Graeme Parrott, Sales & Marketing Director, Wright Hassall
MIPIM 2019 was my first – and, after many years hearing about the event, it was interesting to see it first-hand and to dispel a few of the myths.
Wright Hassall has been attending MIPIM for three years as part of the Coventry & Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership and we head south for several reasons.
While we work across the UK, we are firmly rooted in the region and we feel it is important to support the area in its ambitions and aspirations.
We choose who we take carefully. Our managing partner Sarah Perry attends to ensure that we link at the right level both with members of the delegation but also with any potential clients we might meet.
Having the person who leads our organisation is a sign of commitment to our presence at MIPIM.
We take a property lawyer with us for obvious reasons as well as a lawyer who works in finance and funding.
While they are clearly very capable in their own fields, they are also good with people and that is a key ingredient because when you strip everything away, MIPIM is a people event. You meet people, mix with people and – hopefully – do business with people.
It was also fascinating to see how different cities and regions approach the event.
Coventry & Warwickshire has had a very long-term presence at MIPIM and pioneered the partnership approach where partners contribute to help the area, and that experience shows.
The business lounge it creates is a great place to meet people either for diarised meetings or ad hoc encounters – which often prove to be really valuable.
The Palais and the Midlands Pavilion are very busy and it is vital to have a space where you can have a formal meeting.
People might wonder why you would go to the South of France to meet people who might be relatively local back home.
Firstly, you can get to see them very easily but also you tend to get to know them as people rather than just as contacts, because the partnership does engender a good team spirit and, while you represent your own interests, there is the common goal of ensuring the region is well represented.
Coventry & Warwickshire has a good story to tell – and hopefully that will lead to further investment from home and abroad.