European Advisory Board

CPR’s European presence dates from the early 1990s when a group of corporate and legal leaders from Europe was convened to form the CPR European Advisory Committee. Under the leadership of Hans Peter Frick, former General Counsel of Nestlé, the group organized the First European Congress on ADR in 2004, followed by four annual conferences around Europe. The European Advisory Committee worked on a number of other initiatives including building CPR’s Panel of Neutrals in Europe; advising the European Commission on its Directive on Mediation and its Code of Ethics for Mediators; and drafting the CPR Reinsurance Industry Protocol.

Today, CPR continues to serve as a leading independent resource in Europe helping businesses and their legal advisers, whether in-house or external counsel, prevent and resolve commercial disputes more efficiently and cost-effectively.

CPR carries out its mission in Europe with the help of its European Advisory Board (EAB), a body composed of CPR member representatives based throughout Europe who are invited to serve three-year terms on the EAB.

Within the EAB, representatives from leading European law firms work collaboratively with senior representatives from the following corporations: Akzo Nobel, Amgen, Anheuser-Busch InBev, BP, Capgemini, Deutsche Bank, DuPont, Fluor Corporation, GE Power, HP, Koncar, Mastercard, Orange, PMI, Shell, Wärtsilä Corporation, and others.

European Advisory Board Members

The EAB provides strategic direction to CPR’s activities in the region and works on a number of initiatives of interest to corporations and law firms in Europe. The EAB develops resources, shares knowledge and best practices, and networks with respect to dispute prevention and resolution. The EAB has produced resources including:

The EAB convenes regular meetings of its members, most recently holding meetings in:

  • Paris (June 2022)
  • Geneva (December 2022)
  • London (April 2023)
  • Barcelona (October 2023) 
  • Geneva (April 2024)

In addition to several meetings of the board per year, the EAB also organizes events for the public throughout Europe, such as:

  • The 2017 European Congress on Business Dispute Management it held at the offices of Mastercard in London on March 28, 2017,
  • The 2018 European Congress on Business Dispute Management hosted by SwissRe in London on May 31, 2018
  • The 2019 European Conference hosted by SwissRe in London on May 15, 2019
  • The 2020 CPR European Conference, hosted virtually by Arbitration Place on September 15 and 16, 2020
  • Panels for CPR's Global Conference in December 2022 and December 2023
  • The Rise of Commercial Mediation program held at the LALIVE office in Geneva on April 25, 2024.

Please check CPR's website for upcoming events in Europe.