There are many things that can be improved at EEMA: Samit Garg, Executive Vice President, EEMA
There are a lot of expectations from the new EEMA leadership. In the last three months the industry has faced an unprecedented crisis which still continues unaddressed.
While the new EEMA leadership has promised quick action, there is visible impatience among the members to know the exact way and strategy out of this crisis.
As part of ‘Everything Experiential Leadership Series’, we spoke to Samit Garg, founder of India’s premier wedding agency E Factor Entertainment, and the Executive Vice President of EEMA, about the expectations from the new leadership and EEMA’s strategy to engage more deeply with the state and central government.
Excerpts:
What will you attribute your win to?
I will attribute my win to my friends, colleagues and members of the association.
You are taking charge at a time which is unprecedented. Do you see this as a challenge or an opportunity?
It is definitely a huge challenge because there is a lot that one wants to do. But with the restrictions that the current environment is posing, a lot cannot be done.
But with every challenge there is also an opportunity. It is going to be interesting to work in this environment and to figure out how objectives will be achieved.
The opportunity in this challenge is that while we are distanced we are actually more connected. The position of our industry in today’s time is very critical for us to address. This is an immediate challenge and we have to navigate this challenge as an association.
In your new role, how do you plan to take the engagement with the state and central government forward?
In the last few months there has been considerable improvement in EEMA’s relationship with the government. The last committee has done a very good job in this respect.
Support from the government is expected in terms of interest free loans, collateral free debt or exemptions of taxes. There is a lot of government expenditure that has started to happen, it may not be for large events or public gatherings. Government will also do digital events and carry out skill development initiatives. We certainly need to have more engagement with the government.
In your view, what are some of the key achievements of previous office bearers? What can be improved at EEMA?
The most noticeable achievements of the previous executive council is that it set up a phenomenal secretariat for EEMA. They have also managed to break the ice and get noticed in the government quarters. Some fantastic initiatives have been done on the education front too.
There are many things that can be improved at EEMA. The name EEMA itself needs to sound more powerful. To bring recognition to the brand equity of this name. Engagement and dialogue with government and other trade bodies becomes very important.
What is your message for EEMA members who have a lot of expectations from the new leadership?
Disappointments only come to you when there are certain expectations that you have, and I am not saying people should not have expectations, rather people should have realistic expectations.
We are here to do what the industry needs, we are not here for our personal gains. I have contributed my 7/8 years to EEMA and it has been all voluntary work.
It is a collective effort for our industry. We are a small association made of very beautiful people, and our business is that things should look nice and experiences should be fantastic. We all are in the business of making people happy because we sell, curate and transact happiness.
