2025 11 26 CAPG MEETING
Minutes of Meeting — CAPG Meeting
Minutes of Meeting, Wednesday, November 26, 2025 (Both Zones)
Meeting Title: CAPG Ongoing Activities and Marketing Campaign Update
Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Time: 7:00 AM & 4:00 PM (Beirut Time)
Platform: Online Meeting via MS Teams
Presentation Slides: 2025-11-26_CAPG_Presentation.pdf
1. Attendees
Chair: Dr. Roger Estephan (RE)
President : Dr. Marc Ballouz (MB)
Participants at 4:00 PM:
- Doulala-Rigby Yuli
- Abir Awad (AA)
- Aline Kahwaji (AK)
- Jane Rowsell
- Mario Terceros
- Anna Borduzha
- Marie-Therese Hortmann
- Carolina Hidalgo
- Miguel NAVARRETE
- Pedro Fernández
- Alireza Azami
- Anna Borduzha
- Shehab Wissa Agaiby
Participants at 7 :00 AM:
- Buddhima Indraratna
- Deirdre Kelly
- Jan Kupec
- Bosco Poon
- Boon Chia Weng
- Tamboura Hamidou Hamadoum
2. Agenda Overview
RE opened the meeting, welcomed attendees, and presented the content as participants joined. He then introduced the agenda, outlining key discussion items, including and not limited to the below:
- CAPG logo
- Updates on the CAPG Online enrollment process & Pay page at ISSMGE.org
- Briefing on CAPG session held at GeoAsia
- CA Contribution to HTC
- CAPG Preparations for Vienna conference June 2026
- CA Contributions to the ISSMGE Bulletin (Adv and Articles)
- CA shared News at ISSMGE.org and GeoEngineer
- Introducing the Official new CAPG LinkedIn page
- CAPG Growth - Execution of the CAPG marketing campaign
3. CAPG Logo Finalization
- RE summarized the logo process and noted that the Corporate Associates (CA)
members reviewed multiple design iterations, and the final logo was decisively selected
through CA member voting via a survey sent by email. - RE informed that the CA members that the ISSMGE Board observed that the logo does
not yet align with a unified society-wide branding framework, as such standards are still
under development. Accordingly, CAPG will continue using the current logo until official
ISSMGE branding guidelines are established.
4. CAPG Webpage Updates
4.1 Corporate Associate (CA) Dedicated Webpages
- AK presented the part related to the dedicated webpages for Corporate Associates and
informed them that their content has now been published on ISSMGE.org. - AK highlighted that the CA logos are hyperlinked directly to their respective company
pages. - AK reminded the CAs that Platinum and Gold Journal Sponsors are entitled to upload
one featured promotional item (e.g., brochure, flyer, video, or similar material). - AK also reminded the CAs that the content from 15 CAs is still outstanding, and
members are encouraged to submit their materials as soon as possible.
4.2 CAPG Membership Online Enrollment
- The CAPG online enrollment platform is now fully operational, enabling prospective
members to select their desired membership tier (Silver, Gold, or Platinum) and
complete payment directly through the site or, - Via a QR code that is created to facilitate quick and convenient mobile enrollment.
5. GeoAsia 2025 - HTC Joint Session Update
- RE briefed the group that CAPG hosted and delivered a session at GeoAsia in India,
organized by Hugo Acosta and Dr. Neelima Satyam. - Yuli Doulala-Rigby has participated as a panelist and reported strong audience
engagement, particularly around themes of sustainability and the use of recycled
materials.
- Yuli Doulala-Rigby has participated as a panelist and reported strong audience engagement, particularly around themes of sustainability and the use of recycled materials.Hugo is expected to prepare a written summary of the session for publication in the ISSMGE Bulletin and on the website.
6. ISSMGE Time Capsule (HTC) Updates
6.1 Contribution Deadline
- RE stated that the submission deadline has been extended to mid-January, and industry stakeholders are encouraged to contribute papers, media, or physical items for inclusion.
6.2 Physical Capsule Contents — Discussion
Key ideas proposed by CA members and President to ensure long-term preservation of the physical capsule content:
- Printed materials to ensure longevity (concerns about 100-year digital readability).
- One Stainless steel or metal-engraved plates summarizing core concepts or designs (as suggested by Mario).
- 3D-printed or scaled models (e.g., Casagrande machine or any geotech lab/field apparatus).
- Booklets summarizing the HTC website’s digital content.
