past event

Annual General Meeting Hamburg 2024..

Oct 2025
Hamburg222, Gabon

Annual General Meeting Hamburg 2024....

15 - 17 Oct 2024

The 2024 AGM will be hosted by Euler Hermes and Allianz Trade in Hamburg from 15-17 October.

The title theme for the AGM is ‘collaboration’ – highlighting possibilities and celebrating success achieving shared goals through partnership within export credit and beyond.

From public and private risk-sharing, to synergy between trade and development, symbiosis of insurance and finance and the innovation potential of fintech – we will examine how we can work better together, learn more from each other and help our industry evolve together.

Agenda

Global Agenda

 Monday 14th October 

 14:30-16:30

BU Management Committee Meeting 

In-person meeting of the Berne Union Management Committee. Lunch will be served before the meeting from 12:30-14:00

 This meeting is only for members of the BU Management Committee

 16:00 - 18:30  

Registration

 Atlantic Hotel

19:00 - 22:00 

Welcome Reception

Welcome Reception hosted by Euler Hermes

The dress code for the Welcome Reception is business casual

 Meridien Hotel

Tuesday 15th October

08:00 onwards

Registration Continues

 Atlantic Hotel

09:00 -17:10

ST Committee Meeting

Meeting of the ST Committee including ST business trends and current topics

 This meeting is only open to members of the ST Committee 

 09:00 -17:00

ECA Committee Meeting

Meeting of the ECA Committee focusing on overall business trends, organisational updates and themes relating to ECA policy

 This meeting is only open to members of the ECA Committee 

 18:00 - 19:00

90th Anniversary Reception

A short reception to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Berne Union, with an address from Peter Tschentscher, Mayor of Hamburg and special guests. The city hall is located 15 minutes walk from the meeting hotels. Participants will have a free evening after the reception.

The dress code for the Anniversary Reception is business

 Historical City Hall, Hamburg

 Wednesday 16th October

 09:00 -17:00

Plenary Meeting

Plenary Meeting including macro themes and internal BU affairs (initiatives, elections, etc.)

 This meeting is open to All Members 

 18:30 - 23:00

Gala Dinner at Panoramadeck in EMPORIO

A dinner at one of the highest viewing points in Hamburg. The venue has a spectacular 360 degree view of the entire city, from the 23rd floor of the Emporio building, located a10 minute drive / 24 minute walk from the meeting hotels.

The dress code for the Gala Dinner is business

 Panoramadeck at the Emporio building

Thursday 17th October

09:00 - 17:00

PC Committee Meeting

Full Day session for PC Committee Members

This meeting is only open to members of the PC Committee 

 09:00 - 17:00

MLT Committee Meeting

Full Day session for MLT Committee Members focusing on overall business trends, organisational updates and current topics

 This meeting is only open to members of the MLT Committee

 18:30 - 00:00

Farewell Party

The dress code for the Farewell Party is business casual

 Euler Hermes and Allianz Trade Head office

 Friday 18th October

 06:00 - TBC

Excursions

The hosts are researching options for self-booked excursions in Hamburg - details will be shared in due course.

TUE:ECA Download meeting agenda

Tuesday 15th October: ECA Committee Meeting

 09:00-09:05

Chair’s Opening Remarks and Matter Arising

Pekka Karkovirta

Vice President, International Relations

FINNVERA

Jan-Philipp Apking

Head of Division Underwriting & Risk Management

EULER HERMES

 09:05-10:10

Tour de Table

New delegates to the meeting, organisational, operational and policy updates

Member to member discussion

Welcoming ABGF

 10:10-10:45

H1 2024 ECA Business Trends

Interactive member-to-member discussion supported by a presentation on member data

Joshua Koehler

Associate Director

BERNE UNION

 10:45-11:15

BREAK

 11:15-12:45

ECA Café, Co-moderated by the YPs

  • Round tables with ~45 minutes of rotation. Members will have the opportunity to attend two different sessions.

