How Booking a Business Suite Can Enhance Your Annual Meeting Experience: An Interview with David Lossignol

David Lossignol, Novartis (Switzerland)

A record 1,174 intellectual property professionals have already registered for INTA’s 148^th Annual Meeting, taking place in London, England, from May 2 to 6, 2026. Many Corporate and Associate Members hope to maximize their time and resources by securing a private space to host their own team meetings, client presentations, or small gatherings on-site at the Excel London Convention Centre.

Novartis has reserved a Business Suite at each Annual Meeting since they became available in 2015. Here, David Lossignol, Global Head of Legal Brand Protection, Novartis (Switzerland), reflects on his early experiences with Business Suites, shares his perspective on how securing one enhances the Annual Meeting experience for both his colleagues and the company’s business partners, and offers his advice for those considering reserving a Business Suite for the first time at the 2026 Annual Meeting.

You were an early adopter of Business Suites (formerly known as Corporate Meeting Rooms or Reserved Hospitality Rooms) when they were first offered at the Annual Meeting. What do you remember about your early experiences with Business Suites?
Novartis was among the first to use these Suites when they started popping up. Clearly, the INTA Annual Meeting offers a rare opportunity where all our business partners, including vendors and outside counsel, are in the same place for a few days out of the year. It’s a unique opportunity to meet many of them face to face. Securing a reserved Business Suite within the convention center helps us immensely in setting up these meetings. The decision to book one was, for us, a no-brainer.

In comparison, what was it like for you to hold team meetings, client presentations, or small gatherings at the Annual Meeting before Business Suites?
Organizing our meetings with business partners was extremely complicated before Business Suites became available. First, we would need to reach out to one of our business partners in the city where the Meeting was being hosted—if we had any—and try to assess not only the size of the room they could offer us, but whether it was available on a Saturday or Sunday morning, which are our preferred times for holding meetings during the Annual Meeting.

Alternatively, as soon as the host city was announced, we would have to reach out to hotels to try to reserve a big room before we even knew which hotels were affiliated with INTA, before they were all booked up. We also tried reaching out to vendors that could help find rooms in the host cities, but sometimes they could only find space further away from the convention center, which was not ideal.

In what way have Business Suites most enhanced your experience at INTA’s Annual Meetings?
Having the opportunity to reserve a Business Suite has removed a lot of stress and effort on our side when it comes to planning meetings. We no longer have to search for a venue or hire catering. All of that is handled through the reservation system. It’s a very smooth process, and INTA makes improvements every year.

It’s also very convenient for our business partners that we can meet with them at a location where they have many other meetings and can participate in the educational program and other activities on offer. We take care to schedule our meetings at times when there is less going on, so our partners don’t miss out on all the wonderful educational sessions, committee meetings, and other Annual Meeting activities.

How has the way you use Business Suites evolved over the years and what have you learned in terms of best practices?
In the beginning, we didn’t know exactly what to expect in terms of what the rooms would look like, what amenities would be included, or where in the convention center the suite would be located. There were a few unknowns.

Now that we’ve been doing this continuously for several years, we know we can expect a seamless experience. Our main concern is making sure we get our reservation in early so we can try to get the biggest room available at our preferred time.

In terms of best practices, I would suggest making sure you engage with the Business Suites vendors early so that your catering and technical requirements are taken into account and orders are in as early as possible. The specifics of this process will change a little bit year to year because you’re in a new convention center, and they may have different requirements for when you need to provide your credit card or submit paperwork. No one enjoys having to scramble to get these things done in the last two weeks before the Meeting.

Finally, I recommend arriving in the room prior to your meeting to make sure everything is properly set up. We have not had any problems, but sometimes you may need to make small adjustments to the room. There are always staff members available on-site to help you.

INTA received more than 100 requests for Business Suites for the 2025 Annual Meeting. In your view, what’s fueling the increased interest in these spaces?
I think there are two main reasons. The first is that once you have experienced Business Suites, it’s hard to stay away the following year. INTA members like to share positive experiences with each other, so that creates a snowball effect, and more people want to try it for themselves.

The second reason is that Business Suites are now also offered to non-Corporate Members. Associate Members find them very convenient too!

What advice would you give a firm or organization considering reserving its own Business Suite for the first time at the 2026 Annual Meeting?
My advice would be to give it a try. Once you realize how convenient and efficient it is to have a Business Suite, it’ll be hard not to renew the experience the following year.

Reserving a Business Suite will ensure that you are more productive, and your meetings will be better attended. Give it a try. That’s my advice.

Ready to take the next step? Find out more about our Business Suites or book your suite here to start planning your presence in London, United Kingdom, today.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Corporate Members who will be utilizing our Business Suites at the Excel London Convention Centre:

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest. The opinions expressed in this interview are that of the person being interviewed and do not purport to reflect the views of INTA or its members.

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