Thomas’s Take – September 2021

Now that summer is slowly drawing to a close, I hope that you all had the opportunity to take some time away to refresh and reflect from the daily grind of the last few months/year.

September is when XTEND holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM), the opportunity for the Chair and Committee to report on the past year’s activities and seek/suggest a plan for the year ahead.

If there is a single positive out of the past few months, it is that with our Zoom and Remo on-line sessions, members who live away from London and even abroad have been able to participate at various talks.

After 18 months or so of Covid related lockdowns it is still difficult, even with the proverbial crystal ball, to know when or whether we might finally be able to return to in-person monthly gatherings and networking.

The best hope to my mind is to attempt/adopt a hybrid method alternating between online and in person meetings. So the AGM this coming Tuesday 14 will take place online, with a networking session to follow to enable you all to air your views, give your thoughts and suggest your wishes for 2021/22. Although the AGM is primarily for members you are welcome to join. You can book on this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMuceqtpj4rH9R7S3igAgrZLAZfp5gKCWHq

In the meantime, we plan to have the following sessions:

In October (week 41), ahead of COP 26, a talk by fellow member Philippe Belot on “Green Financing”;
In November (week 46), tbc – a talk by fellow member Andrew Wainstein on “Lessons from Three Decades in the Hotseat”;
In December (week 50), if possible our Christmas drinks.

In the last few months, we have tested the relaunch of both the NED Special Interest Group – under Sue Milton’s aegis – and the Interim Special Interest Group – with Martin Knowles taking the lead.

During discussions I have had with several of you, I have taken good note to move away from Tuesday meetings only and revert to alternating from Mondays to Thursdays as we used to.

Please let me have your thoughts and suggestions on taking XTEND forward for another year – before or at the AGM as we all get out of XTEND what we each contribute to it.

See you all soon,

Thomas

Thomas Saltiel
XTEND Chair