CIOReview | | 9CIOReviewJULY 2021Transforming the Business of Fun to Prosper During the PandemicOn March 11, 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's Director-General, said at a media briefing, "this is not just a public health crisis; it's a crisis that will touch every sector. So every sector and every individual must be involved in the fight." His words proved true as work-from-home mandates, social-distancing requirements, and government-ordered closure of non-essential businesses changed the game for everyone and brought the world to an abrupt halt. And as family entertainment centers (FEC), attractions and amusement parks are people-oriented, hands-on facilities that thrive on mass gatherings fell under the "dispensable" category. Within no time, it was one of the hardest-hit industries (the first to close and the last to reopen).While many industry players hunkered down and went dark (closing their operations, hunkering down to ride out the storm), Renee Welsh, CEO of Embed, was standing on the shore, ready as can be to tackle this unprecedented storm. As a battle-hardened entrepreneur, she plunged into the unknown, betting on her business acumen to achieve the impossible. "It was unquestionably a period of uncertainty, getting through this and to the other side put my resilience to the test, but I could clearly see this was our chance to unify the entertainment industry and demonstrate Embed's commitment to the entire sector's recovery," she reflected. "Our journey began with a dramatic pivot (working in 6-week cycles of innovation) to deliver a series of initiatives that helped pull the industry through the pandemic crisis." Demonstrating the Commitment to InnovateJust a few days into WHO declaring COVID-19 as a pandemic, Renee led initiatives that enabled Embed to survive and actively huddled with the industry to pave the path forward together. The company also spotlighted industry insiders to share their insights through EmbedLIVE webinars (close to 100 segments) and published free Insight Paper: FEC 2.0, Getting to the Other
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