In Praise of Meeting in Person
Monday, June 14, was an important date for us, for it marked our first in-person event since the start of the pandemic. Our Expat CEO Boardroom series launch was intimate rather than large-scale, but that was exactly as we planned it. It was a chance to meet over a specially prepared breakfast with a dozen or so of our most significant partners from the BBJ Expat CEO of the Year awards and gala. The venue was the magnificently elegant surroundings of the Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, before it had even opened to the public.
The very act of entering a room containing other people, of shaking hands or bumping fists with partners we have only seen in their parallel universe Zoom form (other video meeting service providers are available) was truly something to savor.
We wanted to tick off several items on our to-do list that morning, but none were more important than announcing the date of our 2021 Expat CEO gala. Originally due to be held in late January, it will now take place on Friday, September 24, in its usual venue, the Grand Ballroom of the Corinthia Hotel Budapest.
We also brought our partners up to date with some of our recent news. Despite the challenging economic environment triggered by the fight against COVID-19, we have already launched two new titles this year (Top Legal Executives and Top Healthcare Executives), with a third under preparation (Top Real Estate Executives). All three are sister titles of the annual Top Expat CEOs in Hungary magazine, which will be published for the third time this year to coincide with the gala in September. Collectively, they, the award, the gala, and the new Expat CEO Boardroom are part of the glue we provide that helps bind this business leaders’ community together.
We also wanted to draw attention to a project we gave a soft launch to last year: Support the Budapest Business Journal. The idea of this is to provide our readers with a direct opportunity to support our journalism at three different levels, a form of crowdfunding if you like. It is a model that is being increasingly widely adopted by media outlets internationally, though we believe we are one of the first to have brought it to Hungary,
If you are interested in knowing more, you can find plenty of information about the Support the Budapest Business Journal program on our website (bbj.hu or budapestbusinessjournal.com); simply look for the Support BBJ button on the top lefthand corner of the menu bar.
Budapest was beginning to feel busier even before the Chain Bridge was closed on June 16 for 18 months for much-needed (and long overdue) renovations. Now the congestion is really going to start to kick in. But never mind that; Budapest is coming back to life, and so is the economy. I look forward to celebrating those facts, and possibly even some summer travel, with many of you at the Top Expat CEO Gala on September 24.
Robin Marshall
Editor-in-chief
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of June 18, 2021.
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SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
