<< Back

Started by Glen Lehman in 1981, Lehman & Associates has grown from a small one-man business working in a serviced office in Bondi Junction to a fully-fledged events company in Sydney’s Ultimo. At one stage the business even employed 11 full-time staff but Mr Lehman concedes he was “paying off everybody else’s houses” and not his own so now he uses regular contractors to get the job done. And the job is any and every kind of event imaginable.

“We used to call it theatre because we produced corporate events theatrically, which is still what we do now,” Mr Lehman said.
Back in the early 1980s Mr Lehman – now the company’s managing and artistic director – said there was only about eight event companies around, including his.

“Up until then you used to stand in the middle of the room and shout. Then we had the 1988 Bicentennial and after that everyone realised what an event was. You could say that was when special events were born.”
Now the company works on events in Malaysia, Singapore and largely the East Coast of Australia, although it has just taken on a Chinese client. Proving Lehman & Associates has still got the goods was the company’s Sydney on Sale event held at Dockside in early July.

“The Sydney Convention and Visitor’s Bureau wanted an event with a ‘wow’ factor so we called it The Wow Factor.”
Lehman & Associates sectioned off the venue giving it a club atmosphere and beginning the evening with roving entertainment who walked the guests over from the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. More than 500 guests piled into the venue after which Lehman & Associates created a ‘reveal’ by opening up the end of the room where another band was set up. Brazilian drummers moved through the crowd and later a snow machine created a snow storm while the blackout curtains were lifted to expose the Darling Harbour lights under nightfall.

Mr Lehman says the industry continues to change and remain dynamic at the same time.
“Everything has to be fresh and rethought constantly. The SCVB is not the only one who wants events with a wow factor.”
He said Lehman & Associates largely works with the Meat and Livestock industry and large productions can require up to 50 staff.

“Our last big production had 48 in the team and we use some contractors on a very regular basis.”
He says the job is still as exciting today as it was 25 years ago.
“It’s still good to get to work or should I say it’s good to get to ‘play’.”