a. ECAs’ Green Incentives

 Salon Elbe

Carmen Vara Martin

State Account Business Division Director

CESCE


Anne Corstjens

Environmental and Social Analyst

CREDENDO

b. ECAs’ Mandate: Focus on National Interest Approaches

 Großer Festsaal

Felicity Shaw

General Counsel

EXPORT FINANCE AUSTRALIA

Joshua Koehler

Associate Director

BERNE UNION

c. Cooperation and Cover of EPCs and their Subcontractors 

 Senatszimmer

Jan Rekiel

Deputy Head of Strategic Clients

KUKE

Paulina Więckowska

Transaction Manager

KUKE

 12:45-14:00

LUNCH

 14:00-15:30

Competition or Collaboration: ECAs’ Untied Products

Moderator

Survey Results Presentation

Pekka Karkovirta

Vice President, International Relations

FINNVERA

Didem Bayseferogullari

Senior Manager

BERNE UNION

Panelists

Irene Gambelli

Head of International Relations

SACE

Ulrich Schulte Lünzum

Head of Project Finance & Untied Loans

EULER HERMES

Wontae Kim

Deputy Director, Project Planning Team, Project Finance Coordination Department

K-SURE

 15:30-15:45

BREAK

 15:45-17:00

The Role of ECA Finance in the Hydrogen Market

This session will provide an overview of hydrogen and exploring the opportunities and challenges for application of ECA finance in the hydrogen value chain. It will also include insights into ECAs' perspectives on the evolving hydrogen market and their role in shaping its future.

Moderator

Jan-Philipp Apking

Head of Division Underwriting & Risk Management

EULER HERMES

Sebastian Foellner

Manager of Sustainability, Energy Transition & Decarbonisation

PwC

Udo Schneider

Managing Director

Green Giraffe Advisory

Jørn Fredsgaard Sørensen

Head of Country and Bank Risk

EIFO

Ivo Habets

Senior Advisor Products and International Relations

ATRADIUS DSB

 17:00-17:05

Chair’s Closing Remarks

Pekka Karkovirta

Vice President, International Relations

FINNVERA

Jan-Philipp Apking

Head of Division Underwriting & Risk Management

EULER HERMES
TUE: ST Download meeting agenda

 Tuesday 15th October: ST Committee Meeting

 09:00-09:15

Chair's and Vice Chair's Opening Remarks, Matters Arising

Katarzyna Kowalska

Vice President

KUKE

Jean-Paul Steenbeke

Deputy General Manager

Credendo

 09:15-10:30

ST Business Trends and Member discussion

H1 2024 ST business trends

Arturs Karlsons

Associate Director

berne union

Members' survey and discussions

Jean-Paul Steenbeke

Deputy General Manager

Credendo

 10:30-11:00

Break

 11:00-11:50

Where we are in the credit cycle and modern technology in credit risk assessment

Keynote presentation by Professor E.Altman, the leading expert in credit and debt. He is the creator of the Altman Z-Score, developed initially to predict bankruptcy probabilities

Dr. Edward Altman

Professor Emeritus

New York university's stern school of business

 11:50-13:10

Credit assessment agencies: perspectives and challenges

Presentation by credit information providers followed by a panel discussion

Tom Würfel

Director Solution Sales

dun & bradstreet

Matthieu Garnier

Group Information Services Director

coface business information services

Zheng ZHAO

Deputy General Manager of Trade Insurance Underwriting Dept.

