Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), the first purpose-built Convention Centre located on the mystical island of Borneo, today announced the appointment of Mr. Eric Van Piggelen as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BCCK effective January 1, 2014. Eric joined BCCK in 2011 as Director of Operations.

In his new role, Eric will oversee the day-to-day management decisions and for implementing BCCK’s vision and mission and continue to apply its expertise and experience to great effect to upcoming conference and meetings at the venue.

Eric was born in South Africa but grew up in The Netherlands. After his studies he returned to South Africa and joined the Avalon Group of Hotels as an Assistant General Manager. Over the following 20 years he held Senior and Executive Management positions in various Resorts, 5 star Hotels, IT, Sports and Recreation Clubs and Convention Centre’s in South Africa, Europe and the USA.

In 2009, before his move to the BCCK, he was headhunted to join the world renowned International Convention Centre Durban in South Africa as its Director of Operations. The ICCD has featured in the Top 20 list of best Convention Centre’s in the world over the past few years.

He has completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Company Direction and is a member of The Institute for Director’s in Southern Africa.

Eric is married to Daphne for 18 years and they have three beautiful children, Caillian, Jesse and Kealoha. Whenever time permits he likes playing Golf, Read and spend quality time with his family. 

In today’s global arena, having hard skills and experience alone in the hospitality industry no longer suffices. We tend to forget or neglect the importance of having soft skills, and how having them can actually elevate and enhance our interactions with others.

With this in mind, 30 employees from Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) attended a two-day comprehensive training program on “Mastering Your Image at Work” which worked on enhancing their interpersonal and social grace skills.

The training was conducted by Dr. Dianne S.C. Tsen from Powerlooks Global Sdn. Bhd and Dianne Tsen Sdn. Bhd. Throughout the training program, the consultant focused on the importance of creating positive first impressions at the workplace, understanding the image essentials for women or men, hygiene and how to cultivate an individual’s professional image. 

“Etiquette and protocol matters in the business world and the lack of social graces can make a bad first impression on clients and business associates. These are important soft skills that are seldom taught but are vital in fostering social and professional interactions with others. We realized the importance of this aspect to our organization’s success, and so BCCK’s management has embarked on this training program for our employees”, said Human Resource Manager, Mdm. Janet Jong.

Excited participants included members of the Customer Service team, Sales and Marketing team, Events Planning team, Corporate and Procurement team and Finance team.

The Chief Executive Officer of Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, Mr. Eric Van Piggelen has presented a cheque worth MYR 1595.00 to Mr. Kho Soon Kheng on behalf of Sarawak Cheshire Home on last Friday, 14^th March 2014.

The donation was raised from proceeds of Isthmus Christmas Buffet Promotion at The Raintree Restaurant, BCCK, which was held in December 2013.

During the presentation ceremony, Mr. Eric Van Piggelen expressed his gratitude for the tremendous support of diners who have patronized their Isthmus Christmas Buffet last December.

“As part of BCCK’s Corporate Social Responsibility Program we pledged to donate MYR 5 from the price of the buffet over Christmas, and called for the support of our diners to make this pledge a success. I am therefore very pleased that we have managed to collect this amount, and I look forward to an even better result this year,” said Mr. Eric Van Piggelen.

“Having the public play a role obviously makes the giving more rewarding. Adding to that, BCCK is delighted to partner with such a worthy charity. We know that the funds help the Sarawak Cheshire Home continue their work and provide some degree of comfort to the residents,” he added.

For those public members who would like to donate to Sarawak Cheshire Home can contact Mr. Kho Soon Kheng at 082 – 429 410 or visit their website; http://www.cheshiremalaysia.org/sarawak/

The Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) launches its official twitter and instagram account as the social media has grown exponentially and played a significant role in promoting MICE business as it is increases awareness, improve and maintains a high level of customer service, while communicating directly with clients and delegates.

The event was launched by the Chief Executive Officer of BCCK, Mr. Eric Van Piggelen, the newly appointed Director of Sales and Marketing of BCCK, Ms. Premala Danapakiam, the newly appointed Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Joseph Chung and other BCCK’s Senior Management.

“BCCK commenced full scale operations in October 2009 and since opening, there are 583 events have been hosted and over 628, 106 visitors have been welcomed to the Centre. As part of our journey, we are now looking at various aspects of social media to further strengthen and broaden our clients’ base, both locally and internationally, as we explore all mediums of communication and interactions available today. One of the ways for us will to delve into the exciting world of twitter and instagram”, said BCCK’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Ms. Premala Danapakiam.

According to the statistic from the eMarketer, it is reported that the number of active registered worldwide users in Twitter are approximately 645 million and 150 million in Instagram.

“Based on the statistic reports by eMarketer, we can expect these figures to increase yearly, as we are excited to explore the possibilities available for BCCK in the twitter and instagram world. Now, the exchange of ideas, feedback and suggestions with our clients, delegates and visitors to the Centre is just a hash tag away,” she added.

For the latest updates or breaking news about BCCK, public members can follow:

·         BCCK’s twitter account: @BCCKSarawak

·         BCCK’s instagram account: @bccksarawak

·         BCCK’s Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BCCK.Sarawak

·         BCCK’s Official Website: www.bcck.com.my

Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) announces the appointment of Mr. Joseph Chung as their new Chief Financial Officer and Ms. Premala Danapakiam as their new Director of Sales and Marketing, effective March 1, 2014.

Mr. Chung has more than 25 years of professional experience both in industry and audit (big 4). He started his career with one of the “big 4” firm before he left and joined a multinational company, holding various key roles within the organization. He has both financial and operational experience, ranging from financial reporting & planning, product costing to material & supply chain management. He is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA).

He joined BCCK in 2008 as Director of Finance and spearheaded the set up of the pioneer accounting team, policies, processes, controls and implementation of integrated ERP system that support both accounting and event management in BCCK. He is also actively involved in the National Independent Management Team for NKEA Education EPP10 Hospitality and Tourism Education Cluster.

In his new role, he is responsible for the overall financial management of BCCK, providing critical financial, strategic and operational support to the CEO. In particular, he is accountable for the direction, management and control of the accounting and finance functions as well as functions related to information & technology system management, office administration, internal policies and controls.

Commenting on his appointment, Joseph said, “We have a great team at BCCK! It is my aim to support and inspire the team further to a greater height, to be part of the catalyst to change and transform the landscape of MICE industry in Kuching. The establishment of BCCK as the first international purpose-built convention centre on the island of Borneo, provides an opportunity for us (Sarawakian) to showcase the city to the world and place Kuching on the worldwide map of Business Events. We need to work collaboratively with key strategic partners in the industry to deliver successful business events and offer a unique Borneo experience when international delegates come to Kuching to attend business events.”

Ms. Premala joined BCCK in 2011 as Senior Sales Manager. Having come from a diverse background, with over 5 years in the MICE industry, her new portfolio will encompass both the local and international markets for BCCK.  She will be responsible to lead the team towards achieving BCCK’s business development plans and new strategic communications.

Commenting on her appointment, Ms. Premala said, “I look forward to growing and increasing the business opportunities for BCCK, particularly with developing new packages that will add value for our clients. BCCK was built with the sole purpose of developing Kuching as a destination for international conventions and conferences, and to provide world class facilities and services worthy of international events. With that in mind, I am working towards further enhancing and cementing our relationships with our industry partners and suppliers, especially with regards to the international markets. We need to work together to sell delegates the experience of having their events here, the Borneo way”.