We were pleased to welcome over 50 BABC Members and their guests to the 2016 BABC Northern California Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday June 1^{st 2016.} Graciously hosted by BABC Patron Member Squire Patton Boggs, the meeting provided the opportunity to report on the activities of the BABC for the fiscal year 2015/2016, present an overview of what is anticipated for 2016/2017 and conduct the Election of the 2016/2017 Board of Directors.  Below provides a report on the proceedings.

President’s Report – Presented by Nicholas Unkovic

Nick welcomed the attendees to the 60th Annual General Meeting of the BABC Northern California.

Nick started by thanking everyone for their continued support and Patronage of the BABC.  He said the Members are the life-blood of the BABC and it is great to be a part of this fantastic vibrant community.

He extended a special thank you to the 2015/2016 Board of Director’s, the Executive Board and our Ex-Officio Directors who volunteer their time, effort and expertise to keep the BABC moving forward.Thanks were also given to all who dedicate their time on various committees and the BABC Task Force in support of the mission of the BABC. He asked those present to please stand.

Nick expressed the importance in recognizing several organizations and relationships that bring notable credibility to the BABC Northern California.First of all, the British Consulate General San Francisco and UK Trade and Investment.He expressed the BABC’s thanks to H.M. Consul General Ms. Priya Guha, Jaclyn Mason, Sam Evans and the entire team at the Consulate and UKTI for your continued support of BABC. Thanks were also to Dennis Conaghan of the San Francisco Center for Economic Development.

Nick said the BABC is proud to be part of the wider BABC Network of which there are 21 chapters in the US and UK.

The BABC Patron Members were thanked: British Airways, BAB Leap, Cooley LLP, Cyracom International, Fairmont San Francisco, Hogan Lovells, HSBC and Nick’s firm, Squire Patton Boggs.

The BABC Premier Members were also thanked: Fitzgerald & Law, Florin Pensions, Grant Thornton, Liza Evans Interior Design, LoopUp, Mackenzie Communications, NCC Group, Nortons NIS Global, Panasonic, Penningtons, Royal Bank of Scotland, Silicon Valley Bank, Sperry Van Ness and Turner and Townsend. Gratitude was also given to all of the Corporate, Business, Individual and Young Professionals Members all of whom help keep the BABC a thriving community.

Nick addressed Membership. As of today, the BABC Northern California has 229 members passing London’s 218 Members to now be the second largest Chapter in the Network behind New York.In terms of growth during the last fiscal year, the BABC added 72 new members but as usual, members were lost throughout the year due to them moving out of the area or deciding not to renew.

Increasing membership diversity, particularly across the tech, bio-tech and manufacturing sectors has and continues to be a key focus in the BABC’s efforts to bring these sectors of the local economy more prominently into the fold of the BABC. Another key focus is to grow our community of Young Professionals, the future of the BABC.

In total, Nick said the BABC is looking to realize continued growth over the coming Fiscal Year, and asked the attendees to please give some thought as to companies and individuals who might benefit from being a part of the BABC community.

Through June 30
^th, the BABC is offering a 10% discount to new members on all levels of membership! Additionally, Nick let the attendees know that, if they are considering upgrading their membership, this offer is extended to them also. He directed them to see the BABC’s Executive Director, Jo Healey, for details.

Regarding success around membership for the last fiscal year, Nick discussed the increase in annual recurring membership dues which keeps the BABC running! A combination of renewing members, new members and upgrading members bring this amount to $168,855 over $131,040 for the prior year, which is a clear indication that the BABC is delivering value and keeping its members happy. In addition, Nick made sure to point out that the BABC, of course, is always open to hearing ways things can be improved and encouraged the attendees to be in touch with our Executive Director, Jo Healey, with their ideas and suggestions.

