Sonal Vara-Parmar is as familiar a name in the UAE’s entertainment industry as she is with A-list celebrities around the world. Having lived in the Emirates for 20 years working for global music companies in the UK, New York and the UAE, she decided to build on her experience and go it alone, setting up International Artist Management (IAM) Entertainment in 2012. 

It’s been a whirlwind ever since, bringing artists including Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Coldplay to perform in the UAE before breaking the Internet when she brokered the deal for Beyoncé to play at the launch of Atlantis The Royal. 

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The company’s list of work and clients is endless – and it’s not just about music, either. They’ve expanded into film, artist and influencer management, and brand partnerships. Last year alone, IAM produced Abu Dhabi’s first global brand ambassador campaign with Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky, and worked with Kevin Hart as a brand ambassador for Qatar Airways. 

Vara-Parmar is also a big champion of supporting female voices in entertainment and music, having faced many challenges as a woman in a male-dominated industry herself over the years. 

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“With the prevalence of the digital era, we consume more music, more streaming, more content than ever before, so it’s equally important that a woman’s perspective is heard as part of storytelling to empower the next generation,” she says. “I grew up when there was a clear distinction between the roles men and women played in the workforce. Today, entertainers such as Priyanka Chopra are fighting for pay parity and finally winning the battle. We have to continue to work together for women, so the next generation never knows sexism ever existed.”

Read more at iam-entertainment.com