I came back for lunch with the distinguished guest speakers this morning. Sirkka Hämalainen is a Finnish economist, former Governor of the Bank of Finland and a former member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank. David Walker is the Director of the European Administration (EuAS). Over the table Hämalainen told us that she was fiercely against quotas and she recounted several counter-intuitive examples where Finnish institutions are having trouble recruiting men to senior positions. David is an old friend and colleague (we started together in the old DG X) and it was great to see him again. The EuAS does a huge amount of good work, supporting not only middle and senior management but also new officials and assistants hoping to become administrators. No description of the morning would be complete without mention of Monika Zarczuk’s contribution. Currently a trainee with the Committee, Monika is unsighted and explained admirably to the participants how she manages her professional activities. A good morning’s work, then, with plenty of food for thought.