Day 1 in Bucharest: the IGAL board meets before the network arrives

On Wednesday morning, while the first members and their guests were out discovering Bucharest, the IGAL Board was sitting around a meeting table. It is how every Annual General Meeting begins, and for good reason.

A fixture of every AGM and mid-term meeting

Each time the network gathers, at the Annual General Meeting in the autumn and at the mid-term meeting during the year, the Board meets first. Before the business day, before the social programme, before the general meeting itself, the people responsible for running IGAL take a morning to work together in the same room.

Bucharest was no exception. The full Board met on Wednesday 28 October at the Hotel Marmorosch, the day after the early-arrival dinner and a few hours before the welcome reception.

All year on screen, in person when it counts

The Board does not wait for the AGM to do its work. It meets regularly throughout the year, often by video, which keeps decisions moving between members spread across several countries and time zones. When it meets in person outside the big network events, it has mostly been in Paris in recent years.

That rhythm works. It lets the Board handle day-to-day questions quickly, without asking anyone to board a plane for every decision.

Why the table still matters

Some subjects need more than a video call. How the network is steered, where and how it should grow, and how it is organised to serve its member firms are questions that benefit from a long morning, a shared table and the chance to argue a point properly. Those are the conversations the Board keeps for its in-person meetings.

Wednesday's meeting also comes a few days before members gather on Saturday for the Annual General Meeting, where they will hear updates on the next meetings in Brussels and Montreal in 2027.

For a network of independent law and accounting firms, this matters more than it might seem. Members do not give up their independence by joining IGAL, and they expect the network to be run carefully, transparently and with their interests in mind. A Board that makes the effort to meet in person is part of how that trust is kept.

Who sits around the table

IGAL's officers come from four countries: Pim J.E.M. Nuiten (Netherlands), President; Clément Raingeard (France), Vice-President; Jens Kunkel (Germany), Treasurer; and Daniel Camilleri (Malta), Secretary. Together with the rest of the Board, they are responsible for the network's direction between general meetings.

Meanwhile, in Bucharest

While the Board was at work, members and accompanying guests already in town had the morning to themselves. Bucharest rewards a slow walk: the Belle Époque façades of Calea Victoriei, the Romanian Athenaeum, the courtyards and cafés of the Old Town. The afternoon is left free for everyone, Board members included, to explore the city at their own pace.

Tonight, the network comes together

The next chapter opens this evening. The welcome cocktail and welcome dinner, held at the Hotel Marmorosch, bring delegates and accompanying guests together as one group for the first time this week. For many, it is the moment the AGM really begins.

Thursday is the business day (see Episode 02 for the programme), followed by the social day at Singureni Manor on Friday and the Annual General Meeting and Gatsby gala dinner on Saturday. We will be sharing the week as it happens on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Thinking about joining?

If you lead an independent law or accounting firm and are considering an international network, ask how it is run and who is accountable for it. At IGAL, the answer is a Board that meets all year and sits down together whenever the network does. Find out more on our Become a Member page, or write to us at contact@igal-network.com.