European Round Table of Industrialists
Encyclopedia
The European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) was born out of a growing preoccupation with the
state of the European economy in the early 1980s. Frequently diagnosed as “eurosclerosis”, the
symptoms were an evident lack of dynamism, innovation and competitiveness, in comparison with
Japan and the United States. European markets, with the exception of agriculture, were still national,
despite the Single Market objective set by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Economies of scale were very
hard to achieve and the burden of red tape was stultifying.
Fear of the consequences spurred a group of 17 businessmen to come together in Volvo’s boardroom,
resulting in the launch of the European Round Table of Industrialists in Paris on 6-7 April 1983. They
consciously sought to create an organisation, better able than others, to wake up governments to the
parlous state of the European economy.
Spearheading the initiative was Pehr Gyllenhammar, then chief executive of Volvo. His readiness to
speak out to the press in favour of remedial policies for Europe’s structural problems encouraged
other senior businessmen to join him – notably Wisse Dekker of Philips and Umberto Agnelli of Fiat.
Their support helped to secure the participation of other high-calibre, pro-European industrialists
ready to support the idea that Europe needed to “break out” of its current stasis and embark on a
massive modernisation of its manufacturing base.
In Brussels, the Pehr Gyllenhammar initiative was watched with some interest at the European
Commission, where the Commissioner for Industry and the Single Market, Etienne Davignon, had
earlier challenged industry to produce an initiative, posing the simple question: “whom do I call when
I want to speak to European Industry?”
Etienne Davignon and his colleague Francois-Xavier Ortoli, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary
Affairs, attended the later stages of the April founding meeting in Paris. It was the occasion for a great deal of lively debate and the first airing of many of the ideas and concerns that were to preoccupy ERT for the coming 20 years: high costs and low profits, fragmentation of the European market, excessive interference by governments, and the fundamental need to maintain and rebuild an industrial base in Europe across a broad strategic front, from new technologies to telecommunications. The discussion was sufficiently fruitful to convince those present that the initiative was worthwhile pursuing, and also to attract the interest of the Financial Times.
The organisation, charter and financial arrangements for ERT were agreed at a second meeting of
Members (afterwards always referred to as “Plenary Sessions”) on 1 June 1983 in Amsterdam. The
overarching objective would be to promote competition and competitiveness on a pan-European
scale.
Volvo was charged with setting up a small Secretariat inside one of its Paris-based divisions. In 1985
ERT appointed its first full-time Secretary General, Peter Ekenger, and rented an office in Paris.
ERT Members meet twice a year, in person, at Plenary Sessions. At these Plenary Sessions,
Members determine ERT’s work programme, set priorities and establish specialised Working
Groups to work on them. Decisions are taken by consensus.
The ERT Chairman, two vice-Chairmen, the former ERT Chairman and five other elected Members
form the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee reviews ERT activities and makes
recommendations to the Plenary Sessions.
Each ERT Member nominates an Associate to act as a main point of liaison at working level and to
help implement the decisions taken by Members.
Much of the work is done by the Working Groups established by the Plenary Sessions. They are
chaired by ERT Members and comprise Members, Associates and experts from the companies
of ERT Members. The Working Groups present proposals to the Plenary and take a leading role
in the drafting of official ERT messages and positions.
The Secretary General is in charge of a small Secretariat based in Brussels, which coordinates
projects, acts as a contact point, provides administrative support and publishes ERT reports.
examines how public policies could facilitate improvements.
ERT makes its views known to the political decision-makers at national and European level by means
of reports, position papers and face-to-face discussions.
At European level, ERT discusses its views with Members of the Commission, the European Council,
the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
At national level, ERT Members communicate ERT’s views to their own national government and
parliament, as well as business colleagues and contacts in industrial federations, other opinion
formers and the media.
ERT maintains close contacts with BUSINESSEUROPE (the Confederation of European Business),
the official representative body of European business and industry vis-à-vis the European institutions,
and other business organisations.
the role of business within it. Firstly, they believe that a dynamic, wealth-producing industrial sector
benefits society as a whole. Secondly, they believe that wealth creation in Europe, now strongly
supported by the European Union’s Single Market, will be strengthened if the Union achieves greater
dynamism and competitiveness.
European industry cannot flourish unless it is competitive with other businesses around the world,
but competitiveness cannot be solely determined by the efforts of industry. The prevailing economic
and social policy framework is crucially important, and must be flexible enough to adapt to changes
in global conditions. ERT constantly urges policies which provide that flexibility and enable European
companies to build and improve the competitive strengths, which a Single Market of 500 million
citizens and more may offer.
makers to looming problems and to sow the seeds of ideas for their solution. The quality of its ideas
and proposals has steadily acquired a reputation for first-rate analysis and intelligent argument.
