Executive Roundtable in Finance

A panel puts three to five speakers on a stage in front of an audience, and the audience mostly listens. A roundtable has no stage: the guests are the speakers, and the moderator's job is to bring each of them in. A panel suits a launch or a conference slot where reach counts. A roundtable suits a question where the guests know more than any speaker would, and where the host wants to hear what buyers think.

Start with the question, phrased so that the guests disagree on the answer. Invite by role and seniority, and keep vendors to the host and perhaps one expert. A moderator who knows the field and is not selling keeps the talk open. Many roundtables run under the Chatham House Rule: participants may use the information received, but may not reveal the identity or affiliation of the speaker or any other participant. Say so in the invitation, and agree in advance what a summary may contain.

When the guests work for competing banks, competition law sets a limit. The European Commission's guidelines on horizontal cooperation treat the exchange of commercially sensitive information between competitors, such as planned prices or strategies, as a risk under Article 101 of the EU Treaty. The moderator should keep commercially sensitive pricing and strategy information out of the discussion, including when the main subject is regulation.

The Chatham House Rule allows participants to use information from the discussion without identifying anyone who attended. Chatham House states that the rule is not legally binding and applies to social media: photos or posts must not identify participants. A host should agree on recording and publication before the discussion begins.

A hosted event is held on the host's behalf and in its look and feel, and the host decides format and speakers, so it can be a roundtable followed by a reception. Finance Loop provides the venue, staff, ticket checks and technology, can help invite the right guests, and offers options such as catering, a photographer or a video recording. The standard hosted event is set for about 100 to 150 professionals over two to three hours; for a smaller closed group, the setup is agreed with the team. Hosted events start at EUR 7,000 net.

Finance Loop runs events in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg on AI, digital assets, payments and compliance in finance. Partners can host their own roundtable or join a meetup as sponsor.

An executive roundtable is a small, moderated discussion among senior decision makers on one question, usually closed to press and audience. Each participant speaks, and the guests hear how peers at other firms handle the same problem.

Ten to twenty guests let every person speak in a two-hour session. With more guests, split into several tables with one moderator each and a short joint wrap-up.

A roundtable held over a seated dinner, usually in a private room. The moderator opens the question before the first course, and the talk runs through the meal. Finance Loop times its Frankfurt side events around conferences such as Sibos and the Crypto Assets Conference, which bring many of the right guests to the city.