YPO GOLD EUROCHAPTER INC

The Chapter's May program was held in Norway. The members turnout was strong. The biennial Investment Forum was held. The US imposed tariffs were the main topic of discussion. Most member's businesses were unaffected since most of the attendees are from countries other than the US. However, the secondary ramifications of the tariffs were expected to have effects on many. Most were thoughtful but some were indignant. The evening speaker was Ketil Solvik Olsen, former deputy Leader of the Norwegian Progress Party, former minister of Transport and Communications. His presentation was an overview of Norway and Norwegians. The ensuing discussion centered around how the Norwegians had the collective political (spending) restraint to create the world's largest per capita sovereign wealth fund by far. Also, how most surveys find Norwegians to be the happiest people in the world. Day two began with a presentation from Annette Aksdal, the Lead Advisor in the Financial Reporting Team in Norges Bank, the entity controlling the sovereign wealth fund. Her presentation was about how the fund is managed and how the various investments are chosen. The fund results have been quite spectacular and the success of the process is evident. The afternoon presentation was by Vebjorn Sand, a Norwegian artist who created an outdoor art project dedicated to democracy, the rule of law, and humanism. Members found it to be quite compelling. Finally, the day's last speaker was Dr. Asle Toje, Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. HIs presentation sparked some interesting reactions from some as he outlined Alfred Nobel's history and aims. The next day contained visits to the National Museum, Oslo Opera House, Nobel Peace Center, and Munch Museum. Sunday was a travel day from Oslo to Bergen via train and boat with an interim stop at a woman owned and operated distillery. The owner regaled us with her stories about starting and operating the distillery, which is named "The Powerful All Women Whiskey and Gin Destillery". For the Norway event, since most of the event fees were paid in 2024, the total event fees were $352,257 and expense was $340,862.

The September program was held in Antwerp and Ghent, Belgium. The Global Investment Forum Meeting followed a different format. The group was subdivided into 8 groups of 8, who individually discussed a list of questions and then designated one person to present the summary of their thoughts to the entire group. The questions included "how was your business affected by tariffs", "have you made any consequential reallocations of your investment portfolio and if so why", and "what is future economic growth likely to be in your country". With the diversity of countries and businesses involved, the responses were fascinating. Friday's presentations and speakers focused on small businesses unique to Antwerp. First off was the CEO of The Chocolate Line because Belgium is quite famous for chocolate. Next was a taste of the fashion industry which is highly developed in Antwerp. CEO of Atelier Essentiel, Inge Onsia gave a fascinating description and demonstration of the product development process. Next was a visit to the KMSKA Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp where trustee Nico Van Hout described the museum collection which focuses on modern art pioneers and revolutionary art. After Nico's presentation, Jacky Tache, the founding partner of TPY Capital and Tache Diamonds spoke on "Antwerp as the Diamond Capital of the World- But is the diamond industry on the decline?". Apparently the traditional diamond industry is being subverted by the artificial diamonds which even experts have a difficult time determining if a diamond is natural or manufactured. This was followed by a visit to the Museum Plantin-Moretus, the only museum in the world to be inscribed in the UNESCO world heritage list. The group then headed to the Antwerp port where we were welcomed by Jphan Klaps, the Vice-Mayor for the Port and Economy of the City of Antwerp, and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. He described the success of the smaller port in competition with Rotterdam, not far away, and one of the largest ports in the world. Next was a lecture by Ine Van Wymersch, the Magistrate Drug Commissioner of Antwerp. Like most cities, Antwerp has a significant drug problem. On Saturday, the Chapter meeting was conducted and future events were discussed and marketed. The first visit was to the Red Star Line which provided the transport for the many Europeans who decamped to the US in the early 1900's. The Director, Karen Moeskops, gave a very moving presentation of the privations that accompanied the exodus. Later, the group enjoyed a lecture by Koen Petersen, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs who discussed Belgian defense and development. He was followed by Jan Jambon, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance who had been the Prime Minister of Belgium in 2019. He spoke on the state of sovereign accounts and debt, including pensions, National Lottery, and Federal Cultural Institutions. On Sunday, Dorien Van Sreenberghe, head of the Wintercircus collective guided the group through his facility. This was followed by a lecture from Marnix Bugel, a startup investor who talked about "Accelerating Medical Breakthroughs With AI". And finally, Bart Voorn, the co-founder of the health tech startup Ditto described his company's research efforts. On Monday, a bit of Ghent's history was sampled with a visit to the Filliers Distillery led by Bernard Filliers, a 5th generation distiller. After that was a visit to the Sint Joris Guild which showcases 700 years of historic Guild activities.