The View From The EMMAs Stage
By Simon Hinton, Secretary - ERA Global UK Chapter.
I think there is a very good argument that the setting for this years’ EMMA awards was one of the best ever. Taking full advantage of the fabulous Maltese weather with the Mediterranean as a beautiful backdrop, those who were fortunate enough to attend will remember it for years to come.
This year’s EMMA awards evening was memorable for more than just the location, though. We said au revoir and thank you to our outgoing CEO Julian Oberndorfer. We also said goodbye to our outgoing Chairman, Dieter Schnieder and welcomed Jonathan Gregory into the role.
It was my very great pleasure to once again team up with my dear friend Ken Daly and present the 2023 EMMA awards. It is a very special opportunity to get together once a year and celebrate what's great about our industry with friends and colleagues old and new. What I particularly enjoy about the EMMAs is the atmosphere. Yes, it is a formal gala dinner, but the atmosphere is always one of fun and celebration and I know that everyone enjoys themselves immensely. The Sponsor’s Board is always popular for the obligatory selfies and then there is the infamous after-party. But what goes on at the after-party stays at the after-party. I shall say no more!
On a personal note, it was a particular pleasure for me to meet a true legend of our industry, Joe Fowler, who won the Presenter Of The Year category. I have, in fact, spent many hours working on Joe’s infomercials in edit suites so it was great to actually meet Joe in person!
One of my favourite memories of the evening was Mani Morshedzadeh winning Business Personality Of The Year. I think he was genuinely completely shocked! Once he had recovered, he spoke beautifully about his gratitude to his team for their support and to his industry colleagues for voting for him. It was quite a moment!
It is really beneficial for our industry as a whole that we get as many colleagues to attend ERA Global events as possible. It’s always worth remembering that ERA Global exists for it’s members and because of it’s members, so the bigger and better we can make these events, the better it is for us all.
I am sure you will have seen the note from the Chairman that we shall be returning to Malta in 2024, where I’ll look forward to seeing you all again and who knows? Perhaps you too will be invited onto the stage to collect an EMMA. If you do, I am sure you will agree with me - it’s a great view from there!
Check the EMMA Awards gallery HERE
Check the EMMA Awards event video HERE