This has enabled ERT to become a key interlocutor in the debate on European competitiveness by
providing thoughtful, well researched critiques of the status quo and considered recommendations
for future action.
ERT was an early entrant into the debate on how to tackle Europe’s problem of jobless growth in
the mid-1980s, was among the first to call for a continent-wide vision of transport infrastructure,
persistently campaigned for high-quality education and training, consistently favoured the adoption
of International Accounting Standards and has repeatedly set out the arguments for pensions
reform, liberalisation of utilities and a flexible employment market.
ERT’s “core business” since the mid-1980s has been securing the development and implementation
of the European Single Market programme. Jacques Delors, past President of the European
Commission (1985–1995) and one of the key advocates of the Single Market, has publicly recognised
the important role played by ERT in this area.
Today, the organisation maintains a sharp vision of the Single Market structure needed to offer
economies of scale and competitiveness in the global market. Therefore, it continues to argue for
the elimination of the still-powerful obstacles that prevent business securing the full benefits of the
Single Market. For example it has campaigned vigorously for a Community patent system and an end
to fragmented national regulations that frustrate efforts towards entrepreneurship and innovation.
ERT’s first competitive priority was infrastructure. Its 1984 report, “Missing Links”, proposed three major infrastructure projects: Euro-Route – a Channel link between England and France, Scanlink –
a plan to fill in the road and rail gaps between Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Northern Germany;
and proposals for a trans-European network of high-speed trains.
It would be exaggerated to claim sole credit for these projects, but the ERT report, presented first
to the media in the United Kingdom, certainly contributed to the ongoing discussion and later to the
realisation of all three projects in modified form.
The Treaty of Maastricht and its timetable for a European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was
welcomed by ERT, as it regarded a single currency as a necessary pillar for the Single Market and
a means to reduce the cost of doing business. Members were active in encouraging the successful
implementation of the Maastricht timetable based on the adoption of the euro as the single currency
in 1999 and the introduction of euro notes and coins in 2002.
ERT is widely credited with raising awareness amongst senior EU officials of the importance of
economic and business competitiveness to growth, employment and prosperity. In 1995 – in response
to a suggestion from ERT – the European Commission created a Competitiveness Advisory Group.
Throughout its existence, this Group had a significant influence on the development of the European
competitiveness agenda.
Employment issues have also been given continuous attention by ERT. Job creation goes
hand-in-hand with competitiveness and the social policy framework. However, ERT has also
focused on micro measures, particularly for encouraging job creation among small and mediumsized
companies through practical partnerships between large and small businesses.
ERT Members contributed to the preparation of the Lisbon Agenda, which sought to make Europe
the ‘most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world’ by the year 2010. But the
implementation of the Agenda was less impressive than the declarations made at its adoption by the
European Council in March 2000. ERT Members constantly stressed the need for better performance
by national governments towards achieving the Lisbon targets within a specified timeframe that
otherwise risked remaining beyond Europe’s grasp. In subsequent years, ERT regularly contributed
to the debate on how to ensure better implementation of the Lisbon Agenda across all EU Member
States, including on ways to foster innovation and achieve higher industry investment in Research
& Development in Europe.
ERT Members have long appreciated the benefits of EU enlargement both for the accession
countries and for the existing Member States in terms of peace, stability and future prosperity. ERT
consistently supported the expansion of the Union, actively contributing to the process leading to
the accession of ten new Member States in May 2004, by advocating strict implementation of the EU
acquis by the acceding countries. ERT argued that this was an essential pre-condition to ensure the
integrity of the Single Market, and thus the competitiveness of the entire European economy. ERT
Members continue to support further accessions to the EU once candidate countries truly fulfil the
necessary criteria.
As leaders of multinational companies, ERT Members appreciate the benefits of global trade within
a multilateral rules-based system. ERT thus supported the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) trade
negotiations, regularly underlining the business interest in their conclusion.
ERT Members were particularly aware of the dynamic developments in other economies around the
globe. By sharing companies’ global experience in other parts of the world with EU policy makers,
ERT sought to create a better understanding of how EU policy actions could ensure that Europe
remained competitive while building mutually beneficial economic relationships with other regions.
Thus, ERT addressed the EU’s foreign economic relations with the United States, Russia and China
and also expressed its concern of growing economic nationalism, including within the European
Union. ERT supported an ambitious European Neighbourhood Policy as a win-win approach to
gradually enlarging the EU’s Single Market.
