Marc Lerchs
Qualified in journalism and communication (ULB) and a graduate in Emergency medicine, disaster relief and crisis management (ULB), Marc Lerchs entered the field of event marketing in 1990. He specializes in institutional and political events, and has organized more than 1,500 large and small events in the past twenty years.
He has served as project manager, notably at the first labor union show “Syndicat 91” at Heysel, the first edition of the European Business Summit on behalf of the FEB, many political conventions and institutional projects. He was responsible for the organization at Moscow’s World Congress of 1,500 members of the Inter Parliamentary Union on behalf of the Belgian Senate. He has also contributed to significant cultural events in the public purview. He managed the closing night “Euro Neuro” of Gent’s Keizer Karel celebrations, co-wrote the show "Guldenspoorensplash" to mark the 600th anniversary of the Battle of the Golden Spurs in Kortrijk and, on behalf of Mostra, conceived (with Eelko De Jong) the show “Le Pont de l’Euro/The Eurobridge” to coincide with the changeover to the new currency in 2001. Lerchs also co-composed the symphonic score to this last.
A longtime Red Cross volunteer, Lerchs managed the relief operation at the Heysel disaster of 1985 and has worked with emergency medical service SAMU for a decade. He has assisted various helicopter rescue services in Europe, narrowly escaping a crash during an emergency mission to fight forest fires in the south of France. He reports his adventures in the pages of Le Soir, La Libre Belgique and the Quotidien du Médecin (Paris).
These activities led him naturally to study new trends in prevention and crisis management, and to obtain a degree in the field (ULB), in which he has practiced since 2005 on behalf of businesses and government institutions (often in collaboration with Professor Patrick Lagadec of the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris).
In addition to prevention, emergency planning and crisis management, Lerchs is also competent in flux management, telecommunications and risk assessment for public events. In 2008 he became disaster relief advisor to the governor of the Brabant Wallon province, and has since June 2010 been a part of the FRR (Force de Réflexion Rapide), a rapid response team operating under provincial and regional authority.
On the institutional side, he served as consultant to the campaign staff of the Belgian PS (Frenchspeaking Socialist Party) in 2003 and 2004. He would become counselor to the PS president, Elio Di Rupo, advising discretely from the sidelines during the 2009 and 2010 elections. He has also coached several Belgian politicians and business leaders.
Art lover, pianist and composer in his spare time, he participates in many cultural projects. This artistic sensibility gives him a subtle and intuitive approach to the issues in front of him.
(C. D'A - Les Dossiers de l'Evénementiel)