On the occasion of the ESSO 2008 Congress in The Hague, Professor Cornelis van de Velde (Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands) took over the presidency of the society from Professor Irving Taylor.

The General Assembly elected a new President-elect, Professor Peter Naredi (Umea University Hospital, Sweden) and a new Treasurer, Dr. Tibor Kovacs (North Wales NHS Trust, United Kingdom) in replacement of Professor Theo Wiggers, who was stepping down after 4 years as Treasurer and 10 years as Board member.

The General Assembly warmly thanked Professor Taylor for his perfect leadership of the society over the last two years and Professor Wiggers for his good and wise management of ESSO finances.

Thanks were extended to several members of the Board stepping down on the occasion of ESSO 2008, in particular Professor Luigi Cataliotti, Past-President of ESSO who dedicated 16 years of his life to ESSO as a member of the Executive Committee, but also Professor Marko Hocevar, Professor Pawel Murawa, Professor George Sakorafas and Professor Hendrick Van Poppel.

Several new members were elected on the Executive Committee. This election reflects the General Assembly's desire to involve, in the decision-making  process, individuals already active in their own country via their national surgical society as well as young cancer surgeons who could bring innovative ideas towards the continuous development of ESSO.