Having contributed actively to the discussions on the future of Europe in the European Convention,with a particular focus on the ’’’governance of Europe’’’, in particular in view of ensuring fast and effective decision-making in all areas related to business, ERT Members were concerned at the rejection of the proposed Constitutional Treaty in May 2005 in referenda in France and the Netherlands. This rejection led to a greater focus on communications in ERT activities.
Important competitiveness issues were raised in the debate on the response to Climate Change. ERT
actively engaged in the debate on how the EU should respond to climate change, and continued to
be active in the international debate on the issue, including the Copenhagen Conference (December
2009) and its aftermath.
ERT Members also identified the negative competitiveness implications of a future skills gap in the
area of maths, science and technology, and proposed that the issue needed to be addressed at a
sufficiently early age by fostering the interest of young people in mathematics as well as scientific
and technological subjects. In some EU countries, national initiatives existed to foster interest and
showcase real-life company examples of careers in these areas to young people. ERT believed
that these initiatives should be scaled up and serve as examples for similar activities in other EU
countries. To support this, ERT promoted the creation of a European Coordinating Body that shares
best practice across the EU.
As the global economic crisis – the worst ERT Members had ever experienced – hit Europe in autumn
2008, ERT rapidly raised policy makers’ awareness of the gravity of the situation. Governments took
drastic measures to stave off the crisis first in the financial sector, and later in the ‘real economy’.
The crisis exacerbated the EU’s existing competitiveness challenge, while temporarily disorientating
political and business leaders. In order to contribute to the formulation of a coherent way ahead,
ERT developed a Vision for a competitive Europe in 2025, for publication at the time a new European Commission entered into office (February 2010).
(Source: ERT.be)
state of the European economy in the early 1980s. Frequently diagnosed as “eurosclerosis”, the
symptoms were an evident lack of dynamism, innovation and competitiveness, in comparison with
Japan and the United States. European markets, with the exception of agriculture, were still national,
despite the Single Market objective set by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Economies of scale were very
hard to achieve and the burden of red tape was stultifying.
Fear of the consequences spurred a group of 17 businessmen to come together in Volvo’s boardroom,
resulting in the launch of the European Round Table of Industrialists in Paris on 6-7 April 1983. They
consciously sought to create an organisation, better able than others, to wake up governments to the
parlous state of the European economy.
Spearheading the initiative was Pehr Gyllenhammar, then chief executive of Volvo. His readiness to
speak out to the press in favour of remedial policies for Europe’s structural problems encouraged
other senior businessmen to join him – notably Wisse Dekker of Philips and Umberto Agnelli of Fiat.
Their support helped to secure the participation of other high-calibre, pro-European industrialists
ready to support the idea that Europe needed to “break out” of its current stasis and embark on a
massive modernisation of its manufacturing base.
In Brussels, the Pehr Gyllenhammar initiative was watched with some interest at the European
Commission, where the Commissioner for Industry and the Single Market, Etienne Davignon, had
earlier challenged industry to produce an initiative, posing the simple question: “whom do I call when
I want to speak to European Industry?”
Etienne Davignon and his colleague Francois-Xavier Ortoli, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary
Affairs, attended the later stages of the April founding meeting in Paris. It was the occasion for a great deal of lively debate and the first airing of many of the ideas and concerns that were to preoccupy ERT for the coming 20 years: high costs and low profits, fragmentation of the European market, excessive interference by governments, and the fundamental need to maintain and rebuild an industrial base in Europe across a broad strategic front, from new technologies to telecommunications. The discussion was sufficiently fruitful to convince those present that the initiative was worthwhile pursuing, and also to attract the interest of the Financial Times.
The organisation, charter and financial arrangements for ERT were agreed at a second meeting of
Members (afterwards always referred to as “Plenary Sessions”) on 1 June 1983 in Amsterdam. The
overarching objective would be to promote competition and competitiveness on a pan-European
scale.
Volvo was charged with setting up a small Secretariat inside one of its Paris-based divisions. In 1985
ERT appointed its first full-time Secretary General, Peter Ekenger, and rented an office in Paris.
ERT Structure
ERT today brings together around 50 chief executives and chairmen of major multinationalcompanies of European parentage, covering a wide range of industrial and technological sectors. Individuals join at the personal invitation of existing Members, which confers on ERT membership a personal rather than corporate character.ERT Members meet twice a year, in person, at Plenary Sessions. At these Plenary Sessions,
Members determine ERT’s work programme, set priorities and establish specialised Working
Groups to work on them. Decisions are taken by consensus.
