Tuesday 13th October’s Board Meeting kicked off the first event in IMAP’s first ever Fall Virtual Conference. Lasting 4 days and bringing together more IMAP members across the globe than ever before, the conference theme encompassed the 4 C’s: Commitment, Collaboration, Connection and Culture, all fundamental in the IMAP partnership’s continued success.
On Wednesday, over 283 IMAP members joined the IMAP Past, Present & Future session, in which IMAP bid farewell to 3 of its outgoing Board Members: Jacob Voorhees, Mauricio Saldarriaga and Maegan Evans, who together, discussed the challenging business environment and how IMAP is focusing, adapting, aligning and evolving in the face of continued disruption in the markets.
Cross-border collaboration and leveraging the IMAP partnership were on the agenda on Thursday, as IMAP dealmakers shared stories from behind the wins and just why IMAP is a proof point of working across geo’s and bringing together the best, seamless global teams and solutions for its clients – vital in today’s climate.
On Thursday, IMAP also announced and presented its new exclusive partner in Thailand, “Discover Management”, located in Bangkok and whose 18-strong team boasts deep roots in investment banking. With M&A activity in Southeast Asia set to surge ahead of both China and the US in 2021, this is an important step in IMAP’s strategy to strengthen its foothold in Asia.
Closing the conference on Friday, was Guest Speaker Dr. Gustavo Grodnitzky, author of #1 Amazon bestseller, “Culture Trumps Everything”. In what proved to be a lively discussion, he examined the new dynamics of remote relations and harnessing the right business culture, which following the COVID-19 crisis is especially relevant and a key factor in determining the success and sustainability of organizations.
IMAP Chairman, Jurgis Oniunas, said: “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical conferences have not been possible this year. However, for IMAP, our bi-annual conferences are at the core of our annual program, and now, more than ever, in times of adversity, it’s important to us to bring our members together. Therefore, adapting with the times and using technology to overcome distance, we held our first ever Virtual Conference. Of course, virtual conferences will never replace physical ones and plans are already underway for our Spring 2021 Conference in Paris, by which time we hope that things will have greatly improved, and – fingers crossed – our IMAP family will be able to come together and re-connect in person.”