Outline at the Global Competitiveness Forum

‘Butterflies’ at the service of the world’s major leaders and CEOs, from Tony Blair to Michael Dell

 

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), January 24/27 2010 – Among the corporate events of considerable international importance, Outline informs that its loudspeaker systems were used to amplify the 2010 edition of the Global Competitiveness Forum, held at the Four Seasons Hotel, in the Kingdom Centre (winner of an award as the best skyscraper of the world for design).

 

Founded by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in 2006, the Global Competitiveness Forum, a meeting held annually, is regularly transmitted by TV broadcasters Al Jazeera, NBC and Bloomberg, as well as the world’s best-known news media.

 

Through the years, the GCF has attracted thousands of eminent political leaders, multinational company CEOs, ministers, government officials, intellectuals and academicians from every corner of the globe, with the sole aim of meeting and exchanging ideas.

 

The event’s mission is to increase awareness and enthusiasm on the challenges of competitiveness, critically assessing its aspects in relation to international trade, innovation, the environment (new forms of energy), development of human resources and sustainability; in short, at GCF 2010, talk focussed on the consequences that determine the fact of  “becoming competitive” on a global scale.

 

Among the most illustrious speakers, Tony Blair (UK Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007), Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chief Executive Officer of General Electric, John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, James Wolfensohn, 9^th President of the World Bank Group, Robert Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of the NASDAQ OMX Group, Alessandro Profumo, Chief Executive Officer of the UniCredit Group and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bank Austria, Paolo Pininfarina, Chairman of Pininfarina S.p.A., Enrico D’Onofrio, Corporate General Manager of MV Agusta, Daniel Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University, Delos M. Cosgrove M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Clinic, Stephen D. Pryor, CEO of ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Glenn Lowry, Director MOMA (the Museum of Modern Art, NY) and many other outstanding personalities.

 

Due to the event’s importance at international level, Events AVP, whose chairman is Mr. Sharif Tabbara – exclusive Outline distributor for Jordan – was selected, as it is a company with the necessary experience for supplying the sound reinforcement system and audio equipment necessary for the multiple applications required in situations of this type.

 

Moreover, in November 2009, Events AVP – again with Outline material – was called in for the sound reinforcement of another equally prestigious event, the World Economic Forum in Dubai.

 

As far as the audio at GFC 2010 was concerned, sound reinforcement in the conference hall (50 x 40 x 9 metres), involved the use of just 6+6 Butterfly Hi-Packs and 2+2 Subtech 218 SP. Control and power were courtesy of a YAMAHA M7CL console, XTA processor and Outline T series amplifiers.

 

As monitors, the illustrious speakers alternating on stage had at their disposal two compact Outline Micra II SP enclosures, whereas six units were used on front-fill duty to cover the first rows of seats.

 

The rooms allocated to interviews by Al Jazeera, NBC and Bloomberg were equipped with six more Micra II SP, whereas four Outline DVS 12 enclosures (in pairs) were used to reinforce the sound in other two halls (each seating sixty people), hosting the academicians and university professors.

 

Audio chief and FOH engineer, Carlo Gennaro, commented: “In this case, there was no need to work at 135 dB, but to cover the audience perfectly with a very ‘well-mannered’ SPL. There again, we had no alternative, considering the position of the microphones compared to the PA. But, as I’ve repeated for years, with a minimum of energy, the Butterfly gives a wonderful intelligibility – it almost seems to ‘breathe’, and it doesn’t matter at what distance. It goes exactly where I point it and you can feel the sound ‘in your face’. I give the merit for this to its waveguide, one of the few that works superbly…in fact, I’ll go as far as to put in writing a thought I have in common with several of my colleagues: on the world market, there are numerous line arrays, but on the ‘mid-high’ frequencies there are only two items able to give the same performance are this device …”