4.21.2006 ET

(CSRwire) New York, Global Compact Office - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed a group of 20 business, labour and civil society leaders from around the world to serve on the Board of the UN Global Compact, the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative.

The Secretary-General's appointments follow a comprehensive consultation process involving all Global Compact stakeholders, including its Local Networks. Each of the appointees has demonstrated a long record of commitment to the Global Compact's mission and principles and enjoys the support of a regional or constituency group. The twenty-member body is comprised of ten business representatives, four representatives of business associations and labour groups, as well as four representatives of civil society organizations. Ex-officio members are the Executive Head of the Global Compact Office and the Chair of the Foundation for the Global Compact.

The members of the Global Compact Board are:

Business
Mr. Talal ABU GHAZALEH - Chairman and CEO, Talal Ghazaleh Organization, Egypt
Professor José Sergio Gabrielli de AZEVEDO - President and CEO, Petrobras, Brazil
Mr. Guillermo CAREY - Senior Partner, Carey & Allende Abogados, Chile
Mrs. CHEN Ying - Deputy Director General, China Enterprise Confederation, China
Mrs. Suzanne Nora JOHNSON - Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs Group, USA
Ms. Anne LAUVERGEON - Chair of the Executive Board, Areva, France
Ms. Ntombifuthi MTOBA - Chair of the Board, Deloitte, South Africa
Mr. B. MUTHURAMAN - Managing Director, Tata Steel, India
Professor Mads OEVLISEN - Adjunct Professor and Chair, Lego, Denmark
Mr. Hiroyuki UEMURA - President and CEO, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Japan

International Labour and Business Organizations
Mr. Fred HIGGS - General Secretary, International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions
Mr. Antonio PENALOSA - Secretary-General, International Organization of Employers
Mr. Guy RYDER - General Secretary, International Confederation of Free Trade Union
Mr. Guy SEBBAN - Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce

Civil society
Mrs. Habiba AL MARASHI - Chair, Emirates Environmental Group
Mr. Oded GRAJEW - President, Instituto Ethos de Empresas e Responsabilidade Social
Dr. Huguette LABELLE - Chair, Advisory Council, Transparency International
Mrs. Mary ROBINSON - Chair, Realizing Rights - The Ethical Globalization Initiative

Ex-Officio
Sir Mark MOODY-STUART - Chairman, Foundation for the Global Compact
Mr. Georg KELL - Executive Head, UN Global Compact Office


The Global Compact Board is a key component of the initiative's governance framework, which was introduced following a comprehensive review of the initiative conducted in 2004-05. (Other components include: the triennial Leaders Summit - next to be held in June 2007 -, Local Networks, the annual Networks Forum, the Foundation for the Global Compact and the Inter-Agency Team.)

Operating under the auspices of the Secretary-General, the Board will help ensure the Global Compact's continuity and facilitate its further growth. It will provide strategic advice for the initiative as a whole and make related recommendations to the UN Global Compact Office, participants and other stakeholders. The Board will also play a role with regard to the implementation of the Compact's integrity measures. Board members will act as champions of the initiative.

The Global Compact Board will meet once a year, with the inaugural meeting planned for summer 2006 at UN Headquarters in New York.

Foundation for the Global Compact Welcomed
Also today, the creation of the Foundation for the Global Compact was noted and welcomed. The Foundation is a nonprofit entity established to help raise funds from the private sector to support the Global Compact.

The Foundation is steered by a three-member Board of Directors headed by Sir Mark Moody-Stuart. Other directors are James V. Kearney, Senior Partner of Latham & Watkins LLP, and Professor Oliver F. Williams, Director of the Business Ethics Centre at Mendoza College, University of Notre Dame.

Contributions, which are entirely voluntary, will help to raise awareness of the initiative and support implementation of the Compact's principles in business practice.

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