Recon MENA is the longest running conference in the region – starting from 29th till 31st October at the Ritz Carlton Hotel DIFC Dubai, UAE
Dubai, 2nd October 2017 – The Middle East Council of Shopping Centres (MECSC) in association with the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) & Dubai Association Centre (DAC) present RECon MENA 2017 starting from 29th until the 31st of October at the Ritz Carlton Hotel – DIFC in Dubai, UAE. RECon MENA 2017 is themed “Reinvention” in line with the shopping centre and retail industry which are continuously changing and evolving, driven by a new, dynamic, global transformation providing service, connectivity and convenience for customers.
Recon will be hosting “Deal Making Sessions” a platform that provides networking and the opportunity for making the right connection for decision makers in the Shopping Centre and Retailer Industry. Companies and individuals can pre book meetings with prospective clients prior to the event. The sessions offer developers, owners, leasing agents, retailers, franchise operators and product and service providers to do a year’s worth of work in just 2 days of deal making activities.
David Macadam, CEO, MECSC says, “We highly encourage Owners, Developers and Shopping Mall Management to participate in these sessions as they offer opportunities to connect with all Retailers, Retail Industry Service Providers and Franchise Operators that lead to profitable business deals. The MECSC team is facilitating these meetings from our wide ranging data base. Any shopping centre team or retailer wanting to meet, please let us know and we will make it happen at the RECon MENA conference.”
RECon MENA 2017 begins on 29th of October with a morning workshop on “The Art & Science of making great places and compelling customer experiences” by Gilbert Rochecouste (MD of Village Well). The afternoon session will be led by Chairman of the ICSC Global Design & Development Viva Awards Jury – Phil McArthur on “Global Shopping Centre Design and Development Trends”. The evening will conclude with a welcome reception at the Sunken Garden in Ritz Carlton Hotel DIFC.
David Macadam (CEO of MECSC), Marwan Eskandarani (MECSC Board President) & Tom McGee (CEO of ICSC )will be welcoming the delegates of RECon 2017 on 30th of October and kicking off the start of the Conference, the speech will be followed by Kate Sweetman, Co-Author of Reinvention and an experienced leadership consultant, educator, author, editor and speaker. Kate will be followed by an education panel discussion with Maimunah Shebani, Gilbert Rochecouste, Mohamed Alawi, Prakash Menon & Ravi Raman. The day will conclude with Keynote address by Ali Al Saloom, an author, cultural consultant, professional speaker, TV show host (Ask Ali) and one of the fastest rising media starts of the Gulf, who will take us on a journey to always Think Quality.
The final day of the Conference 31st of October will commence with a welcome address by Kenneth Bernstein (Chairman of ICSC and President & CEO of Acadia Realty Trust NY). Followed by a Keynote speech by Herculano Rodrigues (Associate Director of Javelin Group part of Accenture Strategy, London) who will highlight The Future of Retail – How to Create a Customer Centric ‘Living Business’. Taking the stage next will be Darren Katz, (Managing Director of Excellerate Brand Management), with his keynote address about understanding shoppers and what motivates them for retail success. The day will progress with a panel discussion on “Current Trends in F&B and its role in new real estate developments” with Mario Bauer (Executive Board Member of Vapiano SE), Ian Ohan (CEO and Founder of Freedom Pizza), Robert Welanetz CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Properties, and Georgy John (Executive Vice President of Gastronomca Middle East). This will be followed by “The Benefits of integrating placemaking in to shopping centres” by Gilbert Rochecouste (MD Village Well). RECon Conference will conclude with the ICSC Cocktail Reception, ICSC MENA Awards & Gala Dinner – a celebration of Shopping Centre and Retail Industry achievements and great success.
RECon 2017 Schedule:
Day 1: Oct 29th (10 am to 4 pm) Pre- Conference Workshops on Global Shopping Centre Design & Development Trends, and The Art & Science of Placemaking – Sahaab Meeting Room, Ritz Carlton
(6:00pm till 8:00pm) Welcome Reception – Sunken Garden at the Ritz Carlton
Day 2: Oct 30th (9:00am until 3:30pm) – Conference, Exhibition, Networking & Deal Making Sessions– Ritz-Carlton Hotel Samaya Ballroom
Day 3: Oct 31st (9:00am until 3:00 pm) – Conference, Exhibition, Networking & Deal Making Sessions– Ritz-Carlton Hotel Samaya Ballroom
(6:00pm) – Cocktail Reception
(7:00pm) – ICSC Awards Ceremony & Gala Dinner
To register for RECon: visit www.mecsc.org or e-mail: david@mecsc.org; lea@mecsc.org