SINOSURE

Julian Hudson

Global Head of Trade Credit

chubb

 13:10-14:30

Lunch

 14:30-15:30

Breakout sessions

Three parallel discussion streams focusing on products, innovation and regulation, led by Young Professionals of the industry

Product focus

A. ST single-risk transactions

Jakob Ringgaard Frederiksen

Senior Policy Advisor

eifo

Innovation focus

B. Digital transformation: Digitizing Processes vs. innovating your business model

Tim Hilbig

Innovation Manager

euler hermes

Regulation focus

C. Trade credit insurance market regulatory landscape

Daniel de Búrca

Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs

icisa

 15:30-16:00

Break

 16:00-17:00

Approaching fraud in insured transactions

Different approaches in terms of policy wording, claims handling by members when dealing with various forms of fraud in export transactions

David Cuckney

Director

icc commercial crime services

Ian Milne

Executive Director

monetago

Senarath Devendra

Chairman & Managing Director

slecic

Kenneth Tinsley

Chief Risk Officer and SVP-Office of Risk Management

us exim

 17:00-17:10

Elections

ST Committee Chair and Vice Chair elections

The Nominee for ST Committee Chair 

The Nominee for ST Committee Vice Chair

Jean-Paul Steenbeke 

Deputy General Manager

Credendo

Zheng ZHAO

Deputy General Manager of Trade Insurance Underwriting Dept.

SINOSURE

 17:10-17:15

Chair's closing remarks

Katarzyna Kowalska

Vice President

KUKE
WED: PLE Download meeting agenda

Wednesday 16th October: Plenary Meeting

09:00-09:10

Opening Remarks from the BU President

Maëlia Dufour

Chief International Officer Export Insurance, BPIFRANCE

BERNE UNION PRESIDENT

 09:10-10:30

Drivers of Global Trade Dynamics: A Trilateral Perspective

An economist, an academic, and two business leaders addressing critical questions on the strategies needed to navigate an increasingly interconnected and volatile economic and geopolitical landscape

Keynote

Ludovic Subran

Chief Economist

allianz

Ludovic Subran joins panel discussion and Q&A session with:

Prof. Dr. Patrik Köllner

Director

Giga institute for asian studies

Maíra Madrid

CEO

ABGF

H.E. Saad Alkhalb

CEO

saudi EXIM

Hendrik Holdefleiss

Head of International Relations & Analytics

Euler Hermes

 10:30-11:00

Refreshment and Networking Break

 11:00-11:45

Enhancing Cooperation with DFIs

How BU members can collaborate with the DFIs to more effectively tackle finance gaps for sustainable economic growth in developing and emerging markets. Presentation of working group and joint study between the BU and FiCS

Arthur Pataud

Global Affairs Advisor

Finance in common (FICS)

Irene Visser

Head of Strategy & International Relations

atradius dsb

Franciscus Linden

Head of Reinsurance

MIGA

Benjamin Mugisha

Chief Underwriting Officer

ATIDI

Max Magor Ndiaye

Senior Director, Syndication, Africa Investment Forum and Client Solutions

Africa Development Bank

Paul Heaney

Secretary General

Berne Union

 11:45-12:30

Managing stakeholder communication for post-issue project success

Session exploring what happens after a deal reaches financial closure and how the involved stakeholders need to continue collaborating effectively to ensure the successful delivery of the project

Sebastian Hofert von Weiss

Partner

EY-AHB Alliance

Thierry Eisenstein

Export Finance and Agency head

bouygues

Faruq Muhammad

Global Head of Structured Export Finance

standard chartered bank

Tina Rosenbaum

Head of Strategic Initiatives & Public Relations

SERV Swiss Export Risk Insurance

 12:30-14:00

Lunch

 14:00-14:30

Keynote

How to pursue seemingly impossible goals

Monika Sattler

record-holding cyclist, author and TEDx speaker

Monika Sattler is a highly-regarded mindset coach, two-time cycling record holder, author and TEDx speaker. She has created her own success model that is based on the six key factors to success. She works with individuals, leaders and teams on how to set and pursue even the most seemingly impossible goals. Why and how that is possible

 14:30-15:05

Intergenerational Collaboration: Young Professionals and Senior Leaders engage

Young Professionals’ Q&A session with senior leaders - Role reversal: How would the YPs lead? How would the leaders learn?

