Sarah Whitmarsh

  • Work: Kenkaato
  • Position: Event & Operations Director
  • Location: ARE
  • User Type: Planner
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United Arab Emirates
Following (1)

Basic Info

  • Name

    Sarah

    Whitmarsh

  • Gender

    Female

  • User Type

    Planner

  • Main Phone

    +66 980741454

  • Email

    sarah@kenkaato.com

  • Profile URL

    https://www.mice.com/profile/sarah-whitmarsh

Planner Info

  • Planner Type

    Event Management Company

  • Sector

    Entertainment & Sports

  • Company Size

    1 - 10

  • Purchase Influence

    Purchase

  • Years of Experience

    10+

  • Number of Meetings Per Year

    1 - 4

  • Average Number of Attendees

    101 - 500

  • Annual Peak Rooms

    1 - 50

  • Budget

    $5,000,000+

  • Would like to be featured on MICE.com?

    No

  • Accommodations Type
    • 7 Star
    • 5 Star
    • 4 Star
    • 3 Star and below
  • Specialties
    • Association Meetings
    • Conferences
    • Contracts
    • Conventions & Congresses
    • Corporate
    • Entertainment
    • Events
    • Exhibits
    • Group Tours
    • Incentives
    • Meetings
    • On-site Coordinator
    • Registration
    • Site Selection
    • Sporting Events
    • Trade Shows
    • Training & Seminars
    • Travel
    • VIPs/Board Of Directors
    • Weddings
    • Other
  • Regions of Interest
    • Continental US
    • US: New England
    • US: Eastern
    • US: Southern
    • US: Central
    • US: Mountain
    • US: Pacific
    • Alaska
    • Hawaii
    • Canada
    • Mexico
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Middle East & Northern Africa
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Offshore Islands
    • Oceania
  • Services & Products of Interest
    • Advertising / Promotional Agencies
    • Advertising Representatives
    • Airline
    • Airline Broker
    • Association
    • Attraction - Other
    • Car Rental
    • Caterer
    • Conference Center
    • Convention Visitors Bureau
    • Convention Center
    • Cruiseline
    • Decorating / Exhibit Service
    • Destination Management Company
    • Entertainment / Entertainment Agent
    • Full Service Incentive House
    • Gifts
    • Golf Course
    • Graphic Design / Branding
    • Hotel / Resort
    • Hotel Brand
    • Hotel Representation Firms
    • Incentive Marketing Company
    • Limousine Service
    • Marketing Specialists
    • Motorcoach
    • Museum / Gallery
    • National Tourist Offices
    • Other
    • Photography / Videography
    • Regional Tourist Offices
    • Restaurants
    • Rewards
    • Speaker Bureau / Speakers
    • Staging / Lighting / Sound / Production
    • Technology Provider
    • Theme Parks
    • Trade Publication
    • Trade Show
    • Train / Rail

Summary

I consider myself incredibly lucky, I love my job.I will never tire of the adrenaline rush and camaraderie of a production team up against it and as the lights dim and the show starts, the warm fuzzy feeling of extended family, that is the events industry. My experience comes from doing it. I’ve pushed boxes, pulled cable, been cold & wet overnight as on-site manager, sweltered in desert heat as senior production manager, managed 150 artists as lead event producer, taken my turn as a stage manager, managed the whole from Go-to-Show as Event Director and most recently managed multiple events and a team of 15, as Operations and Event Director. I’m fortunate to have worked with some amazing people (you know who you are), on many large-scale, highly complex, international level events - I call these people colleagues but more importantly friends. My record of achievement in planning and delivering world class, multimillion pound budget contracts, is solid and I've built high profile events for audiences of 80,000 people, operating within tight time frames, whilst remaining good-humoured, 99% of the time. For the past 6 years, I've based myself in the Arabian Gulf and have gained extensive local knowledge of our industry here, to build events across the region. I understand how things happen here and with an extensive 3rd party database, know how to make things happen here.

Work

  • Kenkaato
    Event & Operations Director
    – Present (0 seconds)
  • Freelance
    Event & Operations Director
    Various
    Aug 2008 – Jan 2015 (6 years)
  • Kenkaato
    Event Director
    Middle East
    Nov 2011 – Jan 2015 (3 years)
  • The Wireless Group
    Event and Sponsorship Manager
    London
    Mar 2001 – Feb 2003 (1 year)
  • Creative Events Group
    Production Director
    London
    Feb 2003 – Jun 2008 (5 years)

Education

  • Clarks College
    Business Adminstration General
    London
    – Present (0 seconds)

Skills

  • Building happy working teams, either from existing or from scratch Team mentoring Remaining calm und
  • Client focused; ability to simplify complex details and see an idea.
  • Complex logistics
  • Global personnel and equipment logistics
  • Health and Safety procedures
  • In-depth understanding of live event production, fabrication, installation
  • Live Events, Corporate Events, Event Management, Production Management, Entertainment, Concerts, Fes
  • Protocol and security operations
  • Proven ability building productive working relationships and strong skilled teams
  • Solid budgeting for finance up to £35m
  • Strong negotiation skills and leadership qualities
  • Strong operationally, dealing with multiple elements
  • Supplier management

Languages

  • English

Interests

  • Travel, new technology, cultures, weather, socialising