CEO summit took perseverance

By Dita De Boni

The action-packed programme for this weekend's CEO summit has been a few years and many grey hairs in the planning.

First conceived in 1997, the event has had to leap major hurdles to cross the finish line but will bring benefits both tangible and intangible to New Zealand, say organisers.

Fran O'Sullivan, director of the CEO Summit Board and chairwoman of the sponsorship committee, says that in 1997 a steering group was eager to do some planning to protect New Zealand from the foreseeable Asian recession and decided to focus on the opportunities an Auckland-based Apec would provide.

"The idea was to get the business voices of Auckland and New Zealand connecting with international investment to build a stronger business community."

Unfortunately, the Government did not come to the party until June last year, when the New Zealand economy had become "terrible," she says.

"We met Jenny Shipley at the Centra Hotel and finally managed to get support from her to hold the summit in Auckland alongside Apec.

"She cleared many of the roadblocks we were facing."

The informal steering group in charge of lining up the event included heavyweights Michael Barnett and Ralph Norris, as well as foundation partner Lex Henry, from Bell Gully.

The renamed Apec CEO Summit Inc Board now boasts the membership of business luminaries such as chairman John Maasland, John Macfarlane and Rosanne Meo.

Mr Maasland says the summit has cost more than $1 million, funded from a combination of sponsorship and the $5000 entrance fee for the 250-plus international and national corporates attending.

He says the summit has come together through the combined efforts of a strong committee, contacts in the national and international business communities, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Pacific Basin Economic Community.

While the Auckland summit has managed to attract many big international names such as Jack Smith, chief executive of General Motors, one of the most notable feats has been securing US President Bill Clinton to speak on the knowledge economy tomorrow morning.