The global pandemic disrupted one of the most essential governance rituals in the corporate calendar — the Annual General Meeting (AGM). A Swiss-based organization engaged 18North to design and develop a virtual AGM platform to ensure legally compliant, secure, and inclusive shareholder participation while maintaining regulatory alignment with GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) requirements. The initiative was named AGD – Annual General Meeting at a Distance.

Headquartered in Switzerland, the client organization is structured around strong regulatory compliance and stakeholder accountability. With COVID-19 making physical meetings impossible, their governance framework faced significant continuity risks. They required a digital platform that could simulate and even improve upon traditional AGM practices — securely managing resolutions, voting, and real-time stakeholder feedback across geographies.

• In-person meetings were infeasible due to pandemic restrictions.

• Existing video conferencing tools lacked GRC-grade controls, audit trails, or contextual workflows for AGMs.

• High expectations for data privacy, participant authentication, and multi-device accessibility.

• Required low learning curve for older or less tech-savvy shareholders.
  

18North architected a secure, easy-to-use virtual platform tailored for Annual General Meetings:

• End-to-End AGM Workflow Digitization: Agenda setup, live broadcasts, resolution display, and live voting captured through structured digital flows.

• Role-Based Access: Shareholders, board members, and moderators had unique views, permissions, and interaction rights.

• Secure Voting Mechanism: AES encryption, secure token issuance, and audit-trail creation for every vote cast.

• Live Feedback and Q&A: Integrated public and private chat functions enabled real-time feedback and director interactions.

• Device Agnostic UI: Designed for desktops, tablets, and mobile phones to ensure wide participation without installation hassles.

• Business Continuity: Conducted first fully virtual AGM with 100% quorum and real-time compliance logs.

• Enhanced Transparency: Audit-ready logs for every agenda point, vote, and interaction ensured GRC alignment.

• Increased Participation: Higher shareholder turnout compared to physical meetings — attributed to accessibility and time flexibility.

• Post-Event Archiving: Auto-archived all media, resolutions, and transcripts for downstream compliance and legal review.