A leader’s real job is to manage energy

Niousha Ehsan, co-founder & chief energy officer, LINKVIVA, a leading event management company in the region, is no stranger to reinventing herself – as her designation amply suggests. In her view, it is ambition that drives the entire region host big-ticket events. Ehsan sheds a light on the regional event management scenario, especially on legacy building. By Aparajita Mukherjee

What I’d like to see shift is the industry and client mindset moving toward fewer agencies at the shortlist stage, then multi-year contracts once a partner wins. This makes it efficient for both sides. 

Talk us through your career path, what is the story behind your designation as Chief Energy Officer?

Ehsan: I started my career very early in life. At sixteen, I was working full-time at an advertising agency while studying for my degree at university in the evenings. At nineteen, my business and life partner, Poorya Montaseri, and I co-founded LINKVIVA. From day one, our intention was to craft legacies, in whatever shape or form. We wanted to create events that changed how people feel and think.

As the company grew exponentially, I hit a wall as a leader. I went to my coach in despair and asked, what do I do? His answer was deceptively simple: do nothing. That shocked me. But then he explained something that shifted everything. He said a leader can either add energy or deplete energy from people. An organisation, like a car that needs fuel, needs energy. And he mentioned that this is what I do really well, I add energy. A leader’s real job is energy management. You set the tone, protect the culture, and bring the fuel. Manage the energy well and the results follow. That’s why I’m the Chief Energy Officer. And it’s why I say happiness is profitable.

Having run many high-profile events in the GCC, what are the characteristics of the entire region that help you run events successfully?

Ehsan: Ambition. The region thinks big, moves fast, and backs vision with real commitment. Governments here treat experiences as nation-building, not decoration, which makes them genuine partners, not just clients. Add a deeply diverse talent pool and an appetite for what’s never been done, and you have the ideal conditions to create something that lasts.

On the reverse side, what factors act as hindrances and you wish they were any different?

Ehsan: The pitch process. For an agency like ours, a single pitch costs real money and real time. We’re talking strategy, creative development, full renderings, concept decks, sometimes over a hundred pages. That’s two weeks of ten people working flat out. Then clients invite multiple agencies to pitch. It’s impractical and wasteful for everyone.

What I’d like to see shift is the industry and client mindset moving toward fewer agencies at the shortlist stage, then multi-year contracts once a partner wins. This makes it efficient for both sides. When an agency works on a project year after year, there’s continuity, learning, and real improvement. You build something that compounds.

With Dubai Economy and Tourism, our projects are now becoming multi-year. And with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, we’re not only working on multi-year contracts, we also have the opportunity to co-invest in the projects. That’s the partnership model I believe in: win-win, long-term.

How is experiential marketing reshaping tourism and placemaking in the GCC?

Ehsan: Destinations no longer sell sights, they sell feelings and memories. That’s the shift. At Liwa Village, under the vision of the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, we turned an empty stretch of desert into a winter destination for adrenaline lovers that families return to year after year. That’s placemaking: giving a place a reason to be visited, remembered, and loved. Experience is what turns a location into a destination.

Has this changed in any way in the prevailing climate of uncertainty in the region since March 2026?

Ehsan: If anything, it’s made the case stronger. The government here is our biggest inspiration. Their vision is unwavering, their resilience is unshakable. Every time they’ve faced a challenge, 2008, COVID, regional uncertainty, they’ve used it to make this country better. We’re a byproduct of that leadership. When you’re surrounded by that kind of vision and determination, you thrive too.

This reminds me of the time I faced uncertainty and a setback in 2024 when the Kayan Wellness Festival was washed away by the biggest storm in 75 years, one day before launch. We rebuilt it stronger. That’s what we learned from watching our government lead: purpose travels through any challenge. When you’re grounded in meaning and vision, you don’t break. You build.

Every uncertainty brings light at the end of the tunnel. That’s the culture here, and it’s shaped how we respond.

“WHAT EXCITES ME IS THAT WELLNESS IS MOVING BEYOND THE SPA DAY, BEYOND BIOHACKING YOUR WAY INTO A QUICK FIX. IT’S BECOMING WHAT IT SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE BEEN: A HOLISTIC WAY OF LIVING WHERE THERE IS HARMONY BETWEEN MIND, BODY, AND SOUL.”