In-person GEF resumes
The Greenwich Economic Forum will resume in-person programming later this year, with its 2021 conference including a full day of speakers on Sept. 21 at the Greenwich Delamar hotel.
GREENWICH — In its first two years, the Greenwich Economic Forum’s annual conference was held at the Greenwich Delamar hotel. Last year, it switched to an all-online format in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year, it will combine the two models.
The GEF’s founders announced this week that the 2021 conference will be held Sept. 21-23, with its first day of programs taking place at the Greenwich Delamar. The organizers also confirmed that Ray Dalio, the founder of Westport based Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, will return for another speaking appearance at one of the premier gatherings of leaders in financial services and other major sectors.
“It’s been a long past 15 months, and our sense is that members of the Greenwich Economic Forum community are eager to convene in person again,” said GEF co-founder and co-chairman James Aiello. “And so we have structured the 2021 conference on Sept 21-23 to have a meaningful amount of time at our traditional venue again, the Delamar hotel here in Greenwich, while also having a significant amount of time for our international audience and speakers via a digital format to also participate.”
Dalio, a Greenwich resident, spoke at each of the first three GEF conferences. He was not immediately available to comment on his participation in this year’s event.
Resuming a partnership that underpinned the 2019 gathering, the Financial Times’ events team has been hired to produce this year’s conference in partnership with the Greenwich Business Institute, the entity that owns and operates the Greenwich Economic Forum.
“We don’t want this to be perceived as a regional event. We want this to be perceived the way (the World Economic Forum conference in) Davos is perceived, which is that it’s an
event happening in Greenwich — but it’s Greenwich welcoming the world to participate with us,” said GEF co-founder and co-chairman Bruce McGuire. “Last year really helped us to push that messaging and attract a much wider, global audience.”
Aiello also cited his satisfaction with the impact of last year’s event.
“The pandemic forced us to have a 100 percent digital conference in November of last year that we did in partnership with The Economist, and we were able to have over 1,500 people participate from 86 countries, which is incredible,” Aiello said. “This is almost four times the number we can fit into the Delamar hotel and obviously also far greater international representation than we would normally achieve. So our plan is to have the benefits of both formats this year and, we think, probably going forward as well.”
Headline speakers at the 2020 GEF conference included Dalio; Annie Lamont, co-founder and managing partner of Greenwich-based venture capital firm Oak HC/FT; and former PepsiCo CEO and chairman Indra Nooyi, who is now an Amazon board member.
“Truly world-class speakers and industry leaders gather for the Greenwich Economic Forum, and I look forward to participating again in future events,” Lamont said. “With its location in Greenwich and its proximity to New York City and the world’s leading financial institutions, the Forum is uniquely positioned to curate conversations on the defining issue of our time, particularly those affecting the future of health care and financial technology.”
Town officials are also looking forward to the conference’s return to the Delamar.
“The conference grows each year, and it really puts Greenwich on the map when it comes to economic forums,” said Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo. “I salute Bruce McGuire and Jim Aiello for all the work they do with this each year and hope that we, on the town side, can be a partner in promoting this for them.”