The ERT Chairman, two vice-Chairmen, the former ERT Chairman and five other elected Members
form the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee reviews ERT activities and makes
recommendations to the Plenary Sessions.
Each ERT Member nominates an Associate to act as a main point of liaison at working level and to
help implement the decisions taken by Members.
Much of the work is done by the Working Groups established by the Plenary Sessions. They are
chaired by ERT Members and comprise Members, Associates and experts from the companies
of ERT Members. The Working Groups present proposals to the Plenary and take a leading role
in the drafting of official ERT messages and positions.
The Secretary General is in charge of a small Secretariat based in Brussels, which coordinates
projects, acts as a contact point, provides administrative support and publishes ERT reports.
ERT Communications
ERT identifies important issues related to European competitiveness, analyses critical factors andexamines how public policies could facilitate improvements.
ERT makes its views known to the political decision-makers at national and European level by means
of reports, position papers and face-to-face discussions.
At European level, ERT discusses its views with Members of the Commission, the European Council,
the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
At national level, ERT Members communicate ERT’s views to their own national government and
parliament, as well as business colleagues and contacts in industrial federations, other opinion
formers and the media.
ERT maintains close contacts with BUSINESSEUROPE (the Confederation of European Business),
the official representative body of European business and industry vis-à-vis the European institutions,
and other business organisations.
ERT: for wealth creation and competitiveness
ERT Members share at least two profound convictions about the benefits of the European Union andthe role of business within it. Firstly, they believe that a dynamic, wealth-producing industrial sector
benefits society as a whole. Secondly, they believe that wealth creation in Europe, now strongly
supported by the European Union’s Single Market, will be strengthened if the Union achieves greater
dynamism and competitiveness.
European industry cannot flourish unless it is competitive with other businesses around the world,
but competitiveness cannot be solely determined by the efforts of industry. The prevailing economic
and social policy framework is crucially important, and must be flexible enough to adapt to changes
in global conditions. ERT constantly urges policies which provide that flexibility and enable European
companies to build and improve the competitive strengths, which a Single Market of 500 million
citizens and more may offer.
ERT Milestones
Neither a business lobby group nor a think tank, ERT has consistently sought to wake up policymakers to looming problems and to sow the seeds of ideas for their solution. The quality of its ideas
and proposals has steadily acquired a reputation for first-rate analysis and intelligent argument.
This has enabled ERT to become a key interlocutor in the debate on European competitiveness by
providing thoughtful, well researched critiques of the status quo and considered recommendations
for future action.
ERT was an early entrant into the debate on how to tackle Europe’s problem of jobless growth in
the mid-1980s, was among the first to call for a continent-wide vision of transport infrastructure,
persistently campaigned for high-quality education and training, consistently favoured the adoption
of International Accounting Standards and has repeatedly set out the arguments for pensions
reform, liberalisation of utilities and a flexible employment market.
ERT’s “core business” since the mid-1980s has been securing the development and implementation
of the European Single Market programme. Jacques Delors, past President of the European
Commission (1985–1995) and one of the key advocates of the Single Market, has publicly recognised
the important role played by ERT in this area.
Today, the organisation maintains a sharp vision of the Single Market structure needed to offer
economies of scale and competitiveness in the global market. Therefore, it continues to argue for
the elimination of the still-powerful obstacles that prevent business securing the full benefits of the
Single Market. For example it has campaigned vigorously for a Community patent system and an end
to fragmented national regulations that frustrate efforts towards entrepreneurship and innovation.
ERT’s first competitive priority was infrastructure. Its 1984 report, “Missing Links”, proposed three major infrastructure projects: Euro-Route – a Channel link between England and France, Scanlink –
a plan to fill in the road and rail gaps between Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Northern Germany;
and proposals for a trans-European network of high-speed trains.
It would be exaggerated to claim sole credit for these projects, but the ERT report, presented first
to the media in the United Kingdom, certainly contributed to the ongoing discussion and later to the
realisation of all three projects in modified form.
The Treaty of Maastricht and its timetable for a European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was
welcomed by ERT, as it regarded a single currency as a necessary pillar for the Single Market and
a means to reduce the cost of doing business. Members were active in encouraging the successful
implementation of the Maastricht timetable based on the adoption of the euro as the single currency
in 1999 and the introduction of euro notes and coins in 2002.
ERT is widely credited with raising awareness amongst senior EU officials of the importance of
economic and business competitiveness to growth, employment and prosperity. In 1995 – in response
to a suggestion from ERT – the European Commission created a Competitiveness Advisory Group.
Throughout its existence, this Group had a significant influence on the development of the European
competitiveness agenda.
