At its recently held 5th annual general meeting (AGM), the Middle East and North Africa Leisure and Attractions Council (MENALAC) announced the election results of its vacant board positions while welcoming a majority attendance from its members.
The names of the winning board members were announced by UHY James Chartered Accountants, who acted as an independent election officer, and oversaw the online election process, held prior to the AGM.
Mishal Al-Hokair, deputy CEO and general manager — entertainment of Al-Hokair Group, has been elected as MENALAC’s new president. With the leisure and attractions sector reaching new heights in Saudi Arabia, Al-Hokair, a Saudi national, brings a raft of new industry insights to the board.
He said: “I am grateful to be surrounded by a wonderful board of directors that have a shared vision for relevance and development in this ever-changing environment. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the previous MENALAC presidents for all the efforts and support they’ve provided during the last period. Furthermore, I would like to thank all the MENALAC committees for the efforts and the great values they’ve added to MENALAC and to the entertainment industry.”
Established in 2014, MENALAC is a not-for-profit platform representing the leisure, entertainment and attractions industry in the Middle East and North Africa.
Silvio Liedtke, CEO of Landmark Leisure, was re-elected as vice president; Dr. Dattakumar, director of operations at Antic’s Land, was reelected as treasurer of the council for a term of two years, and Rosa Tahmaseb remains the secretary-general for the association.
Tahmaseb said: “It was great to see such enthusiastic attendance at our fifth AGM. MENALAC is a rapidly growing community of 86 members representing more than 600 operations across 17 countries. Committed to further enriching our industry’s offering and bringing incredible value to our members, MENALAC has an exciting term ahead, filled with the launch of a first-of-its-kind industry report and exclusive member events.”
Mark Tucker, general manager of Adventureland, and Shahzad Ali, CEO of Cheeky Monkeys Playland, were reelected, while Jamie Charlesworth, director of operations at SEVEN, and Rajiv Sangari, vice president — marketing, international business and licensing at IMG Worlds of Adventure, were elected to the four vacant operator board positions for a two-year term (2021-2023).
Mike Rigby, executive vice president Middle East and India at Whitewater, was re-elected and Eric Beauregard, vice president, global sales and marketing at Triotech, was elected to the two vacant manufacturer and suppliers board positions for a two-year term (2021-2023).
