Sincere thanks to our Sponsor, Ducroire Delcredere, for our Monday Evening Networking Dinner

7.00-8.00pm

FCIB Sunday Evening Welcome Reception

Our Welcome Reception sets the tone of our conferences. Join fellow attendees, FCIB members, Guests, Speakers and Panellists as we meet and greet each other for an informal hour of drinks and canapés in a relaxed setting!

Monday

8.45-10.00am

Keynote Speech

Ducroire Delcredere SA.NV – Country Risk Report

What does the world map of future export trade look like? The troubles of recent years have not yet passed and we continue to trade in difficult times. Assessing risk will remain challenging for export credit managers. Our keynote speaker will take us on a world tour and give an updated view on where we currently stand mid-way through 2012 and beyond!

Speaker: Ben Deboeck, Country and Sector Risk Co-ordinator, Ducroire Delcredere, Belgium

10.00-10.30am

Coffee and Networking Sponsored by KSI

10.30am-12.00pm

Egypt, One Year On: How Has the Arab Spring of 2011 Impacted Trade in the Middle East?

In this session you will hear from senior executives who have a wealth and breadth of experience on trade and investment in the region.

Moderator: Martine Zimmermann, Credit Manager, CEMAI Region,  F. Hoffmann La Roche, Switzerland

Speakers:

Mahan Bolourchi, Risk Director, Euler Hermes, Dubai

Wolrad Claudy, Sales/Marketing Executive, Frankfurt, Germany

Ferda Efe, Senior Director, MENA Region and Central Asia, Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Istanbul Turkey

Giovanni Lissi, Area sales Manager, MENA region, Innospec Limited, Italy

Antoun Massaad, Managing Director, Cedar Rose International, Cyprus

12.00-12.30pm

Islamic Banking Laws

There are many instances of companies making classic mistakes when dealing with Islamic banking institutions. This 30-minute session will be delivered by an expert and deal with specific elements of Islamic banking law which underpin the fundamentals of Islamic finance.

Speaker:

Dr Salman Khan, Head of Shari’ah Office (Dubai), GCC-based Islamic Bank, Dubai, UAE

12.30-12.45pm

Update on the EU-Directive on Late Payments:

On 24 January 2011, the Council of the European Union adopted, following agreement with the European Parliament, the new Late Payment Directive. The EU Directive on late payments - 2011/7/EU - is scheduled to be transposed into National Law with effect from March 2011. The directive is set to significantly tighten the rules on late payment in commercial transactions. This overview will highlight the main elements incorporated within the new directive.

Speaker:

Barbara Brenner, Lawyer, KSI International, Bonn, Germany

12.45-2.00pm

Lunch and Networking

Monday Afternoon – Concurrent Interactive Streams (x 2)

Securing Business during the continued Economic crisis/ Streamlining Credit Processes

This session will examine how streamlining of credit processes has an impact on business performance. Given the challenges caused by the economic crisis and globalization, credit managers continuously need to review their processes to adapt to current requirements. Structured processes and automation can help optimize day-to-day business operations in credit management and provide more room for strategic thinking.

Join this session to learn about the latest developments in credit management process design, credit rating systems and software technology – and how you as a credit manager can leverage this for your organisation.

Moderator: Dr. Michael Sauter, Managing Director, GUARDEAN GmbH, Germany

Panelists:

Key Performance Indicators–

A comparison within countries/regions with an analysis of several countries as well as payment experience

With global economic uncertainty still continuing to cause concerns for the Credit Manager/CFO and the need to cut costs and improve efficiency, more multi-nationals are using KPIs to benchmark. But how do you benchmark and how do you decide which KPIs are important to measuring performance within the credit department?

Join us in this session when our speaker will examine specific KPIs in relation to DSO, Bad Debt Write-off, Dispute Resolution Process and many other factors inherent in real-time benchmarking.

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Matthias Schumann, Professor of Business Information Systems at the Georg-August University of Goettingen

3.00-3.30pm

Coffee and Networking

3.30-5.00pm

Open Forum Q & A Session

Getting answers to questions on credit-related and country specific topics is the primary aim of this very interactive and thought-provoking session.

Topics as diverse as the current trading conditions in the Middle East to handling new systems implementation are pored over and addressed by the FCIB panel of experts drawn from our membership.

Moderator:

Panellists:

Dariusz Lachowski,  Senior Manager Customer Finance, Amgen Europe B.V. Netherlands

Katarzyna Wawro,  Credit and Collection Manager, Hitachi Data Systems (Polska) Sp. Z.o.o. Poland

Michael Andreasen, ICCE, Corporate Working Capital Process Manager, TNT Express, Netherlands

Geert Scheepmans,  CICP, Credit & Risk Analyst, Tessenderlo Chemie SA Belgium

Raul Davila,  International Credit Manager, Bamberger Polymers, Inc., U.S.A

5.00-5.15pm

Member Updates

7.30-10.30pm

Monday Evening Dinner

Tuesday

8.45- 10.30am

Political and Sovereign Risk

What is understood by Political and Sovereign risk? How can global corporates protect their A/R? How do we forecast? Given the recent developments around the Middle East and beyond, the probability of loss from political risk has increased substantially. Both lenders and investors want indemnification while companies require products that can be upgraded to match rising/growing risks. Join our Panel of Experts as we conduct an in-depth look at some of the political risk facing you and your overseas customers.

Moderator:

Jane Johnson, Director, Special Products Northern Europe and Asia Pacific, Atradius

Panelist:

Silvina Aldeco-Martinez, Managing Director, Product and Market Development, S&P Capital IQ, London, United Kingdom

Bjoern H. Bucher, Group Credit Manager, Freudenberg & Co. KG, Germany

Andrew van den Born, Executive Director, Willis Group Holdings Plc, London, United Kingdom

10.30-11.00am

Coffee and Networking

11.00am-12.00pm

The 30 Classic Mistakes Made by Management during an Uncertain Economy and the Seven “Deadly” Sins of Management

Given the environment in which we all operate today, more and more jobs are under threat and decision-making processes are continually under review to meet constant demands and new expectations. How can corporates avoid making classic mistakes when it comes to placing staff in key positions? Join in this thought-provoking session from expert global recruiters, Robert Half International.

Sven Hennige, Managing Director, Central Europe, Robert Half International, Germany

Kathrin Peters, Director, Robert Half International, Germany

12.00pm

Lunch and Closing of FCIB Spring Conference

1.00-3.00pm

FCIB Credit Industry Group Meetings