Meet The Power Couple Redefining The Entertainment Landscape Within The Middle East

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you would have heard about the lavish spectacle that occurred at the Grand Reveal of Atlantis The Royal’s ultra-luxury resort in Dubai on January 21. The most talked-about moment was no doubt the larger-than-life Beyoncé performance, with her electrifying return to the stage, the night’s vibrant backdrop and a dazzling fireworks display across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sky.

The memorable evening was certainly a collaboration of many creative minds working together. Inspired to work with leading entrepreneurial females in the Middle East region, Parkwood Entertainment, the entertainment firm founded by Beyoncé, partnered with IAM Entertainment Founder/CEO Sonal Vara-Parmar. With Sonal now running IAM alongside her Managing Partner Ash Parmar, everyone involved here joined forces to deliver this truly historic event.

IAM Entertainment credits itself as a home-grown, Dubai-based company, founded with the mission to create, evolve and transform the cultural and commercial gap between the Middle East and the West. Facilitating cross-border collaborations for artist-led enterprises, they are the alchemists creating cultural shifts in the Middle East across live, TV & film productions, endorsements and brand expansion through powerful storytelling and immersive experiences.

To fully appreciate how this power couple got to where they are today, you need to better understand their professional journey up to this exciting moment in global entertainment.

“Growing up, there was always food and music in the house,” Sonal shares with me, who was born and raised in Zambia, Africa and is of South-Asian heritage. “Entertainment was a natural path for me to follow – the secret A-List hideaway, The Hempel Hotel in London, was my doorway into the world of music and entertainment. If you did not launch at The Hempel, you did not launch at all – was the saying in London in the early 2000’s. As the ‘gatekeeper’ of the hotel, the likes of Elton John, Amy Winehouse, 50 Cent, Usher, Black Eyed Peas and Victoria Beckham would come through my doors with unreleased material and products, asking me to curate showcases for them. We once had to knock out a whole floor of walls to host Michael Jackson during a stay back in 2006.”

Sonal adds, “At one such listening party for the album release of the Black Eyed Peas with Elephunk, I met a young executive producer by the name of Venus Brown, who introduced me to the nuances of making music and navigating the industry. He would later go on to become the advisor to the Chairman & Head of U.S. Creative for Sony BMG and Founder of Buddah Brown International – and for me, my mentor.”

After the opening of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the only 7-star hotel in the world in 1999, Dubai began to make its mark and demonstrate to the world its rather untapped potential.

In 2006, Sonal received a call that would change the trajectory of her career, the same year she recalls Ash moving from Singapore to Dubai. Somewhat still underground, Sonal remembers a new energy building in Dubai at the time, with fashion, entertainment and music beginning to drive a cultural shift in bringing people together.

The catalyst for IAM’s origin began when Sonal was able to extend her services to multi-billion dollar projects in The Middle East, such as The World Islands and the original Atlantis, The Palm, attracting top star talent to various projects, which elevated the professional reputation of IAM Entertainment. Even within the fashion world, game changers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan and Valentino were introduced to the region by IAM to design first-of-a-kind commercial projects valued between $15 to $20 million.

Ash, who officially joined IAM Entertainment over seven years ago, comes from a totally different professional path than Sonal. “I was born and brought up in London,” Ash tells me. “I worked on a trading floor for over 10 years in London, Singapore and Hong Kong. It was like living in The Wolf of Wall Street. When Sonal and I sat down and manifested how we want to take IAM to the next level, we both understood that an enterprise of this size needed a full corporate structure to grow into multiple divisions and have all the facets that would enable us to bring the full suite of commercial opportunities to every talent and artist we work with. Celebrities are growing their brands globally and the Middle East is an exponential and untapped growth market. We provide the perfect bridge and platform for brands to enter and grow into a new market, with IAM as a trusted partner, backed with our history and integrity. Acquiring, building and growing businesses is in my DNA.”

Sonal and Ash are now married and live on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, just a few minutes down the street from Atlantis The Royal, where they had their biggest accomplishment to date.

Ash adds, “Staying true to our vision to this day of storytelling and creating first-of-their-kind projects for the Middle East is the reason we are entrusted with large-scale government-led initiatives and multi-million dollar budgets today.”

In 2021 and 2022 alone, IAM included live shows with Mariah Carey and live-streamed performances with Alicia Keys and Black Eyed Peas, alongside a top-tier client roster. IAM has worked with and has partnered on video commercials with influential Hollywood figures including Kevin Hart, Coldplay, Tony Robbins, Ciara, Leona Lewis, Hilary Swank, Nicolas Cage, Adrien Brody, Eva Longoria and Steve Harvey, as well as a slew of A-List Bollywood talent.

IAM’s illustrious client list is also expanding, currently partnering with the likes of Vogue Arabia, Qatar Airlines, Etihad Airways, FIFA, Qatar Tourism, Dubai Tourism, Dubai World, Atlantis, the Saudi Arabia Royal Commission and the UAE Government. Between their in-person and live-streamed shows over the past few years, they have created over five billion impressions across 52 countries.

Ash says of IAM Entertainment, “As we continue to grow, the focus is on building IP and commercial revenue streams for the artists and talent that have trusted us, and open a whole new market share for a host of others. As the region opens, so has the opportunity for touring. Over the next 18 to 24 months, we will be focused on bringing in tour format shows to amplify the audience experience. There’s an underestimated fanbase that want to see their favorite stars on the stage.”

Sonal and Ash are also working to bring more movies and television shows to the Middle East region. They recently produced a film titled North of the 10, filmed in Abu Dhabi with acclaimed writer/director Rhyan LaMarr. They have also been working with Oscar winners John Battsek and Alex Gibney on a two-part documentary about tennis legend Boris Becker, which is expected to be released later this year on Apple TV+.

Circling back to that special Beyoncé performance at Atlantis The Royal in Dubai, I wondered how Ash and Sonal would best describe the experience that they were able to witness firsthand during that very exclusive opportunity.

“I’ve never seen an audience in my many years in this business that were as emotional as this audience was,” Ash recalls.

Sonal continues, “Witnessing both men and women crying was testament to the performance, the production and the spectacular backdrop.”

With both of these hardworking professionals identifying as entrepreneurs at this stage in their careers, I asked Sonal and Ash what they would say are the traits that make an effective and successful entrepreneur in 2023.

“Resilience,” Sonal says first. “I think resilience, knowing exactly what you want to achieve and how to carry forth your vision.”

Ash adds, “Agility. The pandemic shook a lot of people up. Before the pandemic, we didn’t have a TV and film division. It forced us to pivot from live shows that couldn’t happen and within a couple of years now, we have a documentary under our belt and we have the movie that’s released.”

As I began to wrap up my conversation with this power couple, I wondered what will continue to make them and their IAM Entertainment agency unique, as they keep making trailblazing moves that raise the bar on how we look at the possibilities of entertainment in our modern world.

Sonal says, “Whatever we take on at IAM Entertainment, it’s never forced. It’s a very natural, organic approach to the business and we believe that’s what sets us apart.”

Lately, Ash and Sonal have been making the time to come stateside, networking with other leading professionals and in-demand celebrities, most recently during Grammys weekend in Los Angeles. They tell me that they are being approached by U.S.-based entertainment fund managers and hedge fund owners, looking to invest in their latest round of fundraising for IAM Entertainment. It’s clear to see their rare type of superpower, if you will, as they continue to effectively connect the West to the Middle East.