Global Leaders Forum: 'The session made it clear that the end of the economic gloom was nowhere in sight'

We took a chance with our conference this year and trialled a new format based around interaction with the audience. We know you get tired of being declaimed at from a distant stage, so we wanted to do something different. This year, we chose three themes and arranged three debates, with questions from the audience and an audience voting system.

The first session - on rates and market strategy - made it clear that the end of the economic gloom was nowhere in sight. Chief executives Martin South of Marsh, Michael Casella of Chubb, Ray Cox of Brit and Andrew McKee of Mitsui told us in no uncertain terms: business as usual is not an option.

There were further uncompromising messages from our second panel, who discussed London’s position as a global insurance centre and the factors influencing the global movement of capital. Alterra’s Marty Becker, Endurance founder Ken LeStrange, Hyperion’s David Howden and the Lloyd’s Market Association’s David Gittings agreed London was coming under pressure because of its tax position, though all praised the continued significance of Lloyd’s.

Finally, we turned to the thorny issue of regulation. In a debate between rogue trader Nick Leeson, HBOS whistleblower Paul Moore, Groupama boss François-Xavier Boisseau and compliance consultant Branko Bjelobaba, the failings of global regulators were starkly highlighted.

It was a different kind of conference, and an extremely thought-provoking day. Your feedback has been amazing - and we will continue to listen.