John Jossifakis
CSEP, MSc, PMP
Large Scale Events Consultant
John Jossifakis, CSEP (Certified Special Events Professional), is also a holder of a MSc in Events Management from Leeds Beckett University and a diploma recepient from the Harvard Business School, who brings to the judging panel, extensive international and regional experience with events spanning all continents except Antarctica. He has been involved in theatrical productions, concerts, and large-scale events since 1996, with a proven track record of over 1,000 shows and events on his resume. He has participated in 12 international Opening and Closing ceremonies in different sporting events ranging from Olympic Games, where he acted as the Production Manager for the Opening & Closing Ceremonies to various world and regional championships. He is amongst the CSEP elite and was recently accredited back in 2016 the CSEP Certification amongst only 400 professionals in the world.
His major shows include tours with Rolling Stones, Metallica, Def Leppard, White Snake, The Scorpions, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Shakira, Celine Dion and Ricky Martin. He has worked as the MTV Unplugged Production Director for MTV Germany and also led major global sporting events. His technical skills and understanding as a Production Director at Blink Experience cover the fields of sound, set, and prop design and electrical show installations, and he is well-versed in the latest theatrical automation techniques. He holds training certificates for Theatrical and Arena Rigging, while he also studied Lighting Programming under Christian Choi, lighting lead designer for Michael Jackson, furthermore he is a Senior Pyrotechnician and Fireworks Designer licensed by the government of Canada.
John currently sits on the ILEA (International Live Events Association) Middle East board of directors as VP of Education and Knowledge (Term 2016-2017), contributing to the Middle East industry since 4 years and also was recently appointed by the ILEA Global President, to be part of the Global Certification Committee in order to revamp the CSEP Programme. He is an active lecturer at the prestigious EMDI (Event Management Development Institute) College in Dubai, while he also lectures for Nappier University and Leeds Beckett University about International Events Management.