Employment issues have also been given continuous attention by ERT. Job creation goes
hand-in-hand with competitiveness and the social policy framework. However, ERT has also
focused on micro measures, particularly for encouraging job creation among small and mediumsized
companies through practical partnerships between large and small businesses.
ERT Members contributed to the preparation of the Lisbon Agenda, which sought to make Europe
the ‘most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world’ by the year 2010. But the
implementation of the Agenda was less impressive than the declarations made at its adoption by the
European Council in March 2000. ERT Members constantly stressed the need for better performance
by national governments towards achieving the Lisbon targets within a specified timeframe that
otherwise risked remaining beyond Europe’s grasp. In subsequent years, ERT regularly contributed
to the debate on how to ensure better implementation of the Lisbon Agenda across all EU Member
States, including on ways to foster innovation and achieve higher industry investment in Research
& Development in Europe.
ERT Members have long appreciated the benefits of EU enlargement both for the accession
countries and for the existing Member States in terms of peace, stability and future prosperity. ERT
consistently supported the expansion of the Union, actively contributing to the process leading to
the accession of ten new Member States in May 2004, by advocating strict implementation of the EU
acquis by the acceding countries. ERT argued that this was an essential pre-condition to ensure the
integrity of the Single Market, and thus the competitiveness of the entire European economy. ERT
Members continue to support further accessions to the EU once candidate countries truly fulfil the
necessary criteria.
As leaders of multinational companies, ERT Members appreciate the benefits of global trade within
a multilateral rules-based system. ERT thus supported the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) trade
negotiations, regularly underlining the business interest in their conclusion.
ERT Members were particularly aware of the dynamic developments in other economies around the
globe. By sharing companies’ global experience in other parts of the world with EU policy makers,
ERT sought to create a better understanding of how EU policy actions could ensure that Europe
remained competitive while building mutually beneficial economic relationships with other regions.
Thus, ERT addressed the EU’s foreign economic relations with the United States, Russia and China
and also expressed its concern of growing economic nationalism, including within the European
Union. ERT supported an ambitious European Neighbourhood Policy as a win-win approach to
gradually enlarging the EU’s Single Market.
Having contributed actively to the discussions on the future of Europe in the European Convention,with a particular focus on the ’’’governance of Europe’’’, in particular in view of ensuring fast and effective decision-making in all areas related to business, ERT Members were concerned at the rejection of the proposed Constitutional Treaty in May 2005 in referenda in France and the Netherlands. This rejection led to a greater focus on communications in ERT activities.
Important competitiveness issues were raised in the debate on the response to Climate Change. ERT
actively engaged in the debate on how the EU should respond to climate change, and continued to
be active in the international debate on the issue, including the Copenhagen Conference (December
2009) and its aftermath.
ERT Members also identified the negative competitiveness implications of a future skills gap in the
area of maths, science and technology, and proposed that the issue needed to be addressed at a
sufficiently early age by fostering the interest of young people in mathematics as well as scientific
and technological subjects. In some EU countries, national initiatives existed to foster interest and
showcase real-life company examples of careers in these areas to young people. ERT believed
that these initiatives should be scaled up and serve as examples for similar activities in other EU
countries. To support this, ERT promoted the creation of a European Coordinating Body that shares
best practice across the EU.
As the global economic crisis – the worst ERT Members had ever experienced – hit Europe in autumn
2008, ERT rapidly raised policy makers’ awareness of the gravity of the situation. Governments took
drastic measures to stave off the crisis first in the financial sector, and later in the ‘real economy’.
The crisis exacerbated the EU’s existing competitiveness challenge, while temporarily disorientating
political and business leaders. In order to contribute to the formulation of a coherent way ahead,
ERT developed a Vision for a competitive Europe in 2025, for publication at the time a new European Commission entered into office (February 2010).
Chairmen
- 1983 - 1988: Pehr G. GyllenhammarPehr G. GyllenhammarPehr Gustaf Gyllenhammar is a Swedish businessman. He is mainly known for his 24 years as CEO and chairman of Volvo, between 1970 and 1994. In the early 1980s he took the initiative for the European Round Table of Industrialists .-Career:Gyllenhammar graduated from Lund University with a degree in...
(VolvoVolvoAB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
) - 1988 - 1992: Wisse DekkerWisse DekkerWisse Dekker is a Dutch businessman. He was the CEO of Philips from 1982 to 1986. From 1988 until 1992 he was chairman of the European Round Table of Industrialists. He is known for his philanthropy of the undefeated Pomona College team: The Benchwarmers.-External links:...
(PhilipsPhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
) - 1992 - 1996: Jérôme Monod (Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux)
- 1996 - 1999: Helmut MaucherHelmut MaucherHelmut Maucher was the managing director of Nestlé SA.When he was 19 Nestlé AG bought the milk production company in Eisenharz in the Western Allgaeu in which he and his father were employed. After finishing his A levels he was then doing a business apprenticeship in the same company...
(NestléNestléNestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
) - 1999 - 2001: Morris TabaksblatMorris TabaksblatMorris Tabaksblat, KBE , was a Dutch captain of industry. He was a former CEO of Unilever and chairman of the Tabaksblat committee which drafted the Tabaksblat code.-Education:...
(Reed ElsevierReed ElsevierReed Elsevier is a publisher and information provider operating in the science, medical, legal, risk and business sectors. It is listed on several of the world's major stock exchanges. It is a FTSE 100 and FT500 Global company...
) (UnileverUnileverUnilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
) - 2001 - 2005: Gerhard Cromme (ThyssenKruppThyssenKruppThyssenKrupp AG is a German multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Duisburg Essen, Germany. The corporation consists of 670 companies worldwide. While ThyssenKrupp is one of the world's largest steel producers, the company also provides components and systems for the automotive...
) - 2005 - 2009: Jorma OllilaJorma OllilaJorma Jaakko Ollila is the Chairman and former CEO of the Nokia Corporation and a Member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company , UPM-Kymmene , and Otava Books and Magazines Group Ltd...
(NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
) - 2009 - : Leif Johansson (EricssonEricssonEricsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
)
List of current members 2011
- César Alierta Izuel - TelefónicaTelefónicaTelefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
- Nils S. Andersen - A.P Moller-Maersk
- Paulo Azevedo - SONAESonaeSonae is a conglomerate, and is the largest private employer in Portugal. The company is primarily engaged in the operation of retail stores through its subsidiary Modelo Continente....
- Franco BernabèFranco BernabèFranco Bernabè is an Italian banker and manager, currently the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Italia, appointed on December 3, 2007....
- Telecom ItaliaTelecom ItaliaTelecom Italia is the largest Italian telecommunications company, also active in the media and manufacturing industries. Now a private concern listed on the Borsa Italiana, it was founded in 1994 by the merger of several state-owned telecommunications companies, the most important of which was... - Carlo Bozotti - STMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for EMEA region are based in Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V. is registered in Amsterdam,...
- Peter Brabeck-LetmathePeter Brabeck-LetmathePeter Brabeck-Letmathe is an Austrian businessman. He is the Chairman and former CEO of the Nestlé Group.-Early life:Brabeck-Letmathe was born in a family with its origins in Iserlohn-Letmathe in North West Germany....
- NestléNestléNestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri... - Svein Richard Brandtzaeg - Norsk HydroNorsk HydroNorsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
- David BrennanDavid BrennanDavid Brennan is a Dublin born Gaelic football player who plays for Laois under the parentage rule. David's father Dessie was a famous player in the 1970s for both Laois and St...
- AstraZenecaAstraZenecaAstraZeneca plc is a global pharmaceutical and biologics company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's seventh-largest pharmaceutical company measured by revenues and has operations in over 100 countries... - Antonio Brufau - Repsol YPFRepsol YPFRepsol YPF, S.A. is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 29 countries...
- Vittorio ColaoVittorio ColaoVittorio Colao is an Italian businessman, the current Chief Executive of Vodafone Group.-Biography:The son of an officer in the Carabinieri, Colao was born in Brescia. After studying business at Bocconi University and holding an MBA with Honours from Harvard Business School, he spent time in...
- VodafoneVodafoneVodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of... - Gerhard Cromme - ThyssenKruppThyssenKruppThyssenKrupp AG is a German multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Duisburg Essen, Germany. The corporation consists of 670 companies worldwide. While ThyssenKrupp is one of the world's largest steel producers, the company also provides components and systems for the automotive...
- Rodolfo De BenedettiRodolfo De BenedettiRodolfo De Benedetti is an Italian entrepreneur and company executive, Chief Executive of the CIR Group .- Biography :...
- CIRCIR GroupCIR Group is the industrial holding company of the De Benedetti Group, controlled by COFIDE — Gruppo De Benedetti, the financial holding company of the De Benedetti family.... - Pierre-André de ChalendarPierre-André de ChalendarPierre-André de Chalendar born April 2, 1958 in Vichy , is a French entrepreneur.He is Chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain Group since June 3, 2010 and CEO since June 2007.- Formation :* Graduated from ESSEC business school in 1979...