Nick next spoke about BABC events.  One of the biggest platforms offered to create value and business expansion and networking opportunities is the BABC events program.  The events program has continued to be a mixture of high-quality educational and social networking events that provide not only an opportunity to mingle among like-minded individuals, but also the chance to promote a member’s company and offerings to the company’s key target audiences through valuable and affordable sponsorship opportunities. In the last fiscal year, the BABC Northern California held, partnered on or promoted a total of 30 events including events put on by our members and of course the BABC Annual Christmas Luncheon which lastyear attracted 1027 guests, which totals the biggest crowd ever!

Nick asked the attendees to please save the date for the biggest holiday party of the season in San Francisco.Friday, December 9th
^th 2016 for the 53^rd Annual BABC Christmas Luncheon once again at the Fairmont San Francisco.  He hoped members will plan to attend and advised that tickets go on sale after Labor Day.  He encouraged the attendees to not delay in purchasing tickets or tables as they do sell out quickly and they are allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

Nick concluded his presentation by thanking everyone for their support of the BABC before handing over to Carmen Sanchez to deliver the Treasurer’s Report on behalf of Stephen Legg who unfortunately could not attend the AGM that night.

Treasurer’s Report – Presented by Carmen Sanchez

Carmen Sanchez, Finance Committee, presented the Treasurer’s Report on behalf of Treasurer Stephen Legg.

Referring members to a handout containing the Financial Report, Carmen began by reviewing the Profit & Loss for the Fiscal Year 2015-2016.  Noting the BABC operates on a cash basis, Carmen report a surplus of $5,258, compared to $15,836 in Fiscal Year 2014-2015. She expressed this represents a decrease on the prior year but is, nonetheless a great success as compared to the budgeted net income of negative $791. Total revenue for the year was over $243,000 and our total expenses were $237,824. Carmen mentioned that the Christmas Lunch was not only a great deal of fun as usual, it was also the BABC’s most well attended event ever with 1027 guests joining to celebrate the 52
^nd Annual BABC Christmas Lunch. The BABC net income from the luncheon was just over $75,000, which was approximately $25,000 lower than the prior year. The decrease was due 1) to lower revenue from the Live Auction as one item was donated directly to Raphael House (which yielded $42,000 gross for the Charity) and 2) Railbookers went bankrupt and caused us to return $5,500 to the winning bidder.

Membership Dues. Carmen said, as Nick mentioned earlier, the BABC had a stellar year in growing the membership and this is reflected with Annual Recurring Income collected by March 31
^st, 2106 being $168,855, representing an increase of $37,915 or 29%.

Moving on to the BABC regular events program, Carmen discussed that during the last Fiscal year, BABC events produced or promoted 30 events, some of which did incur some higher expenses resulting in a net loss of $2,445 compared to a net profit of $19,697 in the prior year. This was mainly due to losses on The Rise of Rugby Event and the Annual Economic Lunch, for which Patron and Premier members receive a complimentary table. The fact that the BABC has grown the number of Patron and Premier Members from 7 to 8 and 12 to 15 respectively has made an impact. Also, the focus has been to produce outstanding events that deliver value to the members.

Total expenses for the BABC were $237,824 compared to $215,863 (not including the Rafael House contribution in 2015) which represents a 10% increase. This is mainly due to planned increases in office related expenses.

In looking at the Balance Sheet, it is clear to see that the BABC ended up with being just over $10,000 better off at the end of this fiscal year. This is a great result and is almost entirely down to growing the Membership by adding new members or upgrading existing members who see the value in doing so.

Looking forward at our budget for 2016-2017, Carmen advised the BABC is planning an increase in net assets while still investing in the organization. This year will plan to add additional human resources to take on the marketing activities of the BABC and events programs, as well assist Jo Healey, the Executive Director, deliver the values of membership to our growing community. The BABC is budgeting higher net income as it continues to add members and improve the quality of its events with a commensurate increase in expenses

Executive Director’s Report – presented by Jo Healey

Jo Healey thanked Carmen and greeted the attendees.  She stated that Nick and Carmen had provided an overview of activities and finances for the BABC and she would now provide a brief overview of the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Jo let the audience know that the BABC continues to grow its membership, its office being busy every day trying to ensure value for the members is delivered.  The BABC is always striving to connect with members and, in turn, help them connect with others.

