Cover Story
Meet Team ICC Sydney Spice Magazine sits down with the International Convention Centre Sydney events team to learn more about the people behind the events Left to right: Joshua Wright, Customer Services Manager; Dewi Gutierrez, Event Planner; Aiden Hippensteel, Floor Manager; Barbara Addison, Floor Manager; Malu Barrios, Director of Event Services; Zsolt Mihaly, Event Setup Manager; Jim Kadwa, Event Services Operation Manager; Daniela Koborova, Event Planner.
10 Spice August 2018
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t any given time, the ICC Sydney Events team is busy working on about 40 events. Add to that a host of suppliers to coordinate, delegates to organise, policies to review, and procedures to execute, a fearless leader sits at the helm. Enter said fearless leader. Malu Barrios is ICC Sydney’s Director of Event Services. Prior to her role at the ICC Sydney, Malu spent three years as the General Manager at the Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island; seven years as the General Manager of the Darwin Convention Centre, five years as the General Manager of the Sydney Showground, and another six years as the Events Director at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. So it goes without saying – Malu is as professional as it gets. The industry stalwart, who was recently recognised as the ‘Unsung Hero of the Industry’ at the 2017 EEAA Awards, credits her team for her success. “They inspire me, keep me grounded, teach me to make things better and challenge me,”Malu told Spice.
“They keep me alive.” Yet, despite her huge responsibilities at the venue, Malu still finds time to mentor her direct reports, and practices an open door policy. “I mentor all my team members regularly – adhoc or at regular one-on-one sessions. I provide them with feedback following meetings with clients or when I observe actions undertaken while I am doing my rounds on the floor."
The Team There are three main areas within the Event Services team, staffed by 49 full-time team members as well as a casual workforce. The Event Planning team is the main contact for clients before the event commences, the Event Services team looks after floor coordination and event setup, while the customer service team act as the ‘face’ of the centre. Malu said the mantra of the Events Department is to anticipate client – both external and internal – needs before the client even realises that they need it.