- Saint-GobainSaint-GobainSaint-Gobain S.A. is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris and headquartered on the outskirts of Paris at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a mirror manufacturer, it now also produces a variety of construction and high-performance materials.The company has its head... - Christophe de Margerie - TOTALTotal-Mathematics:*Total, the summation of a set of numbers* Total function, a type of partial function in mathematics* Total order, a common total relation in mathematics* Total relation, a type of binary relation in mathematics-Business and enterprise:...
- Bülent EczacibasiBülent EczacibasiBülent Eczacıbaşı is a Turkish wealthy businessman. Currently, he is the chairman of Eczacıbaşı Holding, a prominent Turkish industrial group with investments in pharmaceuticals, personal care products, consumer products, building products and financial services.He was born in 1949 to Nejat...
- Eczacibasi Holding - John ElkannJohn ElkannJohn Philip Jacob Elkann is an Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat...
- FIATFiatFIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli... - Carlos GhosnCarlos GhosnCarlos Ghosn, KBE , born 9 March 1954, is a Brazilian-Lebanese-French businessman who is currently the Chairman and CEO of Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan and holds the same positions at Paris-based Renault, which together produce more than one in 10 cars worldwide...
- RenaultRenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker... - Jürgen Hambrecht - BASFBASFBASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
- Antti HerlinAntti HerlinAntti Herlin is the current and fourth chairman of the Board of Finnish KONE Corporation. He is the richest man in Finland with assets worth nearly 1 billion euros in KONE stock owned through his holding companies. He is the son of Pekka Herlin, former chairman of the board of KONE as well...
- KONE Corporation - Zsolt Hernadi - MOL
- Franz Humer - F.Hoffman-La Roche
- Pablo IslaPablo IslaPablo Isla Álvarez de Tejera is a Spanish businessman who is the current Chairman and CEO of Inditex which is a large Spanish corporation and one of the world largest fashion groups....
- InditexInditexIndustria de Diseño Textil, S.A. , more commonly known as Inditex, is a large Spanish corporation and the world's largest fashion group. It is made up of almost a hundred companies dealing with activities related to textile design, production and distribution... - Leif Johansson - VolvoVolvoAB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
- Bruno Lafont - LafargeLafargeLafarge is a French industrial company specialising in four major products: cement, construction aggregates, concrete and gypsum wallboard. In 2010 the company was the world's second-largest cement manufacturer by mass shipped behind Holcim.-History:...
- Thomas LeysenThomas LeysenThomas Leysen is a Belgian businessman. He obtained a law degree at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Thomas Leysen became Chairman of Umicore in November 2008 after having served as Chief Executive Officer of Umicore since 2000. Since April 2011 he is a member of the board of KBC Group, a...
- UmicoreUmicoreUmicore N.V. is a multinational materials technology company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Formed in 1989 by the merger of four companies in the mining and smelting industries, Umicore has since reshaped itself into a more technology-focused business encompassing such areas as the refining... - Ian LivingstonIan LivingstonIan Livingston is the Chief Executive Officer of BT Group .The fourth generation son of Polish-Lithuanian Jews who arrived in Scotland 120 years ago, the family eventually owned a factory that made flying jackets and police uniforms...
- BTBT GroupBT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of... - Peter LöscherPeter LöscherPeter Löscher is an Austrian manager and former President, Global Human Health at global pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG on May 20, 2007 as the successor of Klaus Kleinfeld, and was selected to take on the new position on July 1, 2007...
- SiemensSiemensSiemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG... - Gary McGann - Smurfit Kappa GroupSmurfit Kappa GroupThe Smurfit Kappa Group is Europe's leading corrugated packaging company, following the merger of Jefferson Smurfit Group and Kappa Packaging. This merger was finalized by the end of 2005...
- Gérard MestralletGérard MestralletGérard Mestrallet is the Chairman of the Board and CEO of GDF Suez.-Biography:Gérard Mestrallet was born on 1 April 1949. He graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique of Paris and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration....
- GDF SUEZGDF SuezGDF Suez S.A. is a French multinational energy company which operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas and renewable energy. The world's largest utility after taking control of Britain's International Power, the company was initially formed by the merger of Gaz... - Aloïs MichielsenAloïs MichielsenAloïs Michielsen is a Belgian businessman. He obtained a Master degree as a Civil Engineer and a degree in Applied Economic Sciences at the Universite Catholique de Louvain...