Bert Bruning

Managing Director

ATRADIUS DSB

Beatriz Reguero

COO State Account Business

CESCE

Ghalia El Kerouani

Political Risk, Credit and Bond Analyst

axa xl

Herman Kamau

Senior Business Portfolio Officer

atidi

 15:05-15:25

President's Interview

Fireside chat with a senior leader of a BU Member focusing on organisational strategy and objectives

Maëlia Dufour

Chief International Officer Export Insurance, BPIFRANCE

BERNE UNION PRESIDENT

Rashed Alharoun

Director General

Dhaman

 15:25-15:50

Social Media Risk

Navigating risks and sharing best practice

Eske Vinther-Jensen

Founding Partner

COMMON CONSULTANCY

 15:50-16:10

Refreshment and networking break

BERNE UNION AFFAIRS

16:10-16:25

Presidential Platform

Maëlia Dufour

Chief International Officer Export Insurance, BPIFRANCE

berne union president

Benjamin Mugisha

Chief Underwriting Officer, ATIDI

BERNE UNION VICE PRESIDENT

16:25-17:05

Secretariat Updates

1. Membership updates

2. Initiatives updates

3. Budget 2025

Paul Heaney

Secretary General

Berne Union

Carla Senatore

Deputy Secretary General

Berne Union

17:05-17:20

Election of the President and Vice President
The nominated candidates for President and Vice President will present their Platform, before a vote among all members

The Nominee for President

Yuichiro Akita

General Manager, International and Strategic Policy

nexi

The Nominee for Vice President

Rafael Docavo-Malvezzi

Global Chief Underwriting Officer, Political Risk Credit and Bond

axa xl

17:20-17:30

Preview of Dubrovnik 2025

Hrvoje Čuvalo

President of the Management Board

hbor
THU: MLT Download meeting agenda

 Thursday 17th October: MLT Committee Meeting

 09:00-09:05

Welcome

 09:05-09:15

Chair’s Opening Remarks, Minutes, Matters Arising

Edith Quintrell

Director of Underwriting Development, Financial Risk Solutions 

Liberty specialty markets

Niek van der Beek

Head of Business Development

Atradius Dutch state Business n.v

 09:15-9:45

Data: MLT/PRI Business Trends

Secretariat presentation on new MLT and PRI business, sectoral and regional trends, finishing with a member-to-member discussion.

Emily Kate Gray

MLT Committee Manager

Berne union

 9:45-11:00

Tour de Table

Traditional member’s roundtable where each member will be given two-minutes to mention any key changes affecting business and product developments. As organizational developments are captured in the Business Performance Survey, members are asked to only comment on key business changes. Members may choose not to comment if they have nothing new to report.

Edith Quintrell

Director of Underwriting Development, Financial Risk Solutions 

Liberty specialty markets

 11:00-11:15

Break

 11:15-12:30

Assessing the Impact of Climate Risk on Credit and Political Risk

This panel will look at how members consider climate risks in their underwriting and pricing of credit and political risk.

Steve Kidd

Director of Quantitative Solutions

Moody’s

Philipp Mettenheimer

Partner, Finance and Risk, Climate and Sustainability

Oliver Wyman

Karin Wessman

Head of Sustainability

EKN

 12:30-13:45

Lunch

 13:45-15:00

Public and Private Collaboration

This panel will explore the current state of Private and Public collaboration starting with ‘why’ and ‘when’ to collaborate and will dig into current bottlenecks preventing collaboration.

