Site Selectors Guild
European Conference

Agenda

2026 SITE SELECTORS GUILD EUROPEAN CONFERENCE

Riga, Latvia | 29 October 2026

(All events are located at the Radisson Blu Hotel)

8:00 | Registration Networking with Pastries & Beverages

8:45 | Welcome

09:00 – 09:30 | FDI Now: Investment Trends, Market Conditions and the Outlook for Europe
Moderated by Andreas Dressler
This interactive opening session will use live polling and facilitated discussion to establish a shared view of today’s FDI environment. Participants will compare priorities, experiences and expectations with peers from across Europe and the wider international market, providing real-time insight into the investment trends, opportunities and challenges that will frame the day’s discussions.

09:30 – 10:15 | The Future of Foreign Investment: Global Trends Shaping Corporate Location Decisions
Moderated by Matthijs Weeink with Dennis Meseroll, Johan Buekema and Tracey Hyatt Bosman
What is changing in foreign direct investment, and what do investment promotion professionals need to understand to remain competitive? Guild members working across Asia, Europe and North America will examine evolving sector priorities, corporate requirements, competitive dynamics and investment opportunities, translating global trends into practical implications for European markets and the organizations seeking to attract investment.

10:15 – 10:45 | Networking Break

10:45 – 11:45 | Building Stronger Partnerships: What Site Selectors and Investment Promotion Agencies Need from Each Other
Moderated by Andreas Dressler with David Dera, Jan Desmaretz, Nicholette Ross and Patsy van Hove
Strong project outcomes depend on more than data, incentives or available sites; they also depend on effective working relationships. Guild members and investment promotion professionals will explore expectations on both sides of the site selection process, address common misconceptions and identify practical ways to build trust, improve communication and create more productive long-term relationships throughout the investment lifecycle.

11:45 – 12:45 | Table Talk – Direct Dialogue with Guild Members: Questions, Perspectives and Peer Exchange
This highly interactive session gives participants direct access to Guild members through rotating, small-group conversations. Attendees can ask candid questions, compare experiences and explore practical issues related to investment attraction, location strategy and project execution while building relationships with site selection professionals and peers from across the market.

12:45 – 13:45 | Lunch

13:45 – 14:45 | Break Out Sessions: Emerging Issues in FDI: Technology, Infrastructure and the Changing Requirements of Investors
Two concurrent discussions will examine rapidly evolving issues influencing corporate investment and location strategy. Participants can select the topic most relevant to their work and engage directly with Guild members on the implications for investment attraction, location competitiveness and future project requirements.

• Breakout A: Artificial Intelligence and FDI: How AI Is Changing Corporate Location Strategy and Site Selection
  with David Dera, Dennis Meseroll and Patsy van Hove
  Artificial intelligence is reshaping both business operations and the way location decisions are researched and evaluated. This session will explore how companies and site selection professionals are using AI today, where its influence on location strategy is likely to grow and what investment promotion organizations should understand as technology changes corporate expectations and decision-making processes.
  
• Breakout B: The Energy Constraint: How Power Availability, Cost and Infrastructure Are Reshaping Investment Decisions
  with Johan Buekema, Nicholette Ross and Tracey Hyatt Bosman
  Reliable and competitively priced energy has become one of the most consequential factors in many corporate location decisions. This discussion will examine how energy availability, infrastructure capacity and cost are influencing investment patterns, how companies are responding to constraints and what locations can do to strengthen their competitiveness in an increasingly power-constrained market.
  

14:45 – 15:00 | Transition Break

15:00 – 16:00 | Break Out Sessions: Deep Dive – Strategic Sectors in Focus: Investment Opportunities and Location Requirements in High-Growth Industries
This concurrent session will examine two strategically important sectors driving new investment opportunities across Europe and internationally. Guild members will share perspectives on emerging project activity, evolving corporate requirements and the capabilities locations will need to compete successfully for future investment.

• Breakout C: Clean Growth
  with Andreas Dressler, Elias van Herwaarden and Jan Desmaretz
  The global energy transition is generating new investment across renewable energy, clean technologies and lower-carbon industrial activity. This session will examine the types of projects emerging within the clean growth economy, the factors shaping their location decisions and the capabilities regions will need to develop to compete for this next generation of investment.
  
  
• Breakout D: The Semiconductor Opportunity: What Locations Need to Compete for Advanced Manufacturing Investment
  with Alex Ash and Matthijs Weeink
  Semiconductors have become a strategic priority for governments and companies around the world, but attracting these projects requires a highly specific combination of infrastructure, talent, utilities, supply-chain capabilities and policy support. This session will examine current semiconductor investment dynamics and the prerequisites locations should understand before pursuing opportunities in this highly competitive sector.
  

16:00 – 16:30 | Networking Break

16:30 – 17:15 | From Strategy to Site: Lessons from Real-World Investment Decisions
What ultimately determines where a corporate investment lands? Through real project examples, Guild members will take participants inside the location decision-making process, examining the business requirements, location factors and pivotal moments that influenced the final outcome. The discussion will also consider how investment promotion and economic development organizations contributed to the process, what added value along the way and what practitioners can apply to future projects.

• Case Study 1 by Alex Ash
• Case Study 2 by Elias van Herwaarden

17:15 – 17:30 | Closing Remarks and 2027 European Conference location announcement

17:30 | Post-Conference Networking for All Participants