IPEM – Reflections on a successful year 1/2

AC: Our September edition of IPEM was a fantastic success. It’s not fake modesty to say that we were the first to be surprised. We were originally targeting 4,000 delegates. In the end, we had 5,200 delegates from 52 countries, making it the most international edition in IPEM’s history.

We enjoyed very strong attendance from our core markets – France, the UK and the rest of Europe – but also fantastic attendance from the US, which has become the third largest market for us. We had close to 100 GPs travelling from the US to Cannes, which was a big increase for us. If you compare it to previous editions, it was 60% growth compared to last year’s Paris event and 80% growth compared to the last event we did in Cannes in January 2020.

AC: Yes, we enjoyed a great mood and a fantastic atmosphere. I think it proved that the IPEM model is serving the industry well. We had 650 exhibiting firms. Our booth format made the event highly effective for everyone, especially LPs. It was also supported by the myIPEM platform, which connected delegates up to three months before the conference.

The weather was great too, which further added to the feel-good mood! It was great to be back in Cannes, nearly three years after our last edition. Not only was it the largest IPEM event we’ve ever had, I would go so far as to say it was probably the largest private market event that has ever taken place.

AC: The first takeaway is that there is something in Cannes that cannot be matched anywhere else. It is a fantastic destination and venue to host our event. Bringing everyone together in the private market ecosystem is something that cannot be easily replicated in London, Paris, or New York.

The venue allows for fast, effective networking from early morning till late at night. This fosters connections in a way you cannot do anywhere else. So Cannes is special, it is part of the IPEM DNA, and I think European delegates have a bit of a love affair with the place! Pitching or engaging with your business contacts with the Mediterranean in the background, being able to socialize with them over a cocktail…that really creates bonds within the private markets community.

The second takeaway I would refer to is that this is now the second time in two years we’ve hosted IPEM in September thanks to COVID. And the feedback we’ve received from delegates is this is a good time of year for the industry to connect after the summer break.

This is similar to why we originally hosted IPEM at the end of January – it is a time when the industry is not yet in full-steam mode and has a need to connect and share views: whether this is for the year ahead, or for the year-end. Both are good times of year and work well with the fundraising cycle. Typically, in September LPs prepare their budgets and in January they start deploying capital.

A third takeaway I would refer to is that COVID has proven that in-person events are probably the best way to connect private markets. This is a people business that relies a lot on connections, on introductions, on trust, and face-to-face meetings. Even though the industry has moved, to a large extent, to digital tools such as Zoom calls etc., it still relies a lot and expects a lot, from events. COVID has meant everyone has needed to adapt to the new environment, and how they handle and manage their businesses, but events still play a big role in our industry. September’s event reminded us all of that.

AC: As event organizers with the ambition to build not only successful events but also a great community, there are a few challenges to focus on.

One is internationalization.

IPEM started life in France, the largest private equity market in continental Europe. It then expanded into the largest European hub for private equity. More than 60% of all funds raised in Europe in the last 5 years were at IPEM. Our representation in the European market is therefore significant. That being said, we still only cover 30% of the global market.

To continue our journey, it’s important to always bring more international GPs, LPs and help the industry grow. That means not only bringing together global platforms, such as the Ardians, Blackstones and Apollos of the world, but also making sure the whole world of private equity connects. Internationalization is a big ambition and a big challenge for IPEM over the next couple of years.

A second challenge for us is to consider the environmental and climate impact of large-scale events. We want to engage with the private markets industry and for IPEM to be a leader in this. It is both a challenge and an ambition.

This year we rolled out the IPEM Going Green initiative. We’ve conducted our carbon footprint assessment and for September’s event we chartered a train from Paris to Cannes (the “Croisette Express”) – which we will also be running in January – to help as many people as possible get to Cannes without having to fly.

We believe that a large-scale event like IPEM can be effective, in many aspects, from an environmental perspective because you don’t have to travel to different cities across Europe. Instead, you can meet the same people all in one place. Certainly, the ESG aspect is an area we will continue to keep our eye on as we grow IPEM.

Our ambition is not only to become the largest and biggest event in industry but also the greenest. It’s a step-by-step process to becoming carbon neutral. My approach is first to assess, mitigate and then take clear and bold action. We are very serious about it.

The third and final challenge relates to digitalization. We have an in-house development team who’ve built the myIPEM application. We are now ready to go a step further, so that myIPEM is not only a useful solution for delegates as they prepare to attend our event but also allows our community to connect with one another throughout the year. This enhanced digital solution should also help connect those who are not able to attend one of our events in person.

So those are the three big challenges and ambitions that we are focused on: internationalization, sustainability, and digitalization. We want to make IPEM the most climate-aware, sustainable private markets event, and build an international community that can stay digitally connected all year round.