From the Chair
By Mark D. Bloom III Chair
In this, the second and final column of my one-year term as Chair of III, I write to advise of recent activities and plans for the future.
The past several months continue to reflect increased activity for III and opportunities for member engagement and Involvement:
On December 8-10, 2025, our III delegation attended and participated actively at the 67 th Session of UNCITRAL Working Group V meetings in Vienna discussing a Draft Model Law on Applicable Law in Insolvency Proceedings. The depth and breadth of III’ s experience and the high regard in which its members are held is reflected not just in our delegation of five members( Adam Swick, Evan Zucker, Debra Grassgreen, José Carles, and NextGen Olya Antle), but in the more than 20 other III members who attended and participated on behalf of UNCITRAL member state or other non-governmental organizations.
In connection with the WG V meetings, on December 11-12, 2025, we hosted an authentic Viennese dinner for more than 40 participants, and sponsored a Colloquium on Possible Updates to the Guide to Enactment and Interpretation of the 1997 UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency. in Vienna.
Following up on these WG V efforts, on December 17, 2026 we devoted our Quarterly Members Call to a report and update from and highly interactive discussion with our WG V delegation on the WGV meetings and Colloquium.
On January 20-21, 2026 the US / Canada / Caribbean Regional Committee hosted its
Regional Meeting related events in Miami, Florida, featuring the usual top-notch level of educational programs on such diverse topics of interest as international asset recovery, conflicting decisions among competing jurisdictions, letterbox jurisdictions and the evolving role and influence of private credit, followed by a well-attended wine reception and casual dinner to foster closer relationships between our members, NextGens and guests in attendance.
In that same vein, on February 19, 2026 our EMEA Regional Committee hosted its Regional Meeting in Madrid, Spain, featuring an afternoon or panel presentations on current challenges in restructuring processes, group insolvencies and the use of prepacks in various jurisdictions.
In February, we also announced the release of a new episode of our podcast series, Global Perspectives, focusing on the treatment of micro and small enterprises, as well as individual entrepreneurs in financial distress, in Japan.
In the midst of this activity falls the event to which I will devote the remainder of this column – our semi-annual Strategic Leadership Meeting in London on February 6-7, 2026. Attended by senior III leadership from 14 different countries, including five of our Past Presidents who remain actively engaged in the important work of III, the Meeting focused on the Strategic Plan unveiled by Past President Hon. Kannan Ramesh in Singapore in 2024 and augmented by the Board at its in-person meeting in Sao Paolo in 2025.
The Leadership Meeting featured a series of presentations and highly interactive discussions focused on the immediate and longer-terms needs of and opportunities for III,
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