My Journey Towards the Hall of Leaders Nomination 2022

Noor has been committed to the events industry since the 1980s and has extensive experience in the field of tourism, dedicating his work to raising Malaysia's profile as a business events destination. The Events Industry Council is very glad to welcome him as an inductee into our Hall of Leaders 2022.

By Noor Ahmad Hamid, Chief Operating Officer, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB)

When I began my career at the national tourism board of Malaysia in the 1980s, I didn’t know that I would eventually move from leisure tourism to the business events industry. In 1989 in the U.S., I had my first break working at the tourism board international office in Los Angeles, where I had first-hand experience with the meetings and incentive travel markets. During this time, I had the opportunity to learn from industry leaders such as Virginia Loft and Corazon Bryan to name a few, to attend trade shows like IT&ME as well as to build my network at the ASAE Annual Meeting on an annual basis.

Promoting Malaysia as a business events destination was an uphill task, as even for the leisure market, Malaysia was a relatively unknown destination. But I persevered and eventually won some large incentive groups for Malaysia. Equipped with my existing knowledge of the tourism business, I moved to the corporate world where I grew closer to the meetings and events industry.

My philosophy in life is always helping others in need, be it professionally or in my personal life. Back in 2018, I was very lucky to be able to help save a small girl’s life after a freak accident. Since then, our families have become friends and we continue to meet regularly. I strive to have a similar impact in my career.

On a professional front, I believe that lending a hand to fellow colleagues and peers in the industry is a key aspect of self-fulfilment. In the capacity of Regional Director Asia Pacific for ICCA, a role which I held for over 12 years until 2021, I was fortunate in being able to help facilitate the transformation of the Chapter, driving significant membership growth in the region, making the Asia Pacific Chapter the largest regional grouping in the world with more than 300 plus members across 16 countries.

As the COO of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), I have the chance to share my global experience with business events stakeholders and bring in more international networks to Malaysia. In this new role, I have a golden opportunity to reshape and internationalise the business events industry for Malaysia. I am happy to be able to continue my passion by co-creating a legacy programme with national societies and introducing sustainability efforts in our daily work. MyCEB has gone from strength to strength in its mission to fortify Malaysia’s global competitiveness within the space. My goal is to make business events an important element in the national agenda. But importantly, my passion to help the region grow never fades, as I see huge opportunity for collaboration for us all to benefit.

Every door that I come across presents not a problem, but an opportunity for me to find solutions and creatively figure out how to open those doors. My advice to those joining the industry is “do good and good things will come back to you."