GGI Nordic Baltic Meeting in Oslo, NorwayGGI German-Speaking Chapter in Dusseldorf, Germany
What another wonderful weekend we had in Oslo, not our first but hopefully not our last! The last time we were here, we had such a terrific time that it was always on our minds that we would return. A special invitation from Knut Einar Rishovd for this year, his retirement year, sealed the deal.
A small albeit tight-knit group of members came together, not only to network, share their expertise and learn from each other, but also to celebrate the strong bonds of friendship that have been built over the years – between firms and between people. #ggifamily
Firstly, what a fabulous venue. The Grand Hotel Oslo, opened in 1874 by confectioner Julius Fritzner, was originally a private residence – owned by Professor Chr. Heiberg. Probably one of Oslo's best locations, the hotel has been a landmark in the city ever since the city was called Kristiana. Nobel Laureates and royalty have frequented often, with the very first Nobel banquet taking place in the hotel in 1901.
Some terrific guest speakers joined us for our meeting.
Firstly, from WANG Toppidrett AS, we had Fredrik Aukland, Håvard Johansen and Vilhelm Lae. WANG is a 114-year old private school originally focused on business education, mostly to those aged 14 to 20. In 1984, they started WANG Toppidrett AS, offering high-school education with a twist, they offered an athletics specialization in football. They started offering 12 hours of football training a week as part of their curriculum. WANG Toppidrett is now located five locations in Norway, has 3,396 students, 350 trainers and offers specialization in 31 sports.
Vilhelm provided us with a brief history of the school. Håvard disclosed how their schools were particularly special, taking into account the needs and requirements of each high-performing athlete as they helped to prepare them for possible future greatness. Fredrik shared how he moved to Switzerland and worked with the Swiss Cross-Country Skiing Team to bring them medal victories – not particularly easy, but oh my what a success.
After lunch, Dr Thor L. Legvold (perhaps familiar to those of you who attended the GCG M&A Dealmakers Meeting in Beverly Hills in June) came in and talked about “Teams for the 21st century”. The group exercise with the rising helium stick showed us how difficult it can be to work as a group, even with the same goal and intentions.
During the meeting, David Lewis (USTAXFS, UK) also shared a case study of a Swedish family with US connections and Øyvind Baltzersen (from host firm Revisjonsfirmaet Flattum & Co AS, Norway) made a presentation about his firm.
We had some great excursions organised during and after the event. A walking tour of Oslo on the Friday after the meeting taught us a lot about the history of the city, while also showcasing some of the greatest new architecture in the form of the Opera House and the new Edvard Munch Museum. On the Saturday, an Oslo Fjord Sightseeing Tour showed us the city from the water, and somehow we also found our way to a local distillery for a private aquavit tasting. We also managed to fit in Vigeland Park that evening.
Perhaps what will always stick in our minds about this event, however, is the food. We had some spectacular dinners in this city: the Welcome Dinner in the Hall of Fame of the Grand Hotel Oslo, the seafood platters at Solsiden Restaurant, and finally the dinner (perhaps feast would be a better word) at the home of Knut Einar and Inger Marie Rishovd – personally cooked by Knut Einar himself. It was the best way to end a GGI meeting. Thank you, Knut. You've made this event truly special.
Just after Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, departed from the Living Hotel De Medici in Dusseldorf, Germany, GGI members arrived here for the German-Speaking Chapter. Among the 60 participants were not only members from the DACH region but also GGI experts from Finland, France, Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the Czech Republic.
GGI member firms FPS and KSP Stübben & Partner kindly hosted this event. Both firms have been very hands-on in helping us to put together the programme.
FPS warmly welcomed all early-arrivals on Friday afternoon in their offices for a guided tour followed by an aperitiv. This was a superb opportunity to meet with FPS colleagues, not all of whom might usually attend GGI conferences.
Vibrant discussions filled the room during the Welcome Dinner in the hotel on Friday evening.
On Saturday morning, the meeting kicked off with warm words of Welcome from our host firms, delivered by Philipp Stübben, KSP, and Dr Robin Fritz, FPS.
Jörg Klekamp started with a guest lecture on “Seamless integration: tax advice meets debt collection -- The triple win model”. He highlighted possibilities of automated cooperation in the digital age by presenting a tool which offers significant added value not only for tax consultants and law firms but also for clients in the fields of tax consulting and debt collection due to its high level of automation..
Prof Dr Bernhard Pörksen followed with his keynote speech on “Fact and fake. The new power of disinformation in the digital age”. He discussed the influence of digital media on us and our perception. He highlighted how fake news is created, spread, and manipulates people – and pointed out that everyone should learn to handle and process the diversity of information appropriately. (See the May edition of INSIDER for Prof Dr Pörksen's bio.)After a coffee break, Birgit Kelle’s thought-provoking talk on “Noch Normal – Das lässt sich gendern!” (gender politics) led to long discussions and debates.
During the remainder of the meeting, some GGI members updated their colleagues on news from their jurisdictions.
Christian Klein (HERALD, France) spoke about company acquisition in France: the asset and the share deal.
Dr Hauke Hansen (FPS, Germany) gave some advice how to deal with cyber-attacks from a legal, technical and communication perspective.
Daniel Herper (FPS, Germany) advised on management duties during turbulent times – what to consider when in a permanent crisis mode.
In the afternoon participants gained some insights into the city’s history during a walking tour through the old centre and along the Rhine river, passing by the Rhine Tower, the Media Harbour and also famous KÖ (Königsallee) . The walk was also great for continuing the debates around the morning's speches.
The event came to an end with a dinner at the Duchy Restaurant in Breidenbacher Hof. Treated with fabulous culinary delights, participants reluctantly said their goodbyes.
This German-Speaking Chapter once again provided the perfect mix of valuable lectures, discussions with GGI fellows, and a joint discovery of the city of Dusseldorf, while at the same time enjoying our host firms’ wonderful hospitality – which added up to make another so familial event. The GGI team extends heartfelt thanks for the two host firms FPS and KSP for their tremendous support.
