The UN Global Compact was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 1999 and put forth the powerful idea that corporate engagement on global issues benefits both business and society over the long run.
What are the key lessons and achievements over the past decade and will they survive the challenges of a global slowdown?- World Economic Forum
Bio
Cynthia Carroll
Cynthia Carroll joined Anglo American as chief executive in 2007. She chairs the Executive Committee and the Chief Executive’s Committee and sits on the Safety and Sustainable Development Committee. Prior to this, she was president and chief executive officer of Alcan’s Primary Metal Group and an officer of Alcan Inc. in Montreal, Canada. She joined Alcan in 1989 after eight years as a petroleum geologist in oil exploration for Amoco. She is a former director of AngloGold Ashanti Limited and the Sara Lee Corporation. She is a non-executive director of BP plc, Anglo Platinum Limited and De Beers.
Kris Gopalakrishnan
S. Gopalakrishnan (Kris), along with N.R. Narayana Murthy and five others, founded Infosys in 1981. Gopalakrishnan served as Director (Technical) and his initial responsibilities included the management of design, development, implementation, and support of information systems for clients in the consumer products industry in the U.S.
Between 1987 and 1994, Gopalakrishnan served as the Vice President for Technical Operations of KSA/Infosys, a joint venture between Infosys and KSA located in Atlanta, U.S. In 1994, he returned to India and was appointed Deputy Managing Director of Infosys.
Before becoming the CEO and Managing Director in July 2007, Gopalakrishnan served as Infosys' Chief Operating Officer, President and Joint Managing Director, responsible for customer services, technology, investments, and acquisitions. He took over as the Executive Co-Chairman on August 21, 2011.
Recognised as a global business and technology thought leader, Gopalakrishnan was recently voted the top CEO (IT Services category) in Institutional Investor's inaugural ranking of Asia's Top Executives and selected as one of the winners of the 2nd Asian Corporate Director Recognition Awards by Corporate Governance Asia. He was also selected to Thinkers 50, an elite list of global business thinkers compiled by Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer, in association with the IE Business School, Madrid and the London Business School's Management Innovation Lab.
In January 2011, the Government of India awarded Gopalakrishnan the Padma Bhushan, the country's third highest civilian honor.
Muhtar Kent
Muhtar Kent is president and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company, and serves on the Company's Board of Directors.
Mr. Kent joined The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1978 and has held a variety of marketing and operations roles throughout his career. In 1985, he was appointed general manager of Coca-Cola Turkey and Central Asia. From 1989 to 1995, he served as president of the Company's East Central Europe Division and senior vice president of Coca-Cola International, with responsibility for 23 countries. Between 1995 and 1998, Mr. Kent served as managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil-Europe, covering bottling operations in 12 countries.
From 1999 until his return to The Coca-Cola Company in May 2005, he served as president and CEO of the Efes Beverage Group, the majority shareholder of Turkish bottler Coca-Cola Icecek. Headquartered in Istanbul and listed on the London and Istanbul Stock Exchanges, Efes is a publicly traded beverage enterprise whose Coca-Cola and beer operations extend from the Adriatic to the Pacific Ocean. Under Mr. Kent's leadership, Efes experienced extraordinary growth, with triple-digit revenue growth and a 250 percent increase in market capitalization. During that time, in addition to taking Efes Breweries International public on the London Stock Exchange, Mr. Kent also served as a board member of Coca-Cola Icecek.
Mr. Kent was named president and chief operating officer of The Coca-Cola Company's North Asia, Eurasia and Middle East Group from 2005 until early 2006, where he was responsible for the operations across a broad and diverse geographic region that included China, Japan and Russia. Mr. Kent served as president of Coca-Cola International through most of 2006, responsible for operations outside of North America, until his appointment as president and chief operating officer of The Coca-Cola Company, overseeing all operations of the business, including Bottling Investments. On July 1, 2008, he succeeded Neville Isdell as chief executive officer of the Company.
Mr. Kent holds a bachelor of science degree in economics from Hull University, England, and a master of science degree in administrative sciences from London City University.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. His career encompasses many years of service in government and on the global stage, including as the Republic of Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade; postings in New Delhi, Vienna, and Washington, DC; and responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including foreign policy, national security, and policy planning. His ties with the United Nations date back to 1975, when he worked for the Foreign Ministry's United Nations division. In 2001-2002, he was Chef de Cabinet during the Republic of Korea's Presidency of the General Assembly. In 1999, he served as Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. He holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from Seoul National University and a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Guy Ryder
Guy Ryder was born on 3 January 1956, in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
After graduating with an MA in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University, he was employed as an assistant in the International Department of the Trades Union Congress (TUC, Great Britain), from 1982-1985.
In 1985, he was appointed secretary of the Industry Trade Section of the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (now Union Network International) in Geneva.
From 1988-1998 he worked at the Geneva Office of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU, a predecessor organisation to the ITUC), initially as assistant director, then as director and secretary of the Workers’ Group of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
In 1998, he was appointed director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities, International Labour Office (ILO), and from 1999-2001 he served as director of the Office of the ILO Director-General.
On 1 February 2002, he was appointed general secretary of the ICFTU, a position which he held until the founding Congress of the ITUC in November 2006, where he was elected ITUC General Secretary.
(born June 13, 1944, Umsong, Japanese-occupied Korea [now in S.Kor.]) South Korean diplomat and politician who became the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations (UN) in 2007. He received a B.A. (1970) from Seoul National University and an M.A. (1985) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. After entering South Korea's foreign service in 1970, he held a number of posts, including national security adviser to the president (1996–98) and minister of foreign affairs and trade (2004–06). His UN experience began in 1975 when he became a staff member of the UN division of the Foreign Ministry in Seoul. He later led the cabinet of the president of the UN General Assembly during South Korea's tenure of the rotating presidency in 2001–02, the critical period following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001 (seeSeptember 11 attacks). Ban succeeded Kofi Annan on Jan. 1, 2007, becoming the first Asian to serve as UN secretary-general since Burmese statesman U Thant held the office (1962–71). Ban faced a number of challenges, including the North Korean and Iranian nuclear threats, the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of The Sudan, and reform of the UN.
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