Record attendance for CoreNet Global EMEA Summit (UK)

This year's CoreNet Global EMEA Summit closed this week with record delegate attendance, with around 500 senior corporate real estate professionals welcomed to London.

This year's attendance is the highest so far for an EMEA Summit, and exceeded the numbers attending previous Summit events held in London in 2007 and 2010. In addition, last year the record for attendance at a Summit held in continental Europe was also broken, with more than 400 delegates registered for the event in Paris.

In opening remarks during the first general session of the London Summit, Jim Scannell, Chairman of the Board and Angela Cain, CEO of CoreNet Global acknowledged the success of the London Summit, and noted that 2012 has so far also been one of the most successful years to date for the international membership organization. The global network of CRE professionals has seen membership growth of 8% since last year, bringing the total number of members to around 7,300 worldwide.

Highlights of this year's Summit, which has taken the theme 'RE-Imagine: Re-orient, Re-ignite, Re-invent' have included main stage presentations from Bill Benjamin, an expert in the cutting edge science of Emotional Intelligence, entitled 'Leadership 2.0: The Science behind Great Leaders'.

Benjamin's session examined the importance of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in creating effective business leaders. Notably, when Benjamin asked each table to identify the characteristics and qualities that make exceptional leaders – and those that made poor leaders – choosing from IQ, Technical Skills /Job Knowledge or Emotional Intelligence (EQ), the room agreed unanimously that it was emotional intelligence that made leaders great.

On day two, Angela Cain, CEO of CoreNet Global cautioned delegates that, "we all need to stay relevant in the connected world", before describing a digital landscape that has changed business forever, and a shift from individuals being consumers of information to contributors. This led into a session by Gina Schreck, President of Synapse Connecting, an interactive media and technology company, delivered a closing presentation entitled "Techno Shifts: How Technology Is Changing Work".

Schreck guided delegates through the key trends in social media for the workplace and how social media will shape work environment design and the tools needed to connect and share, cautioning that while there has been a massive change in the culture of how we work and collaborate, social networking is here to stay. "Social is the New Normal," concluded Schreck.

New elements at this year's summit have included live interactive polling via a Summit App, and the ReImagination breakout sessions – fast-paced interactive learning opportunities focused on key corporate real estate topics delivered by industry leaders, plus streams dedicated to new technology and social media.

The comprehensive program also saw presentations from Vodafone, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Unilever, Microsoft, Zurich and AstraZeneca, joining many other leading corporate real estate experts including service providers, academics, economic developers and consultants.

CBRE and Johnson Controls are Diamond sponsors of the London Summit, with Emerald sponsors Colliers International, Herman Miller, Jones Lang LaSalle, Regus and Steelcase. Ruby sponsors include Cushman & Wakefield, Interface and DTZ, with MIPIM (Reed MIDEM) a supporting organization.

Next year's CoreNet Global EMEA Summit will take place September 9-11, 2013 in Amsterdam.

Source: FTI Consulting

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