ONE-ON-ONE
The regulator’s perspective: Ben Haden TAKING A BREAK FROM THE BUSY ROME CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER, BEN HADEN , PRESIDENT OF IAGR, FOUND A QUIET MOMENT TO SIT DOWN WITH EDITOR-IN CHIEF SIMON PLANZER , REFLECTING ON KEY ASPECTS FOR REGULATORS GLOBALLY AND ON HIS ORGANISATION’S PARTNERSHIP WITH IMGL.
Simon Planzer: We’ve all been in Rome now for three or four days. Has the conference met your expectations? Ben Haden: Without a doubt. We were hoping for a strong turnout, but we’ve had an amazing response with over 480 people. That is the first time I’ve seen a sellout at a conference like this. So, from that point of view, it’s been remarkable. But even more important is the diversity of people we have. You’ve got a brilliant range of jurisdictions, countries, skills, and experience. You can genuinely see people engaging with the topics on the program. People have really got into it, and that’s what we were after. SP: The audience this time seems to be very international, with many more attendees from outside North America and Europe. Would you agree? BH: Yes. You can see, for example, the increasing importance of regulation in Africa by the number of colleagues that have
come from there. We’re lucky with IAGR that we usually draw a global crowd. But if you look at the number of continents represented, we’ve got someone from practically everywhere. There are a couple of reasons for that: this has become an important time for regulators to meet. It’s a regular slot in the calendar where IAGR members know they come and be with their tribe, as I describe it. But this year, with the collaboration with IMGL, we’ve had a more expansive program. There is definitely something here for everyone, and I think you can see that in the number of side meetings happening in the breakout areas, the meeting rooms or just in the corridors. You see conversations happening all the time with a good range of people who are really keen to engage and talk about the challenges we’re all experiencing. SP: That’s an excellent segue into my next question. From your conversations with regulators around the world, what are the common challenges they are facing?
PAGE 12
IMGL MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2024
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker