Mayor establishes International Business Advisory Council for London

Press Release

Mayor establishes International Business Advisory Council for London
5-9-2008 465

Mayor of London Boris Johnson is delighted to announce today that forty seven distinguished business leaders representing well known multinational companies from around the world have agreed to advise him on securing the capital’s position as a top global city.

The International Business Advisory Council for London (IBAC London) has been set up and will be chaired by Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP and meets for its inaugural meeting on 5th October in London.

Its creation is based on the concept that great cities and great companies need each other, that companies need good people and the best people are happiest in the best places - like London. The role of the Council will be to advise the Mayor on developing opportunities, initiatives and ideas that make London an even more appealing place for companies and their people to live and work in. The subject for discussion at the first meeting will be London's ‘livability’.

The Mayor said:

"London is a fantastic and exciting city attracting people come from all continents, countries and cultures who bring a vibrancy to our city that is unmatched anywhere in the world. London is also widely seen one of the foremost global cities in which to do business and ensuring that it maintains and build on this position is something we all have a large stake in maintaining.

"I am delighted that Sir Martin agreed to set up and Chair the first meeting of this extraordinary group of international business leaders and equally delighted that they wanted to be part of the process for making our city even better. That they accepted the invitation to serve on the Council says so much about London."

Sir Martin said:
“IBAC London will be challenged with providing ideas and advice for the Mayor of London to help develop London’s economic and business policy over the years to come. “I am delighted to have been asked to be the inaugural Chair at such an important time for London, with just four years to go before the 2012 Olympic Games. A successful Games is clearly of enormous importance to London and London’s business. I hope IBAC London can play a major part in advising the Mayor on how this can be achieved.”

Current members of IBAC London:

Lionel Barber Editor Financial Times
Sunil Bharti Mittal Chairman and
Group Managing Director Bharti Enterprises
Marc Bolland CEO WM Morrison Supermarkets
David Bonderman Co Founder and TPG Capital
Managing Partner
David Brennan CEO AstraZeneca
Hubert Burda CEO Hubert Burda Media
Marilyn Carlson Nelson Chairman and CEO Carlson Companies
Victor Chu Chairman First Eastern Investment Group
John Connolly Senior Partner and Deloitte
Chief Executive
Annette Court CEO Europe Zurich Financial Services
General Insurance
Eric Daniels Group Chief Executive Lloyds TSB Group
Mervyn Davies Chairman Standard Chartered
Vincent de Rivaz CEO EDF Energy
James Dimon Chairman and CEO JPMorgan Chase
Johan Eliasch Chairman Head NV
Orit Gadiesh Chairman Bain & Company
Carlos Ghosn CEO Renault SA
Tom Glocer CEO Thomson Reuters
Jamshyd Godrej Chairman and Godrej & Boyce
Managing Director
Jim Goodnight CEO SAS
Stephen Green Group Chief Executive HSBC Holdings
Herbert Hainer CEO Adidas
Tony Hayward Group Chief Executive BP
Neville Isdell Chairman The Coca Cola Company
Yugo Ishida President and CEO Nomura International
Alexander Izosimov CEO AO VimpelCom
Wang Jianzhou Chairman China Mobile Communications
Ray King CEO BUPA
Will Lewis Editor in Chief Telegraph Media Group
Andrew Liveris President and CEO The Dow Chemical Company
Ian Livingston CEO BT Group
Didier Lombard Chairman and CEO France Telecom
Graham Mackay Chief Executive SABMiller
Trevor Mann Senior Vice President Renault SA
John Neill Group Chief Executive Unipart Group
Nandan Nilekani CEO, President and Infosys Technologies Limited
Managing Director
Lubna Olayan CEO Olayan Financing Company
Rajendra Pawar Chairman NIIT
Joerg Reinhardt CEO Novartis
Stuart Rose CEO Marks & Spencer Group
Klaus Schwab Executive Chairman World Economic Forum
David Stern Commissioner National Basketball Association
Solomon Trujillo CEO Telstra
John Varley Group Chief Executive Barclays
Jacob Wallenberg Chairman Investor AB
Nicholas Walsh President of AIU AIG
Willie Walsh CEO British Airways
Andrew Witty CEO GlaxoSmithKline

Notes to Editors

Membership of IBAC London is by invitation by the Mayor and the Council’s Chair and will be made up of up to 50 CEO/board-Chair level representatives of multinational companies who will meet once a year, in the autumn, in London. The inaugural meeting will take place on Sunday 5th October 2008. The format of meetings will be a Sunday morning work session with an overarching theme to guide discussion. Meetings will take place under Chatham House Rules.
The term of Chairmanship will be in line with the Mayoral term of 4 years, beginning 2009. The inaugural Chair will serve 5 years to provide one year overlap following the 2012 Mayoral elections.
IBAC London has its own brand identity designed by Fitch.