London Financial Conference Concludes
Business Bermuda concluded a successful Annual Bermuda Financial Services Conference on Thursday, 7 April 2011 in London. The event was attended by more than 250 leading lawyers, accountants and financial services executives. The Honourable Paula Cox, Premier and Minister of Finance of Bermuda, delivered the luncheon keynote speech, making the case for doing business in Bermuda, highlighting the state of Bermuda’s economy and emphasizing Bermuda’s standing vis-a-vis other jurisdictions.
Minister Patrice Minors closed the event at a cocktail reception, with remarks on Bermuda’s existing twin economic pillars: International Business and Tourism and her thoughts on the opportunities for financial services businesses on the island.
This year’s Conference was fast paced and packed with information. It commenced with a Pre-Conference Summit and panel discussion on Bermuda and offshore jurisdictions featuring: The Governor of Bermuda, Sir Richard Gozney, Pam Burrows, Assistant Financial Secretary – Ministry of Finance, Jeremy Cox, CEO of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Greg Wojciechowski, CEO of the Bermuda Stock Exchange and Cheryl Packwood, CEO of Business Bermuda.
“Yet again, our annual Conference demonstrated the tremendous interest in Bermuda as a center for international business,” said Ms. Packwood. “Business Bermuda’s members, our government officials and all of our panelists are to be commended for their efforts and I am confident that attendees came away from the event knowing that Bermuda is well-positioned to provide their businesses with the best possible services to enhance their growth in a well-regulated, financially strong and highly respected business environment.”
In the keynote speech at the Luncheon, the Premier and Minister of Finance Cox emphasized Bermuda’s approach to leadership in the global arena with our tax treaties, OECD standing, IAIS membership saying: “Bermuda is consistently prepared to go the extra mile in the regulatory arena, beyond just mere compliance. We are not a brass plate jurisdiction. We provide real services with real people on the ground.”
The Premier added, “Following the success of last year’s Conference, we decided to expand this year’s format with more panels and a pre-Conference Summit that provided broad perspective on Bermuda and offshore jurisdictions overall. The discussion was dynamic and a truly innovative approach to delivering the Bermuda message.”
There was a time when hosting a conference and luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental or the Dorchester yielded all manner of questions: how much did it cost? why was it at a swanky London hotel? why couldn’t it be held somewhere more downmarket? No longer. Funny how things change.
The conference was elegant and substantive and showed Bermuda and her professionals at its best. I was so proud of our efforts and the hard work of our private sector, our Government and BUSINESS BERMUDA! This was probably our best conference in all our 41 years of existence. Thank you everyone.
Having attended the Business Bermuda London Financial Conference for several years now, I do have a few observations.
The event has certainly outgrown the Mandarin Oriental and this is evident as you are almost forced to sit on top of one another which I find rather unpleasant….hardly elegant. The Mandarin as a hotel is not a conversation piece, and there are better choices in London to be had for a venue.
As I sat in the pre-forum, I was amazed that the Governor of all people would be sitting on the panel rather than the Premier & Minister of Finance, The Hon. Paula Cox, who sat in the front row like a spectator. By all means Madam Premier is quite able to speak on behalf of her county to the international arena and would surely know the current relationship between the UK government and Bermuda Government.
Now lastly, this point is something that needs to be addressed……last year I watched as the CEO of Business Bermuda put a lot of ahhh’s and ummm’s in her speech…..I thought this was a one off habit of a professional speaking tone.
Behold, this year the ahhh’s and ummm’s were back again on top of her very pooly executed speeches. If I had not known better I would have thought that she had not prepared herself and was a last minute stand in for someone else. Clearly she recognises that she represents the ‘Bermuda’ brand and most importantly she is speaking on an International platform. If she is unable to engage the audience or provide a coherent tone of speech, then I would suggest that Business Bermuda keep her in the sidelines and let someone else front the event for sake of professionalism at its best.
I have to disagree, as this was not the best conference in 41 years of existence…..maybe attendance figures but definitely not in quality!