In November 2019, IAG finished its year with the final Assembly held under the blue skies of Dubai, in the UAE. The Assembly was very well attended and many members managed to combine a packed Assembly programme with visits to clients and prospective clients, making the most of being in one of the Middle East’s main commercial centres.
Chairman John Ridgway opened the Business Session on the first full day of the Assembly by welcoming the 60 delegates, and providing the gathered members with an overview of the recent and planned activities of the Board, and the IAG strategy.
The morning offered a varied programme including three in depth and interesting presentations from members and prospective members on their firms, and on doing business in their respective jurisdictions: Dubai, Germany, India, Italy and Singapore. These presentations provided a fascinating comparison between five of the World’s leading investment destinations.
Charlie Birts, who has recently joined the IAG Administration Office preparing to take the helm during 2020, gave a short overview of his initial impressions of IAG and an overview of the competitive market for international professional services networks. Charlie reinforced IAG’s focus on the main pillars of its strategy and on staying true to its principles: personal relationships and trust, quality, and effective management and strategy.
The afternoon brought together IAG with Morrison KSi, the global association of leading professional services firms, with whom IAG has enjoyed close cooperation over a number of years. As an illustration of their impressive track record of working together, the shared session started with a joint case study on one recent collaboration between members from both organisations. This cooperation has been a notable success for both firms and particularly for the client, and is still continuing.
The importance of building and maintaining personal relationships across the network, which was a recurring theme during IAG’s morning business session, was evident in a number of the activities that brought members together throughout the three-day IAG Assembly.
A buffet dinner in the luxury surroundings of the Fairmont The Palm Hotel, against the back-drop of the Arabian Gulf and the Dubai Marina skyline, set the tone for a memorable few days.
On the second night, IAG members enjoyed a shared dinner with Morrison KSi. The Spanish Hacienda-inspired Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club was the setting for colleagues and friends from both networks to once again come together, in the open-air courtyard of this prestigious club.
The IAG Assembly closed on Wednesday afternoon with a truly unforgettable trip into the desert from Dubai, with some white-knuckled driving across the sand dunes, an atmospheric stop on top of the dunes to enjoy the sunset over the desert, and a sumptuous BBQ dinner in a Bedouin-style camp.