GGI World Conference Lisbon, Portugal
Located at the River Tejo, Portugal’s capital Lisbon was the fantastic location for our annual World Conference. With 264 participants from all over the globe gathering together at the EPIC SANA Marques Hotel, this city on the seven hills provided ample opportunities for GGI members to get to know each other better – in order to discover joint business opportunities, exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge, and enjoy a fun weekend.
There were many optional excursions planned throughout the weekend, from a walking tour of the historic Alfama district, to tuk-tuk rides and tile-painting workshops, as well as a visit to Belem. Accompanying persons had a cooking class at the Time Out Market on Friday, while everyone was given the chance to also visit the nearby towns of Cascais and Sintra post-event on Sunday.
Firstly, however, the women in GGI – led by Leslie Berkoff, Elisabeth Colson and Amy Seneshen – met for an inspiring networking lunch prior to the start of the conference, sponsored by GGI member firm Prager Metis International LLC. During a vivid exchange, they were able to gain fresh perspectives, fruitful insights and develop their personal networks.
The International Taxation Practice Group (ITPG) met in the afternoon, with almost 100 members in attendance. As usual, enthusiastic speakers provided valuable inputs, shared knowledge, experiences and updated their peers on latest developments from their region. A rousing spirit filled the room.
During the afternoon, there was also the opportunity for participants to visit host firm GPA Law Firm, who offered pre-reception drinks in their offices.
The Welcome Cocktail Reception and Dinner took place at the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon, just a 10-minute walk from our conference hotel. At this beautiful venue, participants were warmly welcomed to Lisbon by the sponsoring host fiirm, GPA Law Firm, before they were introduced to attending new members and candidate firms by Michael Reiss von Filski, GGI Global CEO. Needless to say, the dinner that followed was also rather spectacular.
On Friday morning, there were warm words of welcome from both GGI Founder & President Claudio G. Cocca and Sofia Gouveia Pereira, Managing Partner at GPA Law Firm.
Keynote speaker Prof Henrique Leitão then presented on the topic of “Looking into the past to understand the future: leadership and innovation in the face of challenges”. During his entertaining speech, Prof Leitão took us on a journey through Portugal’s exciting history, showed how conflicts have been resolved – how important innovation, strong networks, leadership and creativity have been – and deftly drew the comparison to today’s problem-solving skills. He showed how important it was to deal with flows of new information. It was a useful example of focus, solid common sense, and the rapid adaptation to circumstances that were changing at an exceptionally rapid pace.
Our second keynote speech, delivered by Prof Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School, covered “The End of ESG”. He highlighted how ESG is both extremely important and nothing special. The latter since it's no better or worse than other intangible assets that create long-term financial and social returns, such as management quality, corporate culture, and innovative capability. Companies shouldn't be praised more for improving their ESG performance than these other intangibles; investor engagement on ESG factors shouldn't be put on a pedestal compared to engagement on other value drivers. We want great companies, not just companies that are great at ESG. This topic provided a perfect base for discussions.
Michael Reiss von Filski, Global CEO of GGI, led an insightful panel discussion with both keynote speakers. The controversial opinions led to a thought-provoking discussion.
Two rounds of Expert Group Meetings enabled a vital exchange of knowledge and ideas, while providing new insights for participants. The tremendous load of information which we hold within our GGI family offers ample opportunities to obtain know-how and stay updated on an international scope.
Friday nights at our events have become informal dinners at venues that wow. This time we had a dinner and barbecue at the Pateo Alfacinha, which combines a noble Páteo, with several spaces like a typical chop-house, a bakery with a wood oven offering fresh loaves of bread, a salon decorated with unique Portuguese tile panels, and a winter garden. This charming atmosphere, paired with unique views towards the Tejo river and excellent food, enabled members to simply enjoy each other's company – and also dance to the DJ's playlist and light-show, if they so wished!
On Saturday morning, the GCG M&A Dealmakers Meeting, as well as several more Expert Group meetings provided food for thought and room for discussion.
The Closing Gala Dinner was held at SUD Lisboa, with views over the 25 de Abril Bridge (Lisbon's “San Francisco bridge”). Here, we were able to present the GGI Member of the Year Awards for 2023. We were also able to say thank you to Paul Simmons for his years of service on the GGI ExCom and to commemorate 20 years of Johan F. Langelaar in GGI. Finally, let's just say there was more good food and wine followed by even more dancing the night away.
This conference offered so many enriching moments and experiences, and so much valuable information to take home and implement in our daily business – another truly unforgettable experience.
