IABM has formed an EMEA Members’ Council to provide a regional voice and forum to address European members’ particular needs. The EMEA Members’ Council members are drawn from companies based in nine European countries to provide a truly representative regional industry body. The new EMEA Members’ Council follows the establishment of successful members’ councils in the Americas and APAC, as well as a local UK council over the last two years.

The new EMEA Members’ Council held its inaugural meeting at NAB in April this year, where Ole Clausen was elected Chairman. As Founder and CEO of Danmon Group and Dan Technologies, Clausen has more than 40 years’ experience in the European market. He was also awarded lifetime Honorary Membership of IABM in December 2016 in recognition of his inspiring service to the industry and support for IABM throughout his career.

Ole Clausen said: "I'm very honoured to have the opportunity as chairman of the EMEA Members’ Council to further consolidate the position of IABM as an important stakeholder in the industry. With the vast changes sweeping across our industry, moving closer to our members is an important step, bringing them our help and assistance in navigating these changes. We also aim to create more subsidiary local councils – on the same model as the UK council - in Germany, Scandinavia and France to further strengthen our presence across Europe.”

Serving on the IABM EMEA Members’ Council with Ole Clausen are:

Laurent Lafarge – President & CEO, Anevia

Madeleine Bråthen Bjaaland – Legal Manager, Appear TV

Goran Papić - Senior Market Intelligence Analyst, ARRI

Dorothée Anfang – Marketing Consultant, Arvato Systems

Jean-Louis Lods – Director, Business Development, DMC

Jochen Bauer – Marketing Director, Guntermann & Drunck

Anthony Smith-Chaigneau - Senior Director Product Marketing, Nagra

Frederik Schodts - Business Development Manager, Skyline Communications

Chris Exelby – Managing Director, TSL Professional Products (Chairman of UK Regional Council)

 Darren Whitehead, IABM Director of Business Development who has overseen the formation of the EMEA Members’ Council, said, “The new Council has a member and geographical spread to ensure the widest representation possible of all European member views, whatever their location or company size. It has also been a real coup to secure such an esteemed and widely respected chairman in Ole Clausen. I am looking forward to working with Council to more fully represent European views, ideas and initiatives and invite any European members to get in contact with me if they wish to table something to Council for consideration.”

Peter White, IABM CEO, said: “Our Members’ Councils in APAC, the Americas and the UK have been tremendously successful in bringing local knowledge and relevance to members in those regions, and it was a natural next step to create a Members’ Council for European members, backed up by the full range of IABM central resources. The wealth of industry experience and regional expertise that makes up the new EMEA Members’ Council will bring even greater relevance and engagement for all our members in the region.”