Andrew Johnstone

CEO 

Climate Fund managers

Huw Owen

Global Head - Financial Risk Solutions

Liberty specialty markets

Yuichiro Akita

General Manager of International and Strategic Policy

NEXI

Lotfi Zairi

Associate Manager (Operations, Sovereign Risks)

ICIEC

Bessem Soua

Division Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa & Europe

ICIEC

 15:00-15:45

Breakout Sessions

a. Securitizations and Portfolio Cover

Lila Granda

Senior Risk Manager

Vantage

Jamie Brache

VP and Senior Underwriter at Vantage Risk

Vantage

b. Critical Minerals

Caroline Healy

Deputy Director, International Relations

UKEF

Tim Moore

General Manager, Strategic Transactions and Operations

Export Finance Australia

c. Carbon Credits

Ronan Carr

Lead Analytical Officer

BeZero Carbon

 15:45 -16:15

Break

 16:15-16:30

Breakout session report back

Each breakout session will designate one member to provide a five-minute report back on what was discussed and key takeaways.

 16:30-17:15

Claims and Pre-Claim Concerns

Secretariat presentation on new MLT and PRI claims and recoveries, finishing with a member-to-member discussion on current claim and pre-claim concerns.

Emily Kate Gray

MLT Committee Manager

Berne union

 17:15-17:30

Any Other Business and Closing Remarks

MLT Chair and Vice-Chair elections.

THU: PC Download meeting agenda

Thursday 17th October: PC Committee Meeting

 09:00-09:10

Chairs' Opening Remarks, Matters Arising

Khalil Al Harty

CEO, PCC Chair

CREDIT OMAN

Amal Jaradat

Deputy Director General, PCC Vice Chair

JLGC

 09:10-09:40

H1 2024 PCC Business Trends 

Secretariat presentation on member data - focus on claims and recoveries

Lewis Evans

Junior Economic Research Analyst

BERNE UNION

 09:40-10:30

Tour de Table 

Members report - focus on new products, economic impact, green initiatives

Amal Jaradat

Deputy Director General, PCC Vice Chair

JLGC

 10:30-11:00

Break

 11:00-12:00

Economic Development and Impact Assessment of ECAs

Presentations followed by members discussing how they support economic diversification and growth in their countries and assess impact

Tracey Kewell

Deputy Head International Relations

UKEF

Haitham Al Khazaleh

Director of Risk Management

ECI

Eve Hall

Associate Director

Berne union

 12:00-13:00

Breakout Sessions

A. Focus on ST Products

Covering a menue of product structures (including pre-shipment cover), policies, premium pricing, minimum premium rates, underwriting and risk assessment – what are the best examples / case studies among PCC Members

Galabin Galabov / Boyka Vassileva

Executive Director

BAEZ

Danilo Ćirković

Executive Director for Insurance

AOFI

B. Focus on MLT Products

Parallel session focusing on MLT product successes

Ante Alić

Guarantees Department Managing Director

HBOR

Herman Kamau

Senior Business Portfolio Officer

ATIDI

Jan Mraz

Deputy Director, International Relations Department

EGAP

 13:00-14:15

Lunch

 14:15-15:15

Regulation: Impact on Risk and Policy Wording for Credit Insurers

Focus on banking regulation and other regulatory aspects that are having an impact on insurance policy wording

André Python

Divisional Senior Vice President & Chief Underwriting Officer

fcia

 15:15-15:45

Break

 15:45-16:45

Banking Relationships and Practical Cooperation with ECAs via Trade Related SME Initiatives

The SME Finance Forum is the world's centre for knowledge exchange, solution building and public-private dialogue on financial inclusion, at the nexus of sustainability, climate change, digital and trade transitions. It is a network of more than 250 members and partners - financial institutions, fintech firms, development institutions and a diverse range of other institutions active in SME financing, such as ecommerce marketplaces, large buyers, large sellers, working capital platforms and more. The SME Finance Forum is managed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Qamar Saleem

Global Head

SME Finance Forum (managed by IFC)

 16:45 - 16:50

Rotating Member of the PCC on the BU Management Committee

Presentation followed by PCC vote 

Signe Rähesoo

CEO

KREDEX

 16:50-17:00

Closing Remarks

Khalil Al Harthy

CEO, PCC Chair

CREDITOMAN

Eve Hall

Associate Director

Berne Union