covered all areas from: - Agency operations - Finance - Regional HR - Business development - Client servicing - Delivery of best in class brand experience work Responsible for business growth and profitability, weekly / monthly / annual reporting, annual budget creation, quarterly business reviews, as well as ongoing leadership on best practice in project & pitch finance. Many projects delivered across the Middle East & Europe for government & B2B/B2C clients including, summits, automotive roadshows, gala dinners, conferences and one-off spectaculars.

Joint founder and Director of The Bridge Live Communications which became one of the top leading experiential marketing agencies in the UAE. A full spectrum of clients from government to blue chip that included Masdar, GCAA, IRENA, Philips and Audi to name but a few. Campaigns were carried out across the GCC and Middle East showing that top end creative and production values could be rolled out repeatedly delivering best in class solutions with measurable ROI.

Eclipse are a full service AV and staging company providing high end technical services to the live event and concert industry within the GCC.

Europe's leading theatre sound design and rental company. Based in North London, Autograph have dedicated themselves to supplying the finest audio services to the theatre, entertainment and events industry since 1972. As a project manager, I was responsible for all the production IT requirements ensuring all IT was running with zero downtime and full redundancy capability. I was also responsible for running the in house recording studio and oversaw the complete refurbishment.

The Royal National Theatre (generally known as the National Theatre and commonly as The National) in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company. It is located next to the Thames in the South Bank area of central London. The theatre presents a varied programme, including Shakespeare and other international classic drama; and new plays by contemporary playwrights. Each auditorium in the theatre can run up to three shows in repertoire, thus further widening the number of plays which can be put on during any one season. The NT has an annual turnover of approximately £54 million.