Mark Brown – 1956-2016
Published: MEA
UAE: The Middle East’s entertainment industry has lost one of its biggest characters with the passing of eclipse Group founder and chairman, Mark Brown. He died following a short battle with cancer on December 14th 2016.
Mark Brown was a businessman with a passion for the professional audiovisual, events and entertainment industries, and an enduring love for lasers. He began his varied career by founding Tangerine Productions in the 1970s, where he provided mobile discotheques and touring lasers. In 1985, Mark recognised the potential of the then relatively new laser technologies and joined Laser Grafix where he took on the role of managing director, and later became the sole shareholder. During the 1990s he was heavily involved with the design and development of a number of award-winning products including the Starlaser, alongside Martin Lubach of Tasco and Starlight Technology (now general manager of eclipse Staging Services), as well as the Nexus and the Prisma controller.
With the turn of the millennium came the start of Mark’s influence in the Middle East. Following advice from close friend and regional industry expert, Simon Ransom, he made the move to the United Arab Emirates, opening Laser Grafix (later renamed Laser FX) in Dubai. Following a successful three years of trading, and eager to provide a more varied service, Mark opened eclipse Staging Services, and consequently founded the eclipse Group of companies.
Mark grew the eclipse Group by both strategic acquisition and by recognising gaps in the market such as with the purchase of Nocturnal Communications and the setup of Flair SFX & Production (now Flair Event Services) in 2013. In 2014, Mark and the group began eclipse Venue Services, a division dedicated to providing in-house technical services to the hotel and venue market. This was followed by the recent establishment of eclipse Installations targeted at the permanent install market.
His achievements and the contribution he made to the local industry were celebrated in 2015 when Mark was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to the Middle East’s Event Industry award at the Middle East Event Awards.
‘eclipse has lost its founder, a crazy entrepreneur with an infectious personality and quirky way of being that very few people could fail to like, and all of us feel that loss deeply today,’ commented eclipse Group CEO, Simon Ransom. ‘Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Mark closely have lost a dear friend and leader. Mark leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his personality will forever be part of the foundations of eclipse.’
Should you wish to pay your respects to Mark or his family, a Facebook group has been setup in his memory and can be found here.