Two Decades of Vision: Trixie LohMirmand and the Power Behind GITEX Global At the helm of Dubai World Trade Centre's expanding portfolio, Trixie LohMirmand has turned GITEX Global into a symbol of the UAE's ambition. As the 45th edition opens today, LohMirmand marks 20 years of powering Dubai's rise as a world capital for innovation.
By Tamara Pupic
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As GITEX Global by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) opens its doors today to its 45th edition, it once again positions Dubai at the forefront of global innovation. Behind its evolution and the broader transformation of DWTC's event portfolio is Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President, DWTC, who in 2025 marks 20 years of driving the UAE's most powerful platforms for technology, sustainability, and the future economy.
"GITEX is a large-scale mega convention with seismic impact by merit of the stakeholders it convenes across continents and sectors," LohMirmand says. "It equips governments and companies to internalize innovation, scale across borders, and sharpen digital capacity-building."
LohMirmand has led the expansion of DWTC's events portfolio, which in turn has driven the growth of the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai — a US$2.7 billion development set to become the world's largest purpose-built indoor venue upon completion. More importantly, she has championed DWTC's pivotal role in advancing Dubai's business tourism and trade sectors. The organization's self-managed events generated AED7.22 billion (US$1.9 billion) in economic output and AED4.15 billion (US$1.1 billion) in gross value added (GVA) in 2024- a remarkable 53% increase over 2022.
"My vision is to see our platforms act as powerful channels of foreign direct investment and policy alignment - where governments, businesses, startups, and investors unite on one front," she says.
LohMirmand's career began in Singapore's creative advertising industry before she joined Reed Exhibitions — then the world's largest event organizer — a move that took her from Singapore to London. She faced professional isolation as a young woman of color shaped her leadership with resilience and conviction. "During my early career in Europe in the late nineties, I faced challenges and biases that tested me both personally and professionally," she says. "Those experiences became formative. They compelled me to develop resilience, deepen my sense of self-reliance, and an unwavering conviction to stand by my decisions, even when they challenged popular opinion."
Trixie LohMirmand is the Executive Vice President at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
Source: DWTC
Her outstanding performance at Reed earned her global recognition, but it was an offer in Dubai in 2005 that would set her on a path that changed everything. "The inflection point for me came when I realized that in Dubai and the UAE, outsized ambition is reserved for the extraordinary," LohMirmand says. "The vision, boldness, and audacity of this emirate and nation inspired me to evolve events into transformative platforms of scale and influence."
"My mission became to harness the power of business events and tourism to drive economic growth, create jobs, nurture human capital, and position cities and countries as influential global powers. More than that, I wanted events to compel people and industries to reflect on their greater purpose, their responsibilities to society, and the lasting impact they can create."
The 45th edition of GITEX Global is expected to draw more than 200,000 visitors, 6,000 exhibitors and thousands of startups from more than 100 countries. Notably, this year's event will have record-breaking participation of over 40 unicorns that have made headlines worldwide with their breakthroughs - from Nobel winning gene-editing AI with the potential to cure genetic diseases to builders of the world's largest decarbonized AI supercomputer.
Reflecting on nearly two decades at Dubai World Trade Centre, LohMirmand points to several defining milestones that have shaped both her career and the organization's evolution. "One is the revival of live, in-person events during one of the most difficult periods in modern history, the pandemic," she says. "In 2020, while much of the world remained in lockdown, we pressed forward with conviction to deliver two of our largest events, Gulfood and GITEX. By completely redesigning our formats under rigorous health and safety protocols, we demonstrated resilience and boldness at a time when the industry was at a standstill. That decisive move not only reinforced Dubai's leadership in the global restart of large-scale events, but also laid the foundation for Gulfood and GITEX to grow into what they are today — the world's largest food and technology events respectively. To date, these remarkable events remain the only large-scale events in the world that ran uninterrupted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic."
Source: DWTC
LohMirmand is also proud of the international growth of the GITEX brand as the event today spans seven countries across four regions, including Germany, Morocco, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, the UAE, and Vietnam. "It is one of the fastest international expansion timelines the industry has seen," she says. "When we launched GITEX Africa in Morocco in 2023, we had more skeptics than fans. Yet, in just a mere three years, GITEX has established a presence in 14 cities and countries, creating powerful platforms that deliver education, investment, and business opportunities. Through this, we are enabling both established and frontier nations to accelerate their place in the global digital knowledge economy."
In an industry defined by rapid technological change, LohMirmand believes relevance is earned through agility — by anticipating shifts before they happen, collaborating with visionary partners, and creating platforms that reflect the future rather than follow it. "Openness and humility are at the core of our business ethos. We constantly assess the dynamic winds of change in the markets and by engaging with our network of global stakeholders. Their feedback and insights help us shape our narratives," she says. "The key thing is to pivot and adapt early, to sense those shifts before they fully unfold, so that we remain agile and relevant. At GITEX, I constantly remind us we don't build to remain. We build to rise."
The most important pivot, LohMirmand continues, was to position GITEX as more than an event, but as a platform to connect and grow tech ecosystems worldwide. "We create new trusted corridors of collaboration between advanced economies and the global south, giving emerging countries a seat at the global digital decision-making table and access to knowledge and resources previously reserved for the privileged economies," she says. "This shift positioned GITEX as an instrument of soft power and global influence."
As AI has become a decisive factor for global competitiveness and geopolitical narratives, DWTC has also pivoted its event strategies to introduce new brands like "Ai Everything". "It is positioned as the next catalyst for the future digital economies, by bringing together influential public and private leaders to address critical inflection points around investment, regulation, interoperability, and national AI missions," says LohMirmand.
The 2025 edition of GITEX GLOBAL marks the finale year at Dubai World Trade Centre, as the event will move to Expo City Dubai in 2026, reuniting with Expand North Star. Set for December 7-11, 2026, the event will aim to amplify Dubai's role as a global innovation hub by combining conference programming, city-wide activations, cultural experiences, and lifestyle offerings.
Ultimately, the driving force behind this momentum is LohMirmand's distinctive leadership approach. At the helm of a diverse team of more than 350 professionals from over 50 countries in DWTC's events organizing division with 15 direct reports across various functions. "My management style is grounded in agility over bureaucracy and speed over inertia. I'm on the ground with my team, from ground zero to apex, building the plane while flying it the same time, everyone on board including myself," she says. "Gold standards are never a matter of chance. They are earned through discipline, rigor, and consistency over time. I am relentless about driving processes that focus on real value creation and measurable outcomes for our customers."