- SolvaySolvay (company)Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company with its head office in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. It was founded in 1863 by Ernest Solvay to produce sodium carbonate by the solvay process. Since then the company has diversified to two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics... - René Obermann - Deutsche TelekomDeutsche TelekomDeutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
- Jorma OllilaJorma OllilaJorma Jaakko Ollila is the Chairman and former CEO of the Nokia Corporation and a Member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company , UPM-Kymmene , and Otava Books and Magazines Group Ltd...
- NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki... - Dimitri Papalexopoulos - Titan CementTitan CementTitan Cement Company S.A. is a large cement producing company, based in the Ano Patissia suburb of Athens, Greece. In 2009, it was ranked 8th in the entire world for the award of "Top Company For Leaders" receiving global distinction regarding the development of human capital and leadership...
- Paul PolmanPaul PolmanPaul Polman is the CEO of the multinational Anglo-Dutch food and detergent company, Unilever.-Early life:...
- UnileverUnileverUnilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products.... - Benoît PotierBenoît PotierBenoît Potier is a French businessman and economist. Potier is a graduate of the École Centrale Paris, a prominent engineering school, has been CEO of the French multinational industrial gas company Air Liquide since 2001. Potier also holds an MBA from INSEAD....
- Air LiquideAir LiquideL'Air Liquide S.A., or Air Liquide , is a major French company supplying industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, it is first in the world market in its field, now operating in over 80 countries. It is... - Norbert ReithoferNorbert ReithoferDr.-Ing. Norbert Reithofer is a businessman and current CEO of BMW AG as well as Chairman of the Board of Management.- Biography :...
- BMW Group - Wolfgang J. Ruttenstorfer - OMVOMVOMV is Austria's largest oil-producing, refining and gas station operating company with important activities in other Central European countries...
- Güler SabanciGüler SabanciGüler Sabancı is a third-generation female member of the renowned Sabancı family, and currently the chairperson of the family-controlled Sabancı Holding, the second-biggest industrial and financial conglomerate of Turkey.-Biography:...
- Sabanci HoldingSabanci HoldingHacı Ömer Sabancı Holding A.Ş., abbreviated as Sabancı Holding, is the largest industrial and financial conglomerate in Turkey by profit. The holding is owned at about 75% by the Sabancı family, one of Turkey's wealthiest. 3% is owned by the Sabancı University and the Sabancı Foundation. The... - Paolo ScaroniPaolo ScaroniPaolo Scaroni, born on 28 November 1946 in Vicenza, Italy, is chief executive officer of Italian energy company Eni SpA.-Education:In 1969, Scaroni graduated from Bocconi University of Milan in the field of economics. In 1973 he obtained an MBA from Columbia Business School.-Career:In 1969, Scaroni...
- EniEniEni S.p.A. is an Italian multinational oil and gas company, present in 70 countries, and currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of 87.7 billion euros , as of July 24, 2008... - Carl-Henric SvanbergCarl-Henric SvanbergCarl-Henric Svanberg, born on May 29 1952 in Porjus, Sweden, is a businessman and current Chairman of BP.-Life and career:Svanberg holds a Master's degree in Applied Physics from the Linköping Institute of Technology and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Uppsala University...
- BPBPBP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"... - Johannes Teyssen - E.ONE.ONE.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....
- Jean-François van Boxmeer - HeinekenHeinekenHeineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
- Frans Van HoutenFrans van HoutenFrançois Adrianus "Frans" van Houten is the successor to Gerard Kleisterlee, as Chief Executive Officer of the Dutch company of Royal Philips Electronics , taking over the position on April 1, 2011.-Biography:...
- Royal Philips Electronics - Ben VerwaayenBen VerwaayenBernardus Johannes Maria "Ben" Verwaayen is a Dutch businessman. On September 2, 2008 the Alcatel-Lucent board of directors appointed Verwaayen as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Patricia Russo.-Early life:...
- Alcatel-LucentAlcatel-LucentAlcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services... - Peter R. Voser - Royal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
- Jacob Wallenberg - Investor ABInvestor ABInvestor AB is a Swedish investment company, founded in 1916 and still controlled by the Wallenberg family through their foundation asset management company FAM. The company owns a controlling stake in several large Swedish companies with smaller positions in a number of other firms. In 2006 it had...
- Willie Walsh - IAGInternational Airlines GroupInternational Airlines Group is a multinational airline holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with its registered office in Madrid, Spain...
- Hans WijersHans WijersGerardus Johannes Wijers is the current CEO of AkzoNobel. From 1994 until 1998 he was a minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands for the liberal democrats party D66.- Personal :...
- Akzo NobelAkzo NobelAkzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people. Sales in 2010 were EUR... - Brian Ager, Secretary General
(Source: ERT.be)