Ibens CEO Herman Bernaerts is taking a well earned retirement. He has made a huge contribution to the growth of the construction group over the past 15 years. The company wanted to show their appreciation with a fitting farewell. Our event team made it so.
The ideal venue
In September we invited customers, close colleagues and family of Herman Bernaerts to join him at the Verbeke Foundation in Kemzeke. This original museum was surely the ideal venue to celebrate the career of such a passionate art lover – and Panamarenko fan.
Before the festivities got underway we treated the guests to a guided tour of the sculpture garden. We then moved on to the packed evening programme, which saluted the career Herman Bernaerts has built at Ibens. Naming the event ‘The Journey’ was no coincidence.
Our event team turned art lover Herman Bernaerts’s retirement party into an art show.
Poppies, poetry and Panamarenko
To keep in with the setting, we gave the programme an artistic flavour. A poet gathered impressions of Herman from the guests during the reception and composed an ode to the newly retired CEO, which was well received, not least by the man himself, who wiped away a tear or two.
The journey
A painter drew inspiration from the speakers on stage, who heaped praise on the man of the moment, including the new CEOs and Belgian artist Dries Depoorter. The result was an original work of art with allusions to the Panamarenko exhibits and the poppy. That flower, a symbol of how Ibens has blossomed under Bernaerts after a tough period, was prominent in the event logo and in the decor.
High-end catering
The closing standing dinner, a feast of culinary refreshments and live music, was a fitting send-off. All told then, our event team showed once again that they are masters of the art of parties. Frame it and hang it.
