Leadership can take many different forms, from being a role model always ready to muck in with the team, to being a master strategist maintaining an overview and deploying the right people in the right positions. For ES:ME Group CEO Alex Wuerfel, leadership has never been about titles or hierarchy. Having spent more than two decades working across almost every discipline of the industry – from security and crowd management to rigging, technical direction and business ownership – he has built his approach around leading by example.
“I’m still a very hands-on leader,” he tells TPiMEA. “I don’t push the car from behind; I pull it from the front.” It’s a philosophy that has helped transform ES:ME from a specialist rigging company into a multidisciplinary operation serving clients across the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Equally important, it has shaped a company culture built on accountability, continuous learning and trust. “You can see it in the team,” Wuerfel explains. “If you shout the whole day, you have a shouting team. If you stay calm, take the time to explain things and treat people with respect, that behaviour transfers through the entire organisation.”
As ES:ME continues to grow, TPiMEA sat down with Wuerfel to discuss the lessons, mentors and leadership principles that continue to guide both him and the business.
Photos: ES:ME Entertainment Services