President MB encouraged members to share their recommendations with HTC lead Dr. Sukumar ahead of the January Board meeting. The physical time capsule, measuring approximately 65 × 100 × 170 cm, will be housed underground at the Terzaghi Museum in a controlled environment.
7. Vienna 2026 Conference (17 June 2026) — CAPG Contributions
- RE stated that Five Corporate Associate members have already submitted project presentations.
- RE reminded the CAs that CAPG has 30 minutes allocated slot during the consortium session:
- 5 min introduction o Five presentations (5 min each)
- President MB suggested:
- Showcasing the existing “Why Join CAPG?” video. o Running a final call for additional CA submissions. o If number of responses increases adopt selection criteria (e.g., first-come-firstserved or quality review).
A separate meeting will be organized exclusively for coordinating these presentations.
8. ISSMGE Bulletin CA Contributions
8.1 CA Articles contribution in the ISSMGE bulletin
- AK articulated that each Corporate Associate is entitled to publish one article per year, with two contributions from CA members already featured in the ISSMGE Bulletin latest issue, Vol 19, Issue 3, September 2025.
- AK also noted that the December bulletin issue deadline: 1 December.
8.2 CA Commercial Advertisements
- AK informed the team that 10 commercial advertisements for Corporate Associates have already been published in the ISSMGE Bulletin latest issue, Vol 19, Issue 3, September 2025
- AK reiterated the CA benefits: Platinum/Gold journal sponsors receive priority and fullpage Adv, Gold members receive a half-page and Silver member receives quarter-page.
- Frequency: once per year per CA.
9. News Section Updates
- RE articulated that CAPG actively posts updates on ISSMGE News and GeoWorld and encouraged CA Members to share their own announcements (webinars, achievements, any other topic) for further posting.
10. Launch of the official CAPG LinkedIn Page
- AA has informed the CA group that a dedicated CAPG LinkedIn page is now newly active and will feature regular CAPG updates, with members are encouraged to follow, share, and promote the content.
- RE highlighted that the LinkedIn page is administered through the ISSMGE account to ensure long-term continuity.
11.CAPG Marketing Campaign — Updates & Strategy
RE summarized the marketing campaign launch progress:
Phase 1 — National Societies
- Secretary General sent the CAPG promotional material to all national societies.
Phase 2 — GeoWorld
- Planning distribution to GeoWorld’s large contact base.
Phase 3 — Direct Corporate Outreach
RE stated that:
- A curated list of ~600 potential contacts is ready.
- Personalized invitations will be sent via [email protected].
Members and Board will receive the list to:
- Identify contacts in their network and perform secondary follow-ups.
- Add additional prospects.
Finally, a short promotional video for CAPG Campaign launch (QR-code-based for CAPG membership) was presented and will be shared widely.
President MB encouraged: • Ambitious growth goals: “From 50 to 500” members.
- Asking new applicants to recommend other companies (referral model).
- Considering professional marketing support.
Discussion explored different membership models across other societies (ASCE, ISRM, IGS, PIANC), noting access-restricted technical documents as a major driver of catching CA and CA participation elsewhere. The group agreed ISSMGE must balance openness with incentives.
12. Closing Remarks
- President MB again congratulated the female team.
- Chair RE closed the meeting, inviting any final comments before attendees departed, and thanked all participants for their active contributions and constructive feedback.
Action Items:
- CA members are asked to submit the pending content for the development of their dedicated web page on the ISSMGE website.
- Prepare a write-up for the ISSMGE bulletin regarding the panel discussion at Geo Asia, focusing on sustainability and recycling fields. HAM
- Contact Hugo to discuss the preparation of the write-up for the bulletin. RE o Encourage CA members to contribute to the HTC project by the mid-January deadline. o Develop a media or video presentation for the Vienna session showcasing the projects of the five participating companies.
- Incorporate the link to the existing “Why Join CAPG?” video into all campaign materials. o Compile and submit proposals for items to be placed in the physical time capsule, including books and models representing 100 years of geotechnical engineering.
- Share the discussion points with Dr Sukumar for his thoughts.
- Provide CA advertisement for the December ISSMGE edition by the due date of December 1.
- Share articles for publication in the December ISSMGE edition of the bulletin by the end of this week.
- Prepare and send a batch of communication emails to 600 contacts from the prepared list as part of the CAPG Campaign Launch. o Ask CA members and board members to add names to the shared list of potential prospects CAPG members.
- Communicate the list of names to all CA members and the board, asking them to identify people from their direct network to encourage them to join the CAPG.
