ASM Global invests in the future of Middle East entertainment

Chairman and Chief Executive of ASM Global (APAC) Harvey Lister has announced the promotion of three leaders for the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region for ASM Global – the development, full-service venue, and live-events company.

Mark Jan Kar has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Entertainment, Content and Programming for the region as well as the General Manager of Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai; Deb Rogers has been promoted to Vice President – People and Culture for Asia and the MENA region; and Iain Wooldridge has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer for MENA.

Coca-Cola Arena (CCA), Dubai – the UAE’s first multipurpose indoor events venue has been Mark’s focus since joining ASM Global in 2018, first as Commercial Director, then leading Live Entertianment in 2019, to becoming CCA General Manager in 2021. His most recent appointment was Senior Vice President – Entertainment, Content and Programming (MENA) in February this year and now General Manager of this iconic venue.

Mark has been at the centre of a range of development and content acquisition strategies, bringing some of the biggest acts, sports teams, and live performances across the world to the CCA, while also firmly positioning the venue as Dubai’s home of live entertainment and a global ‘must-play’ Arena.

Prior to his positions at Coca-Cola Arena, Mark was the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at International Management Group (IMG), representing and working closely with some of the biggest names and personalities in the world of sport and entertainment. Mark’s time at IMG saw him take the lead on securing and renewing multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals as well as developing mass participation events in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s growing events market.

“The exponential growth and development across the MENA region mean we can harness the power and pure enjoyment of live entertainment and events across this region as a driver of, not only economic growth, but an envious lifestyle,” said Jan Kar.

“We recently hosted the Dubai Basketball team, who are playing for the first time in the ABA League and drew 4,000 fans to Coca-Cola Arena for a stunning win over defending champions, Red Star of Serbia.”

Deb Rogers is an experienced and dynamic People and Culture leader with over 25 years’ experience in Hotels, Entertainment and Events, in Australia, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Her time with ASM Global began with Suncorp Stadium in 2002 as HR and Training Manager and since then has included the iconic Burj Al Arab, Qatar National Convention Center, Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, and Exhibition World Bahrain. Rogers has successfully delivered ten pre-openings, countless learning & development programs, incorporated diversity and inclusion initiatives, onboarded thousands of staff, including 5,000 casual staff for COP-19 in Qatar, and built and developed high performing teams across the region. In her new role Rogers will be responsible for supporting and advising HR business units across Asia and MENA, with a focus on strategic planning and execution for new venues and bespoke learning programs.

“The Middle East is my second home, having lived and worked in Qatar, Oman, Dubai, Bahrain and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the past 15 plus years,” said Rogers. “I see first-hand the life changing role we play in providing training, employment and local leadership development through our venues.”

Iain Wooldridge is an accomplished Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with two decades of experience in financial leadership and strategic management across the UK and Middle East and been Finance Director of Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai since 2019. Throughout his professional career Iain has played a crucial role in the financial success of multiple organisations across diverse industries with expertise in finance transformation, strategic planning, business development, and corporate finance and valuation. In his current capacity as CFO, Iain is at the forefront of financial and strategic leadership, focused on ASM Global’s performance and expansion across the MENA region. Iain established the new Regional Headquarters in Dubai in 2019 and supported the success in securing the management operations of multiple venues in the MENA region, based upon strategic business plans, and delivering the benefits of ASM Global scale and expertise to existing venue owners in the region.

Prior to joining ASM Global, Iain successfully held the role of Finance Director for an International F&B Investment Group during a period of rapid expansion where he helped secure financing and deliver streamlined logistics for 90 restaurant openings within two years. Prior to this he held a variety of Finance and Strategic positions across eight years with Universal Pictures in London before relocating to the Gulf Region.

“With so much activity across the Middle East region, ASM Global continues to deliver superior financial outcomes to our partners, who can see their investment into world class venues being filled with world class entertainment and events,” said Wooldridge.

ASM Global (APAC) Chairman and Chief Executive, Harvey Lister AM said magic happens when leaders with deep experience and proven track records across the events and entertainment come together and focus on a region

“This trio of talent: Mark, Deb, and Iain; prove what working with ASM Global is about. We invest in our leaders and provide a rewarding and stimulating environment for them to continue to achieve world class results for our partners in the region,” said Lister. “The combined expertise of these professionals will generate enormous growth across our MENA region which is powerful for the joint success not only of our venues, but for the developing entertainment industry across the region.”