Benoit Honnart, who has been serving as COO of the company since 2019, takes over the reins for the region’s operations from Jean Charles Durand, who took up the CEO role in 2002 and was instrumental in the successful growth of Electra. In the future, Durand will assume a consultant role with E3, the global group Electra is part of.
Benoit Honnart will drive the continuous growth of the company with a focus on the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well as the wider GCC region. He will also steer innovation in products and services to meet current and future market needs. In Saudi Arabia, Electra recently opened its new base in Riyadh offering local production capacity as well as local stock for tent and furniture rental.
Commenting on his role, Benoit Honnart said: “It is an exciting time to take charge as CEO of Electra, which has a fantastic track-record and presence in the region in the events and exhibitions industry. With the pandemic rebooting how our business is conducted, we have a new opportunity to establish our thought leadership by pioneering innovative approaches. With its 28-year-heritage, Electra set the benchmark in our industry through quality, innovation and reliability and my focus will be to build on the exemplary reputation of the company in delivering world-class events and exhibition services.”
Electra has been praised for its work on diverse events and exhibitions such as Expo 2020 Dubai, where it delivered the USA pavilion last November as well as for Sole DXB, Art Dubai, Downtown Design, Global Grad Show 2020, Australian Open 2021 Dubai, Airbus at Dubai Airshow, Dubai Watch Week, GITEX 2020 France Pavilion, launch gala for BVLGARI “Jannah” jewellery collection at Louvre Abu Dhabi and more. Further projects related to the UAE’s Golden Jubilee (December 2021) and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (November 21, 2022 – December 18, 2022) are in planning. The company’s areas of focus, under Benoit Honnart, will be to get involved in more world-class events as well as attract the brightest talent and extend new services such as fit-out work.
Benoit Honnart’s priorities also include promoting environmental sustainability in design and production while being more eco-responsible in all operations. Electra had already launched a game-changing tent solution called “The Cube”, enabling energy savings and numerous customization options. This offer has grown through SLIK, the company’s innovative zero-waste re-usable modular solution.
After graduating from ESSEC Business School in Paris, Benoit Honnart has spent all his career abroad including nearly nine years in China, with various management roles in Asia & the UAE.
With offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, 400 employees and more than 25000 sqm in-house production facilities, Electra’s solutions include custom made stands, exhibitions scenography, contracting and management, events décor and set up, semi-permanent museum exhibitions, fit-out works as well as tent and furniture rental services.