A lot of the BABC work is in the Events Programs, which not only keeps the BABC community together but also serves as a well oiled platform for creating business expansion opportunities as well as opportunities for social networking.  Jo said the BABC has experienced a lot of membership growth at the Top Tier Levels, especially with Patron and Premier Members who drive the Events Program with Presenting and Platinum Sponsorship benefits included in their membership dues.

The other platforms that help the BABC deliver value are the website, email communications and social media.

Jo discussed how the website offers a myriad of ways to help us communicate member news and showed an example on screen.  She said she was pleased to share the data that the BABC Website now gets over 5,000 visitors per month.

The mailing list has grown to close to 3,000 email addresses (2,050 last year and 1,600 the year prior) and an average of 29% of recipients opening the email. The BABC’s monthly Newsletter provides us with a great vehicle to share member news and Jo encouraged the members to contact the BABC office and share any stories, information, discounts or such that they would like featured but note that this benefit is only available to those members at the business, corporate, premier and patron levels.

Jo covered some of the BABC milestones achieved over the past 12 months, starting with how social media engagement is on the rise.

At the AGM last year, the BABC reported 411 Facebook Followers and as of earlier today, June 1st, that number is now 1016.

On Twitter last year, it was reported that the BABC has 752 Twitter Followers.  Today that number is 1016.

Jo continued by saying the British American Business Council Northern California Linked-In group now has 760 members (up from 707 reported last year) and it continues to grow.

Jo encouraged the attendees to follow the BABC on its social media groups as the BABC uses these channels to share members news and events.

Jo next discussed the Young Professionals Group.  Thanks to the leadership of Barbara Taylor and Felicity Fisher, there is a renewed vigor to the group, which now boasts between 30 and 40 people attend their Happy Hour held every second Tuesday of the Month at Café Americano at corporate Member Hotel Vitale.They are also working on a few other events for the year including the Great British-American Pub Quiz.This was set for June 13
^th but is being rescheduled due to the Warriors now playing that evening in the NBA Finals. Also scheduled by the Young Professionals on July 21^st is the YP European Networking Evening in Palo Alto.

Jo thanked all involved on the YP Committee for their incredible enthusiasm, vision and dedication to the YP Group.

Jo said the BABC has a very strong and active Board of Directors who continually provide assistance to the BABC team through their strategic guidance, encouragement and enthusiasm.  Jo acknowledged the BABC would not be where it is today without their time and dedication to the organization and thanked all those Board members present at the AGM.

In conclusion, Jo reminded the attendees that the BABC is about serving its members and providing them with value. She said if any of the attendees have any suggestions for the BABC then please make them known to her. Likewise, if anyone would like to get more involved with the organization by joining one of many active committees, such as the membership or Christmas Luncheon committees then please let Jo or any of the BABC Board of Directors know as we would be happy to get people involved.

Jo thanked everyone and then handed over to Ed Grenville, chair of the Nominating Committee, who provided the audience with a report on the ballots and votes for the BABC Board of Directors.

Nominating Committee Report – Presented by Edward Grenville

As Chair of the Nominating Committee, Edward Grenville presented the slate of directors who were up for re-election for the term 2016-2018 and the new Directors elected to the Board. Ed noted that we have a highly qualified slate approved by the Board.  While historically Board members can be offered “time and money”, the current slate – in many cases – were offering both time and money and their support is greatly appreciated.  In addition, the Board reflects the diversity of the Bay Area economy more broadly, and includes representatives of the technology industry.  Ed Grenville read the slate of directors and confirmed that the slate was elected based on the ballots received, which were 46 in favor of the entire slate (including previously submitted ballots and ballots submitted at the AGM) and 1 in favor of the entire slate except one person.

Close of meeting

An opportunity was offered for people to raise questions and none were asked.

The meeting was adjourned and after followed a networking reception for members and their guests.