On September 29th, 80 leaders gathered on the 42nd floor of Media One Hotel for something new: BRAVOS // OFF RECORD. “Because not every conversation is for everyone.”
It wasn’t another round of business cards or another event with high drop-out rates. It was an evening designed for leaders bold enough to show up, step away from polished LinkedIn narratives and have real conversations about the wicked problem of employee engagement — and its impact on performance, innovation, and customer happiness.
We shared some pictures below.
Opening Address
The evening opened with a warm address from H.E. Antoine Delcourt, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the UAE.
He reminded the audience that the ties between Belgium and the UAE run deeper than most realize. “When you look up at the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, know that it was built by Belgians. We are doers. We bring quality. We are humble, sometimes too humble. And that DNA connects our two nations.”
The Ambassador highlighted how Belgium and the UAE share a culture of ambition, excellence, and innovation — values that naturally resonate with the Bravos movement.
He also spoke personally about his connection to Inge and Yves. As active contributors to the Belgian community in the UAE, and with Inge serving as Vice-Chair of the Benelux Business Council, they embody how Belgian expertise and entrepreneurship can make an impact in the region.
In a moment that surprised many, he revealed he had not only read Inge’s book, but he had read it twice and wrote a praise for the book. “That’s unusual for an ambassador,” he admitted with a smile. “But as someone who works with diverse teams every day, the book gave me insights I could use immediately. It reminded me that engagement is not abstract theory. It’s the daily practice of leadership.”
It was a powerful reminder: engagement is not just a corporate issue. It’s a diplomatic one, a societal one, and ultimately, a human one.
Yves Vekemans: The Wicked Problem of Engagement
The evening started with a sobering truth: 77% of employees worldwide are disengaged.
That’s not a minor issue. It’s a wicked problem — a problem so complex, so systemic, and so human that no single leader, no single company, and no single consultant can solve it.
The only way forward? Craft a Community.
And as the UAE celebrates 2025 as the Year of Community, under the banner “Hand in Hand”, BRAVOS // OFF RECORD felt timely. A reminder that building communities is not about chasing followers or creating audiences. It’s about nurturing trust, shared values, and belonging — slowly, deliberately, authentically.
As Yves Vekemans, co-founder of Bravos, a Herculean Alliance experience, put it: “Leaders today must evolve from chess players to gardeners of trust. Don’t ask the tree to grow faster. Create the conditions that make it thrive.”
Mark Lee: Media One as a Community Hub
When Bravos first came to the UAE, one of the earliest believers was Mark Lee, GM of Media One Hotel, a Great Place to Work.
“Media One has always been more than a hotel,” Mark said. “It’s a community hub — a place where people connect, where engagement is the strategy.”
He shared how hospitality mirrors engagement: the connection between employee energy and guest happiness is immediate and visible. For him, partnering with Bravos was natural — the values aligned.
“The value of recognition is higher when it’s not commercial. When it’s earned by the community, not bought.”
Inge Van Belle: Why Engagement in the UAE Matters More Than Ever
When Inge Van Belle, author of “Employee Engagement, what else?“, took the stage, she began with a disarming clarification: “This is not an HR book. Please, don’t call it that. Just because I’m a woman — and blonde — doesn’t mean I’m in HR. My career has been in leadership advisory, corporate comms, marketing, and business development. But never HR.”
The room laughed, but her point was serious: HR can’t solve the engagement crisis alone. It needs allies — from marketing, from IT, from the C-suite. And she drew a powerful parallel: both IT and marketing had to reinvent themselves over the past 20 years. Now, it’s HR’s turn.
Engagement, she argued, is not a perk. It’s a business imperative. It’s what keeps the human factor in the equation in the age of AI.
And then she told a story.
At a keynote for a German company, she was once asked: “Give us an example of the world’s most engaged company.”
Her answer surprised the audience: “What if the best case of engagement is not a company, but a city? A country? A government?”
That’s when she spoke about Dubai.
From a pearl diver village to a global hub for talent and innovation, Dubai has become a magnet for people who want to be part of something bigger. Some came for adventure, some for business opportunities, some for safety, some for climate — but all aligned behind a shared mission.
To Inge, Dubai’s attraction comes down to three factors:
- Strong leadership — visionary rulers who act like “Sheikh CEOs.”
- A clear purpose — to be the most advanced, innovative city in the world.
- Masterful marketing — positioning Dubai as a global brand for ambition.
Her anecdote landed differently than in Germany, where she was advised not to mention Dubai anymore, because, you know… “But the more I thought about it,” she told the room, “the more convinced I became that Dubai should not only be mentioned — it should be the fil rouge of this book.”
That conviction shaped her new bestseller: Dubai as the unofficial capital of engagement.
She reminded the audience: engagement is not bean bags and yoga rooms. It’s not about perks. It’s about performance, retention, brand strength, and customer happiness. It’s driven by 12 factors — from purpose to leadership, learning & development, and inclusion. And it must be measured, listened to, and acted upon.
Her final challenge: “Engagement is not about perfection. It’s about progression. It’s about leaders daring to listen, reflect, and act. That’s how we move from buzzword to strategy.”y.”.
The Dubai Airports Panel: Engagement at Scale
If engagement is challenging in a team of 50, imagine the difficulty in an ecosystem of over 100,000. That’s the reality at Dubai Airports, where engagement extends far beyond the 1,700 direct employees to subcontractors who shape the daily passenger experience.
In a conversation moderated by Inge, Khulood Al Marzooqi (Director of Total Rewards & Employee Engagement) and Sven Deckers (Director Sustainability & Innovation) explored what engagement means at scale:
- Khulood: “Employee satisfaction is high — but satisfaction is not enough. The challenge is moving from passive pride to active excellence. Engagement is about creating the energy to go the extra mile.”
- Sven: “Sustainability and innovation are not just technical challenges. They’re people challenges. Employees are the ones who will deliver the big shifts — and they need to feel trusted, inspired, and part of the mission.”
The questions were raw, and they mattered:
- How do you keep pride alive when success feels routine?
- How do you engage subcontractors you don’t employ directly?
- How do you balance economic growth in aviation with global sustainability pressures?
The room leaned in, because these weren’t theoretical puzzles. They were real leadership dilemmas.
What Leaders Said: The Pulse
Ahead of the evening, participants completed a short leadership pulse.
Graphs showed the tension many leaders face: optimism about business growth, but concern about whether people and culture can keep up in times of AI and 5 generations on the workfloor.
Yes or no? What’s your opinion?
Powered by Sven Deckers, to turn ideas into energy, we split the room into two zones — YES and NO — and asked everyone to physically choose a side, then share why. One person from each group voiced the reasoning before we moved to the next prompt. The opinions sparked very interesting conversations! The questions were inspired by the UAE Workforce 2025 report by Korn Ferry.
Question 1: “Gen Z is less committed at work, expecting instant rewards and avoiding hard work.”
Question 2: “AI will deepen inequality in the workplace, creating winners and losers instead of leveling the playing field.”
Question 3: “Employee engagement in the UAE depends more on fair pay, rewards and benefits than on leadership or culture.”
The stats after one year
BRAVOS // OFF RECORD is not the destination, it’s a milestone on the journey to craft a unique community.
Bravos in the UAE has already built momentum over the past year:
- 30+ experts, NextGens, and coaches joined the jurors
- 10+ Labs organised
- 300+ participants engaged
- 2,000+ leaders on the mailing list
- 200K+ touchpoints on socials
Join us on the journey
If you believe engagement is not a side project but a strategy, Bravos is ready for you.
👉 Start with the free readiness scan and join the Bravos Awards with your company
👉 Join the community for access to every Lab and OFF RECORD
👉 Ignite your journey with the book and the ecosystem → leadership retreats, townhalls, workshops, teambuildings — powered by the Bravos ecosystem. Contact us for a chat.
Because if we want better workplaces, we need better conversations. And not every conversation is for